Industrial Crops and Products 33 (2011) 30–34

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Characteristics, chemical composition and utilisation of Albizia julibrissin seed oil

I. Nehdi ∗

King Saud University, College of Science, Chemistry Department, Riyadh 1145, Saudi Arabia

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 29 June 2010

Received in revised form 17 August 2010

Accepted 20 August 2010

Keywords:

Albizia julibrissin

Seed oil

Physicochemical properties

Fatty acids

Triacylglycerols

DSC

a b s t r a c t

The physicochemical characteristics, fatty acid and triacylglycerol compositions, DSC profile and UV/vis

spectrum of oil extracted from Albizia julibrissin seeds were determined in this study. The oil content

and the moisture of the seeds were 10.50% and 1.56%. The free fatty acid, the peroxide value, the p­

anisidine value, the saponification value, the iodine value were 2.54%, 6.61 mequiv. O2/kg of oil, 1.98,

190.63 (mg KOH/g) and 111.33 (g/100 g of oil), respectively. The specific extinction coefficients K232, K268

were 7.55 and 0.96, respectively. Linoleic acid (C18:2, 58.58%), palmitic acid (C16, 13.86%) and oleic acid

(C18:1, 10.47%) were the dominant fatty acids in the A. julibrissin seed oil. LLL (36.87%), OLL (21.62%), PLL

(16.69%) and PLO + SLL (8.59%) were the abundant triacylglycerol representing > 83% of the seed oil (L:

linoleic, O: oleic, P: palmitic, S: stearic). The DSC melting curves reveal that: melting point = −14.70◦ C and

melting enthalpy = 54.34 J/g. A. julibrissin seed oil showed some absorbance in the UV­B and UV­C ranges.

The results of the present analytical study show that A. julibrissin is a promising oilseed crop, which can

be used for making soap, hair shampoo and UV protectors. Furthermore, the high level of unsaturated

fatty acids makes it desirable in terms of nutrition.

© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The species Albizia julibrissin, commonly named mimosa,

powder­puff tree, silk tree, are widely distributed in Asia, Africa,

Australia, and tropical and subtropical America (Zheng et al.,

2004; Kim et al., 2007). It is native to Asia from Iran to Japan

(Cheatham et al., 1996). The genus Albizia (also Albizzia) belonging

to Fabaceae/Leguminosae family (Mimosoideae subfamily), consists

of approximately 150 species (Wang et al., 2006). Most species

are deciduous woody trees and shrubs. They are easily identified

by their bipinnately compound leaves. Its wood can be used for

building and furniture­making. The young leaves are edible (Zheng

et al., 2004). A. julibrissin is an umbrella­shaped tree growing to

6 m tall (Lau et al., 2007), with a broad crown of level or arching

branches. It resprouts quickly if cut or top­killed, and the A. julib­

rissin bark is dark greenish grey in colour and striped vertically as it

gets older. The leaves are bipinnate, 20–45 cm long and 12–25 cm

broad, divided into 4–12 pairs of pinnae, each with 10–30 pairs of

leaflets; the leaflets are oblong, 6–12 mm long and 1–4 mm broad.

From June to July, a head inflorescence of attractive pink flowers is

produced at the top of the branch (Zheng et al., 2004). The sweetly

scented flowers are a good nectar source for honeybees. A. julibrissin

fruit consists of flat pods with bulging seeds, each pod 8–18 cm long,

1.5–2.5 cm wide and can be seen from June to February. Typically

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +966 14697118; fax: +966 4675992.

E­mail address: inahdi@ksu.edu.sa.

5–10 oval­shaped seeds, about 1.25 in length, are produced per pod.

Seeds and seed pods may be dispersed by wind, gravity and water.

Because of its graceful flowers and umbrella­like canopy, A. julib­

rissin has been widely planted along roadways or in gardens for

ornamental purposes. It is also grown in sandy areas to prevent

erosion.

The bark and flowers of the A. julibrissin tree are used in China

as medicine (Lau et al., 2007). Bark extract is a sedative drug and

an anti­inflammatory for treating swelling and pain of the lungs,

skin ulcers, wounds, bruises, abscesses, boils, haemorrhoids and

fractures, and has displayed cytotoxic activity (Higuchi et al., 1992;

Ikeda et al., 1997; Pharmacopoeia, 2005). Asians administered A.

julibrissin bark extract to patients to treat insomnia, diuresis, sthe­

nia, and confusion (Zhu, 1998). The flowers have been commonly

used to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia (Kang et al., 2007).

The seeds are a source of oil (Wang et al., 2006) and furthermore

they are used as a food for livestock and wildlife. Similarly, the

seeds of the tree A. julibrissin have been shown to possess prote­

olytic enzymes which clotted milk readily, without developing any

bitterness in cheese after 3 months of ripening (Otani et al., 1991).

A. julibrissin is one of several energy crops being tested in

the Auburn University energy crop research program, showing an

annual forage yield of 4.5 dry tons acre−1 (10.7 Mg ha−1 year−1)

from four harvests per year, and an average total biomass yield of

37.3 Mg ha−1 year−1 from one harvest per year over a 4­year period

(Sladden et al., 1992).

To our knowledge, until now a physicochemical characteriza­

tion of the oil produced from the seeds of A. julibrissin has not

0926­6690/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2010.08.004

I. Nehdi / Industrial Crops and Products 33 (2011) 30–34 31

been reported. This investigation was undertaken to determine the

physicochemical properties, UV/vis spectra, fatty acid, triacylglyc­

erol and thermal profiles of seed oil extracted from A. julibrissin

grown in Tunisia, and to compare these results with those of the

common soybean oil which is the most imported and consumed oil

in Tunisia. This work also reports the possible uses of this new A.

julibrissin seed oil and it alternative of soybean oil.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Seed material

Mature pods of A. julibrissin were collected in February 2007

from two trees from Sidi thabet city (Tunisia). These trees are

located in: latitude 48◦24′N; longitude 13◦74′E; altitude: 17 m. The

seeds were directly isolated and then hand­picked to eliminate

damaged ones. The selected seeds were oven­dried at 60 ◦C for 24 h.

The dried seeds were milled in Basic IKA Werke Mill (MF10) then

sieved using a 1 mm mesh sieve and stored at −15 ◦C until analy­

ses. Crude soybean oil was purchased from an oil refinery located

in Tunis (ETS Abdelmoula).

2.2. Lipid extraction

Oil was extracted from seeds using hexane. The ground dried A.

julibrissin seeds (40 g) were placed into a cellulose paper cone and

extracted with 400 ml hexane using a soxhlet extraction apparatus

for 8 h. The solvent was removed via a rotary vacuum distillation at

40–50 ◦C flushing with nitrogen to blanket the oil during storage.

The residue was weighed and stored at −20 ◦C until it was analyzed.

The weight of the oil extracted from 40 g of the seed powder was

determined to calculate the lipid content. The result was expressed

as the lipid percentage in the dry seed powder.

2.3. Analytical methods

Analysis was carried out in triplicate. The values of differ­

ent parameters were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation

(x̄ ± S.D.).

2.3.1. Moisture

Moisture of the seeds was determined according to the AOAC

Official Method 930.15 (AOAC, 1990).

2.3.2. Acid value and acidity (% free fatty acids)

The acid value and acidity of seed oil was determined according

to the standard (ISO 660, 1996). Acidity was calculated using oleic

acid factor.

2.3.3. Iodine value

The iodine value was determined according to the standard (ISO

3961, 1996).

2.3.4. Saponification value

The saponification value was determined according to the stan­

dard (ISO 3657, 2002).

2.3.5. Peroxide value

The peroxide value was determined according to the standard

(ISO 3960, 2001).

2.3.6. Spectroscopic indices (K232, K268), UV/vis spectra

The spectroscopic indices, K232 and K268, in the UV region,

were determined according to the standard (ISO 3656, 2002) and

the oil was diluted with isooctane. Three spectra (200–290 nm,

290–400 nm, and 400–800 nm) of oil solutions (0.1, 1, and 10%, v/v)

in hexane were measured with a spectrophotometer (JASCO V­530,

WITEG Labortechnik., Gmbh).

2.3.7. Anisidine value

The anisidine value was determined according to the standard

(ISO 6885, 2006).

2.3.8. Thermal characteristics (DSC profile)

The thermal characteristics of seed oil were measured by

using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC­131, SETARAM,

France). A flow of nitrogen gas (1.5 ml/min) was used in

the cell cooled by helium (1.5 ml/min) in a refrigerated cool­

ing system. The instrument was calibrated for temperature

and heat flow with mercury (melting point, m.p. = −38.834 ◦C,

1H = 11.469 J/g), tin (m.p. = 231.928 ◦C, 1H = 60.22 J/g), indium

(melting point, m.p. = 156.598 ◦C, 1H = 28.5 J/g) and lead (melting

point, m.p. = 327.45 ◦C, 1H = 24.72 J/g). The oil samples (4–5 mg)

were weighed in open solid fat index (SFI) aluminum pans (No.

S08/HBB37408, SETARAM) with an empty pan used as a refer­

ence. The sample and reference pans were then placed inside the

calorimeter and kept at −70 ◦C for 2 min. The temperature was

increased from −70 to 70 ◦C at a rate of 5 ◦C/min. The samples were

then kept at 70 ◦C for 1 min, and then decreased again, at the same

rate, down to −70 ◦C. The scans were performed at 5 ◦C/min.

2.3.9. Fatty acid composition

The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition was deter­

mined by converting the oil to fatty acid methyl esters by adding

1 ml of n­hexane to 40 mg of oil followed by 200 ml of sodium

methoxide (2 M). The mixture is heated in the bath at 50 ◦C for few

seconds followed by adding 200 ml HCl (2N). The top layer (1 ml)

was injected into a GC (Agilent 6890N, California, USA) equipped

with a flame ionization detector (FID) and a polar capillary col­

umn (HP­Innowax polyethylene glycol, 0.25 mm internal diameter,

30 m length and 0.25 mm film in thickness) to obtain individual

peaks of fatty acid methyl esters. The detector temperature was

275 ◦C and the column temperature was 150 ◦C held for 1 min

and increased at the rate of 15 ◦C/min to 200 ◦C and the rate of

2 ◦C/min to 250 ◦C and held for 4 min. The run time was 45 min.

The fatty acid methyl esters peaks were identified comparing their

retention times with individual standard FAME (approximately

99% pure purchased from Supelco, USA) of lauric (C12:0), myris­

tic (C14:0), palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1), stearic (C18:0), oleic

(C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), linolenic (C18:3), arachidic (C20:0), eicosenoic

(C20:1), behenic (C22:0), lignoceric (C24:0) acids and analysed with

the Agilent Technologies Chemstation A09.01 Software. The rela­

tive percentage of the fatty acid was calculated on the basis of the

peak area of a fatty acid species to the total peak area of all the fatty

acids in the oil sample. Fatty acid methyl esters peak identification

was confirmed by GC–MS (NIST 2002 database) operating under

similar conditions as used for the GC–FID.

2.3.10. Triacylglycerol composition

The triacylglycerols (TAGs) profile was obtained by a reverse

phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Agilent

1100, CA, USA) equipped with a G1354 quaternary pump, a G1313A

standard auto sampler, and a G1362A refractive index detector. The

chromatogram was carried out using Agilent Technology Chem­

station software. The TAGs were separated using a commercially

packed Hypersil ODS column (125 mm × 4 mm) with a particle size

of 3 mm and were eluted from the column with a mixture of ace­

tonitrile/acetone (65/35) at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min; the TAG was

detected with a refractive index detector. Ten microliters of 0.05 g

oil diluted in 1 ml (chloroform/acetone 50/50, v/v) was injected into

the HPLC. The total run time was 45 min. Due to the limitation of

commercially available TAGs standard; the identified TAGs of A.

32 I. Nehdi / Industrial Crops and Products 33 (2011) 30–34

Table 1

Comparison of physico­chemical properties of A. julibrissin seed oil with those of

soybean oil.

Parameter Albizia julibrissin Soybean

Acid value 5.08 ± 0.11 1.72 ± 0.08

Free fatty acid (as oleic %) 2.54 ± 0.11 0.86 ± 0.08

Peroxide value (mequiv. O2/kg) 6.61 ± 0.18 1.52 ± 0.05

Saponification value (mg KOH/g) 190.63 ± 0.73 179.45 ± 0.68

Iodine number (g/100 g oil) 111.33 ± 1.32 122.56 ± 0.98

E232 7.55 ± 0.05 2.78 ± 0.03

E270 0.96 ± 0.03 0.73 ± 0.02

p­Anisidine value 1.98 ± 0.11 2.48 ± 0.13

Refractive index (20 ◦C) 1.471 ± 0.002 1.477 ± 0.002

State at ambient temperature Liquid Liquid

Colour Yellow Dark yellow

Phosphorus, mg/kg 35.43 ± 0.93 173.67 ± 1.63

julibrissin seed oil were concluded by comparing the retention time

of standard TAGs peak and the retention time of other oils (flax seed

oil, olive oil, corn oil and sunflower oil) chromatographs obtained

under similar analytical conditions.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. The physicochemical properties of seed oil

Seeds of A. julibrissin contained 10.50% of oil (dry weight basis)

and 1.56% of moisture. This seed oil content is comparable with

those of other seed oils such as Phoenix canariensis (10.36%) (Nehdi

et al., in press), Spanish broom (10.50%) (Cerchiara et al., 2010),

raspberry (10.70%) (Oomah et al., 2000) and prickly pear (10.90%)

(Ennouri et al., 2005).

Table 1 reports the comparison of physicochemicals properties

of A. julibrissin seed oil with those of soybean oil. The free fatty acid

content of A. julibrissin seed oil (2.54%) is higher than of soybean

oil (0.86%) indicating that some hydrolytic reactions occur during

the extraction (Ku and Mun, 2008). The oxidative state of oils is

determined using the peroxide value, anisidine value and specific

extinctions K232 and K268. The peroxide value of A. julibrissin seed

oil (6.61 mequiv. O2/kg of oil) is higher than that of soybean oil

(1.52 mequiv. O2/kg of oil) indicating the presence of some quantity

of hydroperoxide in A. julibrissin seed oil. This oil can be stored for

a long time without deterioration, since oils become rancid when

the peroxide value ranges from 20 to 40 mequiv. O2/kg of oil. The

phosphorus content of A. julibrissin seed oil is 35.43 ppm, lower

than that of soybean oil (173.67 ppm), showing that the quantity

of phospholipids in A. julibrissin seed oil is low. The specific extinc­

tion coefficient at 232 nm (K232) is related to the degree of primary

oxidation of the oil and thus directly correlated to the amount of

hydroperoxide (Maskan and Bagci, 2003; Ku and Mun, 2008). K232

is also an indicator of polyunsaturated FA conjugation, whereas

K268 and K270 are related to the secondary oxidation products (a­

unsaturated ketone, a­diketone) (Karleskind, 1992). The relatively

high value of K232 (7.55) of A. julibrissin seed oil confirms that this oil

is much oxidized than soybean oil. The low value of K268 (0.96) indi­

cates that A. julibrissin seed oil contains a low quantity of secondary

oxidation products. The low anisidine values show that the both

oils contain a weak amount of a­unsaturated aldehyde compounds

(Karleskind, 1992).

The saponification value of A. julibrissin seed oil (190.63) is lower

than that of soybean (179.45) but similar to that of other oils such

as linseed oil (190.86), sunflower oil (188.98) and olive oil (191.93)

(Cerchiara et al., 2010). As reported by Akbar et al. (2009), high

saponification value indicates that oils are normal triglycerides and

very useful in production of liquid soap and shampoo industries.

Therefore, the value obtained for A. julibrissin seed oil in this study

Table 2

Comparison of fatty acid compositions (%) of A. julibrissin seed oil with those of

soybean oil.

Fatty acid A. julibrissin Soybean

Saturated

C8:0 0.11 ± 0.03 nd

C10:0 0.14 ± 0.04 nd

C12:0 0.10 ± 0.02 0.11 ± 0.03

C14:0 0.09 ± 0.01 0.12 ± 0.03

C15:0 0.13 ± 0.01 nd

C16:0 13.86 ± 0.19 15.65 ± 0.03

C17:0 nd 0.14 ± 0.03

C18:0 4.26 ± 0.07 4.98 ± 0.23

C20:0 2.18 ± 0.04 0.55 ± 0.07

C22:0 0.53 ± 0.03 0.34 ± 0.04

C24:0 2.62 ± 0.02 nd

C25:0 0.21 ± 0.01 nd

C26:0 1.26 ± 0.02 nd

Monoinsaturated

C14:1 nd 0.09 ± 0.01

C15:1 0.11 ± 0.02 nd

C16:1 0.44 ± 0.02 0.12 ± 0.03

C17:1 0.12 ± 0.04 0.09 ± 0.02

C18:1 10.47 ± 0.42 20.98 ± 0.23

C20:1 0.30 ± 0.06 0.32 ± 0.06

C22:1 nd 0.38 ± 0.08

C24:1 nd 0.13 ± 0.03

Polyinsaturated

C18:2 58.58 ± 0.71 50.17 ± 0.83

C18:3 3.35 ± 0.09 8.18 ± 0.53

C20:2 0.29 ± 0.05 0.39 ± 0.09

C20:4 1.57 ± 0.06 0.12 ± 0.04

SAFA 25.13 21.89

MUFA 11.34 22.11

PUFA 63.79 58.86

U/S 2.96 3.69

SAFA: saturated fatty acids; MUFA: monounsaturated fatty acids; PUFA: polyunsat­

urated fatty acid.

shows that it has high potency for use in the production of liquid

soap and shampoos.

The relatively low iodine value (111.33) in A. julibrissin seed oil

compared to soybean oil (122.56) is indicative of the presence of

a lower unsaturated bonds number. A. julibrissin seed oil can be

grouped as a semi­drying oils. Among physical properties, refrac­

tive index of oils is studied: A. julibrissin seed oil shows the lowest

value of refractive index (1.471), indicating that its degree of unsat­

uration is lower than that of soybean oil (Fatouh et al., 2005). The

fatty acid composition (Table 1) confirms this result.

Table 3

Comparison of triacylglycerol compositions (%) of A. julibrissin seed oil with those

of soybean oil.

Triacylglycerol ECN A. julibrissin Soybean

LnLnLn 36 1.35 0.50

LLnLn 38 1.35 1.33

LLLn 40 2.48 6.84

OLnLn 40 0.54 0.25

LLL 42 36.87 20.67

LLnP 42 0.63 3.58

OLL 44 21.62 15.88

PLL 44 16.69 15.27

OOLn + POLn 44 0.45 1.97

OOL 46 3.25 10.20

PLO + SLL 46 8.59 11.12

PPL 46 1.31 1.84

OOO + SLO 48 0.45 2.37

POO + PLS 48 2.48 5.21

POP 48 1.58 1.51

SOO 50 0.11 0.74

POS 50 0.45 0.63

La: lauric; M: myristic; P: palmitic; S: stearic; O: oleic; L: linoleic; G: gondoic; ECN:

equivalent carbon number.

I. Nehdi / Industrial Crops and Products 33 (2011) 30–34 33

Fig. 1. DSC profiles of Albizia julibrissim seed oil and soybean oil.

3.2. Fatty acid and triacylglycerols (TAGs) composition

The fatty acid composition is presented in Table 2. Linoleic, oleic

and palmitic acids are the most abundant unsaturated and satu­

rated fatty acids of A. julibrissin seed and soybean oil. Linoleic acid

(C18:2, 58.58%), palmitic acid (C16, 13.86%) and oleic acid (C18:1,

10.47%) together compose about 84% of the total fatty acids of

A. julibrissin seed oil. Linolenic acid content of soybean (8.18%) is

higher than that of A. julibrissin seed oil (3.35%).

A. julibrissin seed oil was characterised by a polyunsatu­

rated/saturated (P/S) ratio of 2.96, inferior to that of soybean oil

(3.69). The values of these ratios are in correlation with those of

refractive index. A high ratio of P/S is regarded favourable for the

reduction of serum cholesterol and atherosclerosis and prevention

of heart diseases (Oomah et al., 2002).

The total unsaturated fatty acid of A. julibrissin seed oil is 75.11%.

The unsaturated fatty acids can influence the physical proper­

ties of the membrane such as fluidity and permeability (Nasri et

al., 2005). Oleic acid is very important in nervous cell construc­

tion. It has fundamental role in cardiovascular diseases prevention

(Nasri et al., 2005). A. julibrissin seed oil and soybean oil are rich in

polyunsaturated fatty acid (58.86% and 63.79%). Linoleic fatty acid

is indispensable for the healthy growth of human skin (Bruckert,

2001). The fatty acid composition of A. julibrissin seed oil makes

it desirable in terms of nutrition and it may be used as edible oil.

However, the safety of this oil must be tested before use for human

nutrition.

The distribution of triacylglycerols (TAGs), with equivalent

carbon number (ECN) is given in Table 3. LLL, OLL and PLL triacyl­

glycerols are the most triacylglycerols of A. julibrissin seed oil and

soybean oil. It reflects a close relationship between the fatty acids

and triacylglycerol content of the oils. TAGs with ECN 44, TAGs ECN

42 and TAGs ECN 46 were dominant for the both oils.

3.3. Thermal profile

DSC provides information on the excess specific heat over a wide

range of temperatures (Gloria and Aguilera, 1998). Any endother­

mic or exothermic event is registered as a peak in the chart, and its

area is proportional to the enthalpy gained or lost, respectively. A.

julibrissin seed oil and soybean oil showed the same melting profile.

The thermograms of the oils seem to correspond to one triglyc­

eride (Fig. 1). A. julibrissin seed oil exhibited a single peak having

the following characteristics: melting temperature (−14.70 ◦C) and

melting enthalpy (54.34 J/g) while the characteristics of the peak

of soybean oil are: melting temperature (−17.82 ◦C) and melting

enthalpy (63.44 J/g). The difference between the melting tempera­

ture is due to the fact that soybean oil is more unsaturated than A.

julibrissin seed oil.

3.4. UV/vis spectra

The strong absorbance (2.61–3.19) in the 418–470 nm range

(Fig. 2) indicates the presence of an important amount of

Fig. 2. Ultra violet/vis spectra of Albizia julibrissin seed oil and soybean oil

(figure derived from scans (� = 200–290 nm) of oil diluted 1:1000; from scans

(� = 290–400 nm) of oil diluted 1:100 and from scans (� = 400–800 nm) of oil diluted

1:10, all in hexane.

34 I. Nehdi / Industrial Crops and Products 33 (2011) 30–34

carotenoids which is responsible for the dark yellow colour of

the soybean oil. A. julibrissin seed oil shows a weak absorbance

(0.45–0.57) in this range which is in agreement with its yel­

low colour. A. julibrissin seed oil shows strong absorbance in the

UV­B (290–320 nm) and UV­A (320–400 nm) range. In the UV­C

(100–290 nm) soybean oil shows more absorbance than A. julib­

rissin seed oil. Thus, A. julibrissin seed oil can shield against UV­B

and UV­A radiations responsible for most cellular damage, and it

may be used in formulation of UV protectors.

4. Conclusion

This preliminary study shows that the A. julibrissin is a promis­

ing seed oil crop. The characterization of A. julibrissin seed oil shows

that it could be successfully used for making soap, hair sham­

poo and in formulation of UV protectors in cosmetic. Furthermore,

the high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids makes it desirable in

terms of nutrition, and might be an acceptable substitute for highly

polyunsaturated oils such soybean oil in diets.

This new A. julibrissin crop can potentially create new rural jobs

when used for industrial products.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Prof. Hedi Zarrouk, the previous Director

of National Institute of Research and Physico­Chemical analysis

(INRAP), Sidi Thabet, Tunisia for his invaluable collaboration in the

development of this work. The author gratefully acknowledges Ms.

Samia Omri for practical assistance. I wish to thank my colleague

Prof. Mutassim Ibrahim Khalil for his assistance in the English of

this manuscript.

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