Oil Characteristics and Fatty Acid Aontent of Seeds fromThree Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera L.) Cultivars in Khuzestan

Studies were conducted on properties of oil extracted from seeds of three date palm( phoenix dactylifera) cultivars, Khadrawi, Dayri and saamaran, grown in Khuzestan. Date seeds consistuent approximately 10% of the fruit. Amounts of seeds can be made available after the progress in date industrialization. Seeds contained 8.5-10.8% fat. The following values were obtained for samples:

iodine value 44.1-48.2, saponification number 214-226, peroxide value 17-22, acid value 0.98-1.28, refractive index 1.450-1.459, specific gravity 0.91656-0.91793, viscosity 18.1-20.8 mPa.s. Gas-Liquid Chromatography revealed that major unsaturated fatty acid was oleic acid (38.76-41.15%), while the main saturated fatty acid was lauric acid (22.49-25.44). Capric , myristic , palmitic , stearic and linoleic acid were also found 0.19-1.8%, 12.47-18.73%, 9.91-11.5%, 1.92-2.36%, 6.18-7.25%, respectively. Linolenic, arachidic and behenic acid were also found only in Dayri and saamaran very low.Results showed that date seed oil could be used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food products.