ACER TATARICUM L. SEEDS - A NEW CONVENIENT SOURCE OF GAMMA-LINOLENIC ACID

SUMMARY This research was motivated by the therapeutic benefits of gammalinolenic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid with limited occurrence in plants. Seeds of the tatarian maple (Acer tataricum L.) a widespread member of the natural Romanian flora, were analysed in a search for a new, convenient source of gamma-linolenic acid. Physicochemical study of the fatty oil obtained from the seeds established the fatty oil seed content (gravimetric method), refractive index, relative density, acidity, iodine and saponification values (official methods), and the fatty acid and phytosterol profiles (GC–MS). Tatarian maple seeds were found to contain an important amount of fatty oil (14.28–15.50%) with a high level of unsaturated fatty acids (93.89%). The essential fatty acids identified in this oil were linoleic (34.87%), gamma-linolenic (6.01%), and alpha-linolenic acids (1.04%). Stigmasterol (1.65%), beta-sitosterol (1.15%), and squalene (0.20%) were also identified. Because the not very large amount of gamma-linolenic acid in the seed oil is balanced by the natural abundance of the plant, the seeds of Acer tataricum could be regarded as a new convenient alternative source of this rare and valuable compound.