Optimization and characterisation of solvent extracted Simarouba glauca oil

Simarouba glauca of Simaroubaceae Quasia family is an evergreen tree which can serve many purposes. The trees of Simarouba glauca were firstly planted by National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources in the research station at Amravati (Maharashtra, India) in 1966 and now it is grown in Orissa, Gujrat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka alongside Maharashtra. Simarouba glauca starts flowering after attaining the age of 6 to 8 years and its purple color fruits are having sweet edible pulp. The pinkish or yellowish kernels are 1.5 to 2 cm long and it undergoes colour change after ripening. The hard shell is removed manually from the kernels to get kernels which contain oil. All parts of tree are useful but kernel is the most useful part as it contains 60-70 % oil which can be easily bleached, refined, fractionated and deodorized. The Simarouba oil is useful for both edible and non-edible purposes. The oil obtained from the kernels of Simarouba has a decent demand for edible purpose which is available by a trade name of Manteca vegetal “nieve” a company and oil is accepted by the consumers. It has good potential for edible oil over Vanaspati or for use as Cocoa butter as it contains high fat and fatty acid in the kernels, high content of Oleic and Stearic acids and moderate iodine.