Abstract

We report for the first time new edible oil extracted and quantified from fruit samples of wild olive (Olea cuspidata) possibly use for human consumption. Fruits and oil of wild olive were assessed for physical and chemical properties, while saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were quantified using gas chromatography. Results indicate that fruits of wild olive contain moisture (42.1 ± 1.6 - 60.7 ± 2.6%), crude protein (0.5 ± 0 to 1.1 ± 0.01%), total oil (32.1 ± 1.1 to 38.6 ± 1.2%), fiber (2.6 ± 0.4 to 6.5 ± 0.3%), ash (1.7 ± 0.2 to 2.1 ± 0.4 %) and carbohydrate (0.5 ± 0.0 to 14.3 ± 0.7%). The refractive index of the oil ( 1.331 to 1.372), specific gravity (0.91 to 0.93 ), pH values (5.1 to 5.5), iodine value (75.2 ± 1.2 to 91.4 ± 1.5), peroxide value (14.2 ± 0.2 to 20.3 ± 0.8 mg/kg oil), saponification number (175.6 ± 1.2 to 187.3 ± 1.8 mg KOH /g), unsaponificable matter (12.6 ± 0.4 to 15.6 ± 0.8 g/kg), acid value (0.7 ± 0 to 1.3 ± 0 mEg/ kg  and total phenol (23.6 ± 1.5 to 92.4 ± 2.1 mg/kg) were also determined. Concentration of fatty acids; oleic acid (69.3 to 74.5%), linoleic acid (1.3 to 3.2%), linolenic acid ( 11.2 to 15.2%) palmitoleic acid (1.10 to 2.10%), palmitic acid (11.2 to 14.0%) and stearic acid (0.1 to 0.2%) remained closed to those reported for the commercially available olive oil extracted from Olea europea. The new oil can be used as alternative to olive oil in human diet after toxicological studies.

Key words: Wild olive, edible oil, total fat, polyunsaturated fatty acids, total phenol.