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Oil Content Variation and Physico-Chemical Properties of Jatropha Curcus Seed Oil Collected from Kumaun Region of Uttarakhand, India

Archana Joshi, P. K. Singhal and R. K. Bachheti

Jatropha curcas L. is considered to have originated in Latin America, and is presently grown throughout the arid and semi-arid tropical and subtropical regions of the world. To study the oil content variation and physico-chemical properties of Jatropha curcus seed were collected from various districts of Kumaun. The oil contents of the seeds range from 30-44.4%. The maximum oil content was 44.4% found in seeds collected from Almora, while minimum was 30.0% in the seeds collected from Udham Singh (US) Nagar. The physico-chemical properties of the oil such as acid value, iodine value and saponification value are in the range of 5.75 to 15.53, 90.50-113.63 and 175.20-196.67, respectively. Microclimatic data of different district was also estimated which shows that soil pH ranges from 6.5-7.4, soil temperature vary from 22.2-27.5 and soil moisture vary from 21.3-33.0%. The characteristics of the seed oils studied compared favorably with other research studies