TOCOPHEROL AND FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION OF SOME INDIAN PULSES

The tocopherol and tocotrienol composition of the Indian pulses Bengal gram (Cicer arietinum L.), blackgram (Vigna mungo L.), green gram (Vi gna radiata L.), and horse gram (Dolichos biflorus L.) were studied. T he total tocopherol content ranged from 230 to 1567 mg/100 g fat, whil e the tocopherol content of the pulses as a whole ranged from 6.76 to 12.54 mg/100 g seed. Presence of such a high amount of tocopherol, bot h in the oil fraction of Indian pulses and in an oil fraction of a foo d material, is being reported for the first time. The fatty acid compo sition of the fat extracted from these pulses showed substantial amoun ts of unsaturated fatty acids (Bengal gram, 88.7%; black gram, 82.9%; green gram, 64.3%; and horse gram, 66.9%). These pulses contained 3.8 to 49.1% linolenic acid in the fat.