Project Abstract

Abstract
Mucuna pruriens var. utilis, commonly known as white mucuna, is a leguminous plant that has gained attention for its various pharmacological properties. Among its components, the seed oil of white mucuna has shown potential for use in different industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food. This study focuses on the extraction and characterization of white mucuna pruriens var. utilis seed oil to understand its composition and properties. The extraction of seed oil was carried out using a solvent extraction method, followed by a series of purification steps to obtain a pure oil sample. The oil was then subjected to various analytical techniques for characterization. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to identify the fatty acid composition of the oil. The results revealed the presence of essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid, which are known for their beneficial effects on human health. Further characterization of the seed oil included determining its physicochemical properties such as density, viscosity, and refractive index. These parameters are crucial for assessing the quality and potential applications of the oil. Additionally, the oxidative stability of the oil was evaluated through tests such as peroxide value and iodine value. Understanding the oxidative stability of the oil is essential for predicting its shelf life and suitability for different industrial uses. The antioxidant activity of white mucuna pruriens var. utilis seed oil was also investigated using various assays such as DPPH scavenging activity and total phenolic content determination. Antioxidants play a key role in preventing oxidative damage in biological systems, making them valuable for applications in pharmaceuticals and food products. The results demonstrated significant antioxidant potential in the seed oil, indicating its possible use in functional foods or nutraceutical formulations. In conclusion, the extraction and characterization of white mucuna pruriens var. utilis seed oil have provided valuable insights into its composition and properties. The presence of essential fatty acids and antioxidant activity make this oil a promising candidate for various industrial applications. Further studies on its bioactivity and potential health benefits could open up new opportunities for utilizing white mucuna seed oil in different sectors.

Project Overview

1.0   PREAMBLE

1.1   INTRODUCTION

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.

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

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 physicochemical 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.