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Characterization of laurel fruit oil from Madeira Island, Portugal
Author(s) -
Castilho Paula C.,
Costa Maria do Céu,
Rodrigues Ana,
Partidário Ana
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/s11746-005-1156-4
Subject(s) - wax , sesquiterpene , food science , chemistry , lauric acid , botany , linoleic acid , composition (language) , palmitic acid , sterol , fatty acid , organic chemistry , biology , art , biochemistry , literature , cholesterol
The fixed oil extracted from Laurus spp. fruit from Madeira Island, Portugal, is used in local traditional medicine for a wide variety of health complaints. Physical properties, density and refractive index, as well as the TAG FA composition, sterols, and waxes were determined. The oil was found to have an unusually high content of volatiles ( ca. 10%), with trans ‐ocimene and germacrene D predominating. Oleic (30%) and linoleic (20%) acids were the main unsaturated FA, whereas lauric (18%) and palmitic (up to 22.5%) acids were the main saturated FA in the neutral lipid fraction. The oil had a sterol content on the same order as olive oil, with β‐sitosterol (84%) predominating. Two sesquiterpene lactones, dehydrocostuslactone and costunolide, accounted for 5% of the overall composition. Madeira laurel oil is not currently used as an edible oil because of its very strong flavor. Its claimed medicinal properties have not yet been validated, and this is the first report on the characterization of the commercial product.