Fatty acid composition of total lipids from some tropical storage organs

The fatty acids of the total lipid extracts made from 10 tropical storage organs (Alocasia macrorrhiza, Colocasia esculenta, Dioscorea alata, D. bulbifera, D. cayensis, D. rotundata, Ipomea batatas , etc.) were studied. The high occurrence of the C 18 unsaturated fatty acids (linoleate and linolenate which together contributed over 50 % on average of the total fatty acids), conferred a high level of unsaturation on almost species. Compared with similar storage organs of temperate regions, there was a definite reduction in the degree of unsaturation. This was brought about by a general increase in the intrinsic values of palmitate and oleate.