Fatty Acid Composition of Lebrunia bushiae Staner and Tephrosia vogelii Hook.f. Seed Oils

Aim: The nutritive and medicinal values of vegetable oils rely on the nature of their fatty acids (FAs). This study aimed to determine the nature and content of FAs in Lebrunia bushiae Staner and Tephrosia vogelii seed oils which are used by the local population of South Kivu province in DRC mainly for medical purposes.

Materials and Methods: The seeds were harvested from Bunyakiri, zone close to the National Parc Kahuzi-Biega, in South-Kivu province/DRC. The oils were manually expressed, and the FAs composition characterized by gas chromatography (GCMS).

Results: Ten major FAs were detected in Lebrunia bushiae seed oil comprising of 4 saturated and 6 unsaturated of which oleic acid (18:0;43.0%), linoleic acid (18:1;11.74%) and erucic acid (22.1;14.07%) predominate. In the Tephrosia vogelii oil, 5 saturated and 5 unsaturated FAs were detected comprising in majority of linoleic acid (40.34%), oleic acid (19.97%), alpha linolenic acid (7.62%), palmitic acid (13.98%) and stearic acid (5.78%).

Conclusions: The yield in oils from these two plants is sufficient for being exploited. The composition of Tephrosia oil presents high nutritive value while the nutritive value of Lebrunia oil may be limited by a high content of erucic acid, making it much valuable for medicinal interest unless its erucic acid content is reduced to make it edible.