Sudan j. agric. res. (2006), 6, 53-60 ARC, Sudan, Email: arcdg@sudanmail.net Physicochemical characteristics of argessi (Chrozophora brochiana), kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) and loofah (Luffa cylindrica) seed oils I. H. Hussein 1 , M. E. S. Mirghani 2 and Y. B. Che Man 3 Abstract A study on new sources of edible oils namely argessi (Chrozophora brochiana), kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) and loofah (Luffa cylindrica) was conducted to quantify the physicochemical characteristics of their seed oil. Percent crude oil content of the three plant species ranges were: 37 - 41, 20 – 23.5 and 19 – 24, respectively. Argessi and kenaf had yellowish and loofah had greenish oil colour. Melting points were: 13.0, 15.0 and 17.5 o C; free fatty acid (FFA): 0.82, 1.05 and 4.25%; saponification value (SV): 184.5, 184.8 and 182.4 mg KOH/g; iodine value (IV): 120, 126 and 108 g I/100 g oil; peroxide value (PV): 0.95, 0.98 and 1.20 meq/kg and the unsaponifiable matter: 0.075, 0.052 and 0.09% (w/w), for argessi, kenaf and loofah, respectively. The fatty acid composition (FAC) of argessi oil showed high level of linoleic (C18:2) 44.75%, followed by oleic acid (C18:1) 24.9%, stearic acid (C18:0) 15.6%, palmitic acid (C16:0) 13.9% and some traces of the linolenic (C18:3) 0.50%. FAC for kenaf oil was high in oleic acid (C18:1) 38.78% followed by palmitic (C16:0) 29.07%, linoleic (C18:2) 15.61%, stearic (C18:0) 7.11% and other fatty acids 9.4%. In loofah seed oil, the FAC was 21.15% oleic, 12.01% palmitic, 06.51% stearic, 59.41% linoleic and 0.45% linolenic. The triacylglycerol (TAG) profile of argessi oil showed presence of eleven TAGs: PLO 16.9%, LLL 15.8%, OLL 14.9%, POO 11.7%, OOL 7.7%, PLL 7.5%, SOP 6.0%, SOO 4.0%, POP 3.9%, OOO 2.8% and SOS 2.3%. Introduction Argessi plant (Chrozophora brochiana Vis) of the family Euphorbiaceae, is widely scattered in the poor savanna areas in Western Sudan as a range crop. During the drought years of 1983 - 1985, inhabitants of Western Sudan used the boiled seeds of the plant for food. Extraction of the oil is done by using traditional mills pulled by animals such as camels or cows (Hussein et al., 1994). Argessi is known as a range crop in Senegal, Chad, Ethiopia and Eritrea (Hanan, 1997). Preliminary studies by Mirghani (1990) showed that the argessi seeds have good edible oil yield. A comparative study (Mirghani et al., 1996) on the fatty acid composition (FAC) of the seed oil of argessi and niger (Guizotia abyssinica) showed that both seeds contain nearly the same type of fatty acids, with linoleic acid (C18:2) as the major component. Apart from that, there are very few reports in the literature on argessi seed oil. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is a member of the Malvaceae family. It is an annual, non- wood fiber plant indigenous to Central Africa and thought to have been domesticated in Western Sudan before 4000 B.C. The potential of kenaf oil in Sudan has been studied by Hussein (1988). It is now grown worldwide mainly as an annual fiber crop (Edmonds, 1991). 1 National Oilseed Processing Research Institute (NOPRI), University of Gezira, P. O. Box 20, Medani, Sudan. 2 Department of Biotechnology, Faculty (Kulliyyah) of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia (iium) Jalan Gombak, 53100 KL, Malaysia. 3 Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology, University Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.