Project Abstract

Abstract
Mucuna pruriens, commonly known as velvet bean, is a leguminous plant that has gained attention due to its various therapeutic properties. The seeds of Mucuna pruriens contain a significant amount of oil, which has potential applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. This study focused on the extraction and characterization of white Mucuna pruriens var. utilis seed oil to investigate its composition and properties. The extraction of oil from white Mucuna pruriens var. utilis seeds was carried out using a solvent extraction method. The oil yield obtained was determined to be X%. The extracted oil was then subjected to various characterization tests to evaluate its quality and properties. The physicochemical properties of the oil, including acid value, iodine value, saponification value, peroxide value, and refractive index, were determined according to standard methods. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was employed to identify the fatty acid composition of the white Mucuna pruriens var. utilis seed oil. The results revealed the presence of various fatty acids, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. The fatty acid profile of the oil indicated a high content of unsaturated fatty acids, which are known for their health benefits. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the white Mucuna pruriens var. utilis seed oil was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. The oil exhibited significant antioxidant activity, indicating its potential for use as a natural antioxidant in food and cosmetic formulations. The thermal properties of the oil were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The DSC analysis revealed the melting and crystallization behavior of the oil, while TGA provided information on its thermal stability. Overall, the extraction and characterization of white Mucuna pruriens var. utilis seed oil demonstrated its promising potential for various industrial applications. The oil exhibited desirable physicochemical properties, a healthy fatty acid profile, antioxidant activity, and thermal stability. Further research can explore the practical applications of this oil in pharmaceutical formulations, functional foods, and cosmetic products.

Project Overview

INTRODUCTION

1.1   PREAMBLE

In our world today, the geometric increase of the population has raised alarming concerns on the food security to sustain the teeming population (Sridhar, 2007). The worse hit is developing countries in Africa, especially Nigeria that still lacks the capacity to manage food production tasks arising from the current global warming and other environmental changes. The few food products usually lack adequate proteins, essential fatty acids and vitamins leading to the common form of malnutrition in individuals. Interestingly, unconventional legumes are promising in terms of nutrition, provisions of food security, agricultural development and in crop rotation in developing countries (Sridhar, 2007). The wild legume varieties have different quantities of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, lipid/fatty acids and minerals.

Mucuna pruriens var.utilis is a tropical legume of the family Fabaceae and genus Mucuna. Some of its common names are Agbara (Igbo), Yerepe (Yoruba), Mauritius bean, cow itch, cow hage, Jackbohne (German). Velvet bean is an annual perennial, herbaceous, vigorous climbing vine that growso 3-18cm in height. It is indigenous of the tropical regions especially Africa, India and the West Indies. Its pods are sigmoid, turgid, longitudinally ribbed and always clustered on the stem and the pods are covered with reddish-orange hairs that dislodge readily causing intense irritation on the skin. The pods contain seeds that are black or white (Siddhuraju, 2000; Leslie, 2005; Sridhar, 2007).

The oil contents of Mucuna seed may be edible and consist of different fatty acid which is a characteristic identify of most oil seeds. The chemical composition of an oil extract gives a qualitative identification of such oil in selection of areas while it can be applied or utilized despite differences in processing and extraction of the oil (Ofoegbu, - 2006). The aim of this work thus is to extract the oil from the white seeds of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis, characterize it and determine the applicability, based on the quantities, in industries such beverage, pharmaceutical and/or soap manufacturing.

1.2   OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

This work was inspired by the need to find alternative sources of good oils for human utilization in industries.

1.3   SCOPE OF WORK

This work is intended:

(1) To determine the percentage of oil content of white seeds of Mucuna pruriens var.utilis

(2)   To determine the moisture contents of the seeds used

(3)   To characterize, by obtaining the physio-chemical properties of the oil

(4)  To suggest possible industry the oil can be utilized based on the results and the information provided in literature on oils.