Abstract:
The constituents in the seed oil of Aleurites moluccana (Tel-kekuna) were investigated for
finding out the cytotoxic compounds and the preparation of biodiesel. It was found that the
oil of the seeds contain four main compounds and some minor compounds. Those were
identified as triterpenoids and tryglycerids of fatty acids and triterpenoids. The mixture of
seed oil tested for cytotoxic effect. The cytotoxity was investigated using mosquito larval
assay and the seed oil showed significant cytotoxic activity toward mosquito larvae. The
seed oil was tested for the finding possibility of using as an illuminating agent for domestic
use. It was noticed that seed oil having good illuminating power. According that, the
experiment was further extended to find the possibility of making biodiesel from the seed
oil. For that, the triglycerides in the oil were converted into biodiesel via saphonification
followed by esterification with methanol. It was satisfactory and the formed biodiesel was
analyzed using TLC method and Infra-red spectroscophy.
