Spectroscopic and chromatographic evaluation of the wax ester fraction of Adenanthera pavonina oil

Present study was carried out in order to assess the constituents of Adenanthera pavonina wax esters by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Gas chromatography (GC). After extraction of oil from A. pavonina seeds, wax esters were separated from oil by centrifugation and then purified through crystallization process in acetone. The white crystalline solid with melting point of 83–85 °C was initially characterized as wax esters by FT-IR. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) provided the separation of various wax esters from C34 to C48 including odd and even chain esters. C46 wax ester was found to be predominant. For separation, identification and estimation of individual constituents of fatty acid methyl esters and fatty alcohol acetates were carried out by GC–MS after saponification and derivatization of wax esters. GC–MS analysis indicated the presence of saturated methyl esters from Cl4 to C30. Predominant methyl ester was C22. Wax esters contained the saturated fatty alcohols from C14 to C28. The major alcohol was saturated C24 fatty alcohol. The results indicated that A. pavonina wax esters have potential to be used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry due to its better composition of long chain fatty acids and fatty alcohols.

► No research work has been reported on the wax esters of A. pavonina.
► FT-IR and GC was used for the characterization of the wax esters.
► A. pavonina wax esters could be used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.