Characteristics, chemical composition and utilisation of Albizia julibrissin seed oil

▶ This study was conducted on the properties of the oil extracted from Albizia julibrissin seeds. The oil content of the seeds, the free fatty acid, the peroxide value, the saponification value, the iodine value of the oil were 10.50%, 2.54%, 6.61 mequiv. O2/kg of oil, 190.63 (mg KOH/g) and 111.33 (g/100g of oil), respectively. ▶ Linoleic acid (58.58%), palmitic acid (13.86%) and oleic acid (10.47%) were the dominant fatty acids in the A.julibrissin seed oil. LLL (36.87%), OLL (21.62%), PLL (16.69%) and PLO + SLL (8.59%) were the abundant triacylglycerols(L: linoleic, O: oleic, P: palmitic, S: stearic). ▶ The DSC melting curves reveal that: melting point = −14.70̊ C and melting enthalpy = 54.34 J/g. A.julibrissin seed oil showed some absorbance in the UV-B and UV-C ranges. ▶ The characterization of A. julibrissin seed oil shows that it could be successfully used for making soap, hair shampoo and in formulation of UV protectors in cosmetic. ▶ Furthermore, the high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids makes it desirable in terms of nutrition, and might be an acceptable substitute for highly polyunsaturated oils such soybean oil in diets.This new promising A. julibrissin crop can potentially create new rural jobs when used for industrial products.