evaluation of the non saponifiable matter of oils extracted from nine varieties of sunflower seeds

abstract: in this study the non-saponifiable matter of oils extracted from nine varieties of sunflower seed were subjected a series of chemical tests. the non-saponifiable matters were fractionated into a number of chemical classes of compounds namely sterols, 4 methyl sterols, triterpene alcohols, tocopherols and hydrocarbons. the two major and important classes of compounds consisting of sterols and tocopherols were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively. the results indicated that 1-tocopherol and 2-sitosterol were the predominant tocopherol and sterol respectively. zaria variety was evaluated as the superior variety in respect of tocopherol concentration and lacumca variety in respect of sterol concentration. keywords:nonsaponifiable matter, sunflower, sterol, tocopherol.