Catalpa seed (Catalpa bignonioides), rich source of conjugated linolenic acid

Recent studies on physiological functions of oils containing conjugated linolenic acid (CLN)، are indicative of the possible usefulness of these oils as a new type of the functional oils. In this study، the physicochemical properties of catalpa seed oil (Catalpa bignonioides)، the source of conjugated linolenic acid، were investigated. Firstly، the seed composition was determined. It mainly consisted of protein (30. 46%) and oil (12. 74%). The oil was extracted by soxhelet method and fatty acids profile was determined by gas chromatography (GC). The predominant fatty acid was linoleic acid (40. 48%) followed by catalpic acid (27. 08%) and oleic acid (10. 50%). The results showed that catalpa seed has high considerable oil which is rich in conjugated linolenic acid.