evaluation of physicochemical properties of nettle leaf oil

in this project, different nettle plants from north regions of iran including tonekabon, amol and gorgan were collected. the oil was extracted using soxhlet extraction apparatus and was subjected to series of physical and chemical tests and determinations consisting of refractive index, melting point, smoke point, nonsaponifiable matter, iodine value, saponification value, peroxide value, totox value, acid values, kreis test and fatty acids composition. among the samples collected the one obtained from gorgan had the highest oil content. fatty acid analysis of the extracted oils indicated a high degree of unsaturation where linolenic acid accounted for 28.7 % of the total fatty acids with an unusual concentration of c17:0. the oil also showed a high concentration of nonsaponifiable matter where the sterol constituted the major part of this fraction.