Fats of Pig and Beef from Benin: Purification, Stability Study, Chemical and Nutritional Composition

Animal fats, are used in several western countries in industrial sectors as energy, oleochemistry, animal and human feed but stay under-utilized through Africa. The aim of the present study was to purify and stabilize fats of Bos taurus Linnaeus (BTL) and Sus scrofa domesticus Erxleben (SSDE) from Benin for various uses. Fats from BTL and SSDE were purified using local reagents, for the first time in Benin. The physicochemical properties, nutritional composition and the fatty acid profile were determined, with also, their preserving times. The GC/FID analyzes shown that 100 g of purified BTL fat contained 65.76% of saturated fatty acids (SFA), 31.83% of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and 2.41% of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). In the SSDE fat, 48.57% of SFA, 38.59% of MUFA and 12.84% of PUFA were obtained. The studied fats were rich in unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) such as oleic acid (34% and 26% and for SSDE and BTL respectively) and linoleic acid (11% and 1% for SSDE and BTL respectively). Their major saturated acids were palmitic and stearic acids, with respectively 25% and 35% for BTL fat and 25% and 21% for SSDE fat. The physicochemical parameters such as acid, peroxide, iodine and saponification indexes of the two fats were in agreement with the Codex Stan 211 (1999) recommendations, during all the conservation time. The preserving times of the two purified fats varied according to the temperature of conservation. These purified fats, with interesting physicochemical properties, could be used in agri-food, energy, oleochemistry, cosmetology.