Physicochemical properties and thermal behaviour of African wild mango (Irvingia gabonensis) seed fat

The seeds from Irvingia gabonensis (IG) represent an important source of lipids (69-75 g/100 g), rich in myristic (49.8%) and lauric acid (37%). Due to its FA composition, this fat can be classified among “lauric fats”. The melting profiles of IG fat indicates that a high amount of fat remains solid at temperatures up to 30 °C; the complete melting was detected at around 40 °C. The most stable polymorph of this fat is the β′1-form. Moreover, IG fat presents a good oxidative stability due to its low content in unsaturated fatty acid.