NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF DETOXIFIED KARANJA (PONGAMIA-GLABRA) OIL

Fatty acid composition of crude karanja (Pongamia glabra) oil resemble s groundnut oil but it contains some toxic phenolic compounds, like ka ranjin and pongamol. Removal of these phenolic compounds prior to edib le use is therefore important. Nutritional quality of the refined kara nja oil (detoxified by isopropanol extraction, bleaching and deodoriza tion) has been investigated in rats by feeding this oil where groundnu t oil has been used as control. These two oils were fed at a 20% level in each group in an 18% protein and 55% starch diet for six weeks. Th e refined karanja oil was observed to be utilized in an identical mann er to that of groundnut oil as revealed by growth of rats, food effici ency ratio and the lipid profile of serum and liver tissues.