Abstract :
[en] African wild mango (Irvingia gabonensis) is recognized for its numerous food and medicinal uses (Leakey et al., 2005). This plant produces seeds rich in fat, which is traditionally used as a soup thickener (Adeyeye & Kenni, 2011; Kayode et al., 2010; Leakey et al., 2005). In the present study, fat from I. gabonensis seeds was solvent extracted and characterized. Melting and crystallization behaviour of the extracted fat was studied by pNMR, DSC and X-ray diffraction in order to get basic information regarding its physical properties and more particularly, about its polymorphism and its applicability in food industries.
Results of this investigation showed that this seed represent an important source of lipids (69-75 g/100 g), rich in myristic (49.8 g/100 g) and lauric acid (37 g/100 g). Due to his high saturated fatty acids content, I. gabonensis fat (IGF) presents a high SFC (solid fat content) at room temperature. The melting profiles of IGF can be compared to that of cocoa butter, but the melting point of IGF is higher, even after tempering, which has moreover no effect on IGF properties. This fat remains solid at temperatures up to 30°C and the complete melting was detected at around 40°C. The most stable polymorph of this fat is the β’1-form, even after tempering and storage. Due to this high melting point, IGF could be used in fat blends, as hard stock, for structured product formulation (i.e margarine, shortenings and cacao butter substitute).
