Chemical composition and fatty acid profiles of oils from Panda oleosa and seeds: A comparative study using NMR spectroscopy

The oils of two underused Guinean oilseed species, Panda oleosa and Treculia africana, are compared for the first time in this study.Dichloromethane-based Soxhlet extraction produced 20.1% for T. africana and 28.6% for P. oleosa.Chromatographic examination showed that triacylglycerols dominated comparable patterns.Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (¹H, ¹³C and Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer [DEPT]) identified fatty acid types, revealed complex aliphatic chains, and confirmed the glyceridic structure.Quantitative ¹H NMR analysis, based on integrated signal areas rather than on chemical-shift position, revealed pronounced compositional differences between the two oils.P. oleosa oil is dominated by monounsaturated fatty acids (96.0%), with only trace saturated fatty acid content (4.0%) and no detectable polyunsaturated fatty acids, giving it thermal stability comparable to olive oil.T. africana oil shows a more balanced profile, with 37.2% polyunsaturated, 27.6% monounsaturated and 35.2% saturated fatty acids, suggesting it may be a valuable source of essential fatty acids.These contrasting profiles indicate divergent biosynthetic pathways between the two species and offer promising opportunities for the economic and nutritional valorization of these tropical oils.