Chemical Composition of Okra Seeds and Some Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Extracted Oil

Okra (Abelmochus esculentus L.) seeds were analyzed and characterized in terms of physical properties, chemical
composition, mineral content and some oil characteristics. Seeds were found to be a good source of crude oil and
protein being 15.20% and 24.32% on dry weight basis, respectively. The seeds possessed high content of crude fiber
and could be considered as a good source of K, Na, Mg and Ca. The extracted oil was slightly high in saponification
value and relatively low in iodine value, so it could be classified as a semi – dry oil. In addition, the crude oil showed
low peroxide and acid values indicating its high stability against deterioration. Total lipid fractions of okra seed oil
consist mainly of nine classes in which triacylglycerols being the major class. Palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids were
the major fatty acids and constituted about 90.71% of the total fatty acids.