NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION OF THE FRUIT OFDACRYODES EDULIS(G. DON) H.J. LAM

Abstract
One of the greatest constraints to increased commercialisation of safou, the fruit of Dacryodes edulis (G.Don) H.J. Lam, is its perishability. In this paper we report briefly on research in Gabon, which found that the pectins are the only class of polysaccharides involved in the safou softening process. We also report on studies into the chemical constituents of the pulp and seed oils which might provide alternative marketable products. In Congo-Brazzaville, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of triacylglycerols (TAGs) identified two major TAGs in the seed oil (PPO>POO), and confirmed the five major TAGs in the pulp oil (PPO>POO>PPL >POL>PLL). In Kinshasa, three Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) systems (for analysis of total lipids, TAGs and fatty acids) were proposed to allow for rapid identification of the safou oils and to detect eventual falsifications.