Fatty acids profile and phytochemical activity of Borassus flabellifer and Nypa fruticans mesocarp oil in Bangladesh

In this present study, the extracted oil from the mesocarp fibers was characterized by the determination of iodine, free fatty acid, ester and acid value found in a reasonable range which contained a remarkable amount of fatty acids. The Reichert-Meissl values were found zero indicating the lower rancidity properties of these oils. B. flabellifer crude oil contains lauric, tetradecanoic, palmitic, palmitoleic, octadecanoic, cis-9-oleic, linoleic, linolenic, docosanoic acid whereas the N. fruticans contains the same fatty acids with an extra arachidic, except palmitic acid. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannin, phenolic, and flavonoid content for both samples. Antioxidant results showed that the IC50 for B. flabellifer was lower than N. fruticans suggesting that the B. flabellifer was more effective than N. fruticans as a preservative which might be due to the presence of phenolic and flavonoid contents that could be used as potential medicinal and preservative agents.