TITLE:
A Chemotaxonomic Approach to the Fatty Acid Content of Some Acacia Taxa from Central Sudan
AUTHORS:
Eiman Mohammed Ali Mustafa, Hatil Hashim El-Kamali
KEYWORDS:
Fatty Acid Profile, Acacia Taxa, Taxonomic Marker, Pairing Affinity, Seeds, Sudan
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.1,
January
22,
2016
ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the composition of fatty
acids of mature seeds of some Acacia taxa (Acacia mellifera, A. nilotica ssp. adansonia, A. nilotica ssp. nilotica, A. oerfota, A. polycantha ssp. campylacantha, A. enegal var. senegal, A. seyal var. seyal and A. sieberiana var. sieberiana) from Central Sudan in
order to reveal their potential classification to be used as taxonomic markers.
Results showed that Acacia seed oils were mainly unsaturated fatty acids
ranging in content between 51.20% to 86.90%, whereas, saturated fatty acids
ranged between 12.49% to 48.80%. Oleic acid was the major fatty acid 24.24% - 80.19%,
followed by linoleic (5.70% - 58.73%). Palmiticacid was the dominant saturated
fatty acid 12.39% - 19.2%, followed by stearic acid 0.0% - 34.52%. The results
showed some relationships between the Acacia taxa with respect to fatty
acid contents. Acacia seed oils showed a remarkable uniformity in terms
of their higher content of oleic acid and linoleic acid. It is proposed that
this can be of chemo-taxonomical interest and their quantities may indicate
closer or more distant relationships between the considered taxa. The highest
degree of pairing affinity was observed between A. oerfota and A.
mellifera (92.58%), followed by A. oerfota and A. sieberiana (89.93%) and between A. niloticas sp. adansonia and A. sieberiana (88.54%). Hence
it is suggested that A. mellifera and A. sieberiana are the
most closely related, as also A. oerfota and A. senegal.