Preliminary studies of the seed of Aleurites moluccana to findout the cytotoxic compounds and the preparation of biodiesel.

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.