Chemical investigation of oil from Psoralea corylifolia Linn.

Desert Plant Analysis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, J. N. Y. University, Jodhpur-342 001, India

Manuscript received 5 December 2003, accepted 22 July 2004

We report here the analysis of the oil obtained from the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia by identifying the individual saturated fatty acids namely Behenic, Palmitic, Stearic, Lignoceric while the unsaturated were Oleic, Linolenic and Linoleic. The overall percentage of each was also analysed with saturated being on 38.5% and unsaturated 61.4% respectively. The unsaponifiable material showed the presence of a sterol stigmasterol.