The characterization of the oil seed of the ecuadorian species of prosopis juliflora

In different parts of the world, the seeds of carob tree (Prosopis) am used for the production of gums, fodder and protein food due to its approximate chemical composition; which is related to or justifies possible pharmacological effects (laxative, energizing, anti-inflammatoty, antioxidant) associated with the species. The present study pursues the characterization of the chemical composition of the seed oil of the Ecuadorian Prosopis juliflora growing in the province of Guayas. The characterization was carried out by evaluating the physicochemical properties, and metabolites by chromatographic analysis by GC-MS, in the saponifiable and unsaponifiable fraction of the oil obtained from the seed. The determinations of different indices (refraction, saponification, iodine, acidity) were possible by classical volumetric techniques in oil samples. The analysis resulted in the composition of fatty acids as linoleic (44.92%), oleic (22.79%), palmitic (12.94%), stcaric (6.78%), among others; while for the unsaponifiable fraction, the presence of sterols such as stigmasterol, g-sitosterol, campesterol, lanosterol were detected. The physicochemical parameters also allowed to determine the quality of the oil and the antioxidant activity of the extract of carob tree seed by the DPPH+ technique, which resulted in 0.414 mg of gallic acid/g of the sample; constituting a baseline for its potential use in the industry.