TOCOPHEROL AND TOCOTRIENOL COMPOSITION OF SEED OILS OF SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF THE APIACEAE FAMILY

Fatty oils of a number of species from the family Apiaceae are obtained as the by-products of essential oil production from Apiaceae seeds. These oils contain high levels of petroselinic acid and some of these plant species, for example Coriandrum, have been used in plant breeding as a renewable resource. The fatty oils, however, also contain high levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols, a main component being gamma-tocotrienol. Because of this, the seed oils of fennel and other Apiaceae show a high oxidative stability. The tocopherol and tocotrienol composition of these seed oils was investigated using HPLC on silica columns with fluorescence detection. Some of these oils contained total tocopherol levels that were higher than those of germs oils.