The stillingia oil and tallow from the seeds of
Sapium sebiferum Roxb., have been studied for their component fatty acids and component glycerides. The fatty acids composition was determined
by Twitchell's lead-salt-alcohol method followed by systematic fractionation of the methyl esters under high vacuum. The glyceridic
composition of the stillingia oil has been examined by permanganate-oxidation and bromination methods whereas the composition
of the glycerides of the stillingia tallow was arrived at by using the low-temperature crystallization technique.
The component fatty acids of the stillingia oil have been found to consist of caprylic (1.5%), capric (1.0%), myristic (0.97%),
palmitic (2.8%), stearic (1.0%), oleic (9.4%), linoleic (53.4%), and linolenic (30.0%); the latter two are the major constituents.
The glycerides of the oil were found to consist of disaturated-mono-linolein (7.9%), mono-saturated-dilinolein (7.9%), mono-oleo-di-linolein
(6.1%), monolinoleno-di-linolein (45.7%), mono-linoleo-di-linolenin (10.7%), mono-oleo-di-linolenin (3.3%), and oleo-linoleo-linolenin
(18.4%).
The fatty acids composition of the stillingia tallow was found to be lauric (0.3%), myristic (4.2%), palmitic (62.3%), stearic
(5.9%), and oleic (27.4%). The component glycerides were found to be trisaturated (31.2%), disaturated monounsaturated (64.0%)
and monsaturated, diunsaturated (4.8%).