Horticultural Studies (HortiS) 2014, Vol 31, Num, 1     (Pages: 17-24)

Some physical and chemical properties of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) seed and fatty acid composition of seed oil

Muharrem GÖLÜKCÜ 1 ,Ramazan TOKER 1 ,Fırat AYAS 1 ,Nurtaç ÇINAR 1

1 Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute, Antalya, Turkey Viewed : 1613 - Downloaded : 1074 Edible part and leaves of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) are used as food or medicine to control some diseases because of its antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, anti-hepatotoxic, antiviral, antiulcerogenic and larvicidal effects. Although fruits have considerable amount of seeds, they have not received much attention. In this study, some physical and chemical properties of the seed and also fatty acid composition of seed oil were determined. Oil content of the sample was determined by soxhlet apparatus as 26.10% in dried sample. Fatty acid composition was analyzed by GC-MS and seven fatty acids were identified and their ratios were determined in this seed oil. The main fatty acid was determined as α-eleostearic (45.60%). The other fatty acids were palmitic (3.69%), stearic (28.00%), oleic (12.45%), linoleic (8.90%), arachidic (0.71%) and gadoleic acids (0.65%). Keywords : Momordica charantia, Bitter melon, Seed oil