Fatty Acids, Triacylglycerols, Carotenes, Retinols, Tocopherols and Phytosterols in Oils of Raphia sese and R. Laurentii from Congo-Brazzaville

As part of a systematic evaluation of the technological potential of oil containing plants of the Congo basin, the oils of Raphia sese and R. laurentii from Congo-Brazzaville underwent a detailed physical and chemical study. These oils contained 37.0-38.5% Palmitic acid (P), 33.0-34.0% Linoleic acid (L), 19.5-21% oleic acid (O), 6.0-7.0% Stearic acid (S) and 1.0-1.4% linolenic acid giving the following major triacylgycerols: 25.0-26.0% Palmitoyloleoyllinoleoyl- (POL), 20.5-22.5% Linoleoyldioleoyl- (LOO), 13.5-15.5% Palmitoyldilinoleoyl- (PLL), 9.0-11.0% Palmitoyloleoylpalmitoyl- (POP), 8.5-10.0% Palmitoyldioleoyl- (POO) and 8.5-10.0% trioleoyl- (OOO) glycerols. The non-saponifiable fraction comprised large quantities of carotenes (113 mg/100 g), tocopherols (33.0-54.0 mg/100 g) with α-tocopherol predominating (32.0-47.0 mg/100 g) and phytosterols (104.0-147 mg/100 g) including 88.0-120 mg/100 g of β-sitosterol. These results are evidence of an excellent nutritional quality and justify a posteriori the preference shown by local populations for the oil of Raphia sese (kolo) and R. laurentii (mbayaka) over palm oil.