Characteristics of crude oils from black cumin seeds

Crni kim je jedna od biljnih vrsta čije sjemenke sadrže ulje bogato nezasićenim masnim kiselinama. Zbog njegovog sastava (prvenstveno sastava masnih kiselina, visokog udjela linolne i oleinske masne kiseline) te aktivnih komponenti kao što je timokinon, ulju crnog kima pripisuju se ljekovita svojstva što ga čini zanimljivim za daljnja istraživanja. Cilj rada je odrediti osnovne parametre kvalitete sjemena crnog kima uzgajanog u različitim geografskim podnebljima te odrediti sastav masnih kiselina proizvedenog sirovog ulja crnog kima. Za istraživanje korišteno je sjeme crnog kima uzgajano u Italiji, Egiptu, Turskoj, Iranu i Hrvatskoj. Sjeme crnog kima sadrži u prosjeku 8 % vode te 29 % ulja. Dominantna masna kiselina u ulju crnog kima je linolna masna kiselina, a u značajnim udjelima još su prisutne i oleinska, palmitinska, stearinska i eikosadienska masna kiselina. Zemlja uzgoja crnog kima značajno utječe na udjel ulja u sjemenu, ali i na njegov sastav.Black cumin is one of the plant species whose seeds contain oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Because of its composition (primarily fatty acid composition, high amounts of linoleic and oleic fatty acids) and the active compounds such as thymokinone, black cumin oil is associated with healing properties making it interesting for further research. The aim of this paper was to determine the quality of black cumin seeds grown at various geographic areas and to determine and compare fatty acid composition of the crude oils produced from these seeds. Seeds grown in Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Croatia were analyzed. Black cumin seeds contain 8 % of moisture and 29 % of oil in average. The dominant fatty acid of produced oils was linoleic fatty acid, followed by oleic, palmitic, stearic and eicosadienoic fatty acid. Growing area of black cumin seeds significantly affects amount of oil and also composition of the oil in the seeds