Fruit oil composition and characteristics of two spurge species of Turkish origin

Content and characteristics of the triglyceride fruit oils of two spurge (Euphorbia L.) subspecies, namely E. glaerosa Pallas ex Bieb. (var. lasiocarpa Boiss.) and E. niciciana Borbas ex Novak, were investigated. For both taxa, oil content of the capsules enclosing the seeds ranged between 15.7 and 16.4% on dry basis, while the decapsulated seeds contained 33.0-34.0% oil, also on dry basis. The average saponification, iodine and acid values were 192, 190 and 6.0, respectively; linolenic acid was detected as the major constituent fatty acid. Consequently, these seed oils are characterized as typical drying oils.