Chemical composition and fatty acid profile of several Mexican wild lupins

Abstract

We have performed chemical proximate analysis and determined the oil fatty acid profile of seeds from Lupinus mexicanus Cerv. ex Lag., Lupinus exaltatus Zucc., Lupinus montanus H.B.K. and Lupinus stipulatus J. Agardh collected at various locations in four Mexican states. Protein and fiber content from lupin seeds ranged from 334 to 467 and 106 to 172 g/kg on dry weight basis, respectively. The oil content fluctuated from 57 g/kg for L. mexicanus to 115 g/kg for L. montanus. All lupin oils contained a high concentration of palmitic acid (C16:0) and linoleic acid (C18:2), ranging from 175 to 287 and 324 to 517 g/kg, respectively. The ratio of oleic (C18:1) to linoleic (C18:2) acid and total saturated to total unsaturated fatty acids ranged from 0.22 to 0.5 and 1.5 to 3.3, respectively. Erucic acid (C22:1) was not present in any of the lupin oils analyzed while eicosanoic acid (C20:0) was found only in L. mexicanus (Manalisco). Behenic acid (C22:0) was found in all oil samples of L. montanus, L. stipulatus and L. mexicanus oils. Thus, we conclude that the oil content and fatty acid profile of the Mexican lupins studied are similar to those already reported for most lupin oils, except for the absence of erucic acid and greater palmitic acid concentration found in our samples. © 2001 Academic Press.