Comparative fatty acid and trace elemental analysis identified the best raw material of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) for commercial applications

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is an oil yielding desert shrub popularly known as desert gold. Jojoba based industries, mainly works in two sectors: lubricant and cosmetics. The high cost of jojoba products could be lowered down by selecting the best raw material. So, we made our hypothesis to select the best raw material separately for cosmetics and lubricant industries. The purpose of the study was the comprehensive comparative phytochemical characterization of fifteen different accessions of jojoba oil using Spectrophotometer, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). GC and MS identified 10 fatty acids (myristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, arachidic, 11-eicosenoic, heneicosanoic, tricosanoic and nervonic acids). Differences were found in most of the parameters and correlation analysis was done to compare all biochemical traits with respect to oil yield. Accessions Q-104 was found to be the best for cosmetics, as it shows a high concentration of fatty acids (linoleic, oleic, arachidic, 11-eicosenoic and palmitic acids) together with good oil yield. Accessions Clone-64 was found to be the best for the lubricant purpose as it showed the good oil yield, lower elements, and phosphorus content. We concluded that accession Q-104 and Clone-64 could be used commercially for cosmetic and lubricant industry, respectively. Further, these accessions could be used for the genetic breeding program.