Fatty Acid Profile, Tocopherol Content of Seed Oil, and Nutritional Analysis of Seed Cake of Wood Apple (Limonia acidissima L.), an Underutilized Fruit-Yielding Tree Species

The present study was aimed at analyzing the fatty acid composition, tocopherols, and physico-chemical characterization of wood apple (Limonia acidissima L.) seed oil and the nutritional profile of seed cake. The fatty acids in seed oil were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the total seed oil was 32.02 +/- 0.08%, comprising oleic (21.56 +/- 0.57%), alpha-linolenic (16.28 +/- 0.29%), and linoleic acid (10.02 +/- 0.43%), whereas saturated fatty acid content was 33.38 +/- 0.60% including palmitic (17.68 +/- 0.65%) and stearic acid (14.15 +/- 0.27%). A greater amount of unsaturated fatty acids (52.37%) were noticed compared to saturated fatty acids (33.38%); hence the seed is highly suitable for nutritional and industrial applications. Gamma-tocopherol was present in a higher quantity (39.27 +/- 0.07 mg/100 g) as compared to alpha (12.64 +/- 0.01 mg/100 g) and delta (3.77 +/- 0.00 mg/100 g) tocopherols, which are considered as natural antioxidants. The spectrophotometric technique was used for quantitative analysis of total phenolic content, and it revealed 135.42 +/- 1.47 mg gallic acid equivalent /100 g DW in seed cake. All the results of the studied seed oil and cake showed a good source of natural functional ingredients for several health benefits.