Characterization and fatty acid profile analysis of Jatropha curcas L. oil cultivated in the Algerian desert

This study employed the Soxhlet extraction method to describe the phyto-oil recovered from Jatropha curcas L., which was planted for the first time in the El Oued region of southeastern Algeria, using normal hexane as the solvent at 60 °C for 8 h. The dry weight-to-weight oil yield was 63.15%. The extracted oil was liquid at room temperature, with a nice sweet aroma and a yellowish-white hue. The physicochemical properties showed that the seed oil has a moisture level of 5.58%, a density of 0.915, a viscosity of 49.85 mm2/s, a peroxide index of 1.1 mEq/kg, an acid value of 2.9%, and an iodine indicator of 96.3 mg/g, a refractive index of 1.458, and a saponification index of 202.87 mg KOH/g. Gas chromatographic analysis showed stearic acid (8.5%), palmitic acid (11.2%), and oleic acid (65.9%). Furthermore, the quality of the extracted oil demonstrated that the seed is an excellent source of oil that might be used in industry.