Cuphea Seed Oil as a Potential Alternative Natural Source of Medium-chain Triglycerides used for Healthier Cooking Applications

Abstract

Cuphea is a potential new oilseed crop for temperate regions of the USA.  It produces and stores in its seeds medium chain length fatty acids, which currently are derived commercially from seeds of tropical palms. Cuphea seeds contain more than 30% of oil rich in medium-chain fatty acids, caprylic, capric, lauric, and myristic fatty acids  (C8:0-C14:0). .   In this paper, we through the light on Cuphea seed oils as the only naturally cultivated seed oils that contain the most prominent Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT).  MCTs oils are trended in the last 20 years as the healthier dietary oil which is essentially nontoxic, noncarcinogenic, and nonmutagenic for human consumption. MCTs are readily hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes, and the fatty acid end products are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream [1]. The gross energy content of MCTs is 8.3 kcal/g vs 9 kcal/g for fat or Long-chain triglycerides oils    (LCTs oils).  The objective of this study was to introduce to the global edible oils industries an innovative potential natural healthier edible oil which contains that majority of its triglyceride compositions is based on medium-chain glycerides (MCT) with avoiding any chemical conversion process to get the MCT rich oils from tropical oils. It will be a basis for a lot of further researches to make its characteristics fulfilling all other nutritional and application needs of healthy cooking applications better than conventional seed or tropical oils.