Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 March 2012
Introduction. Olea ferruginea Royle, generally knownas Indian olive, grows widely in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Kumaun upto an altitude of 2400 m. It is a multipurpose, zero-waste, evergreentree species. It yields a number of useful items including qualityfodder, firewood and edible fruits. The leaves, bark, roots, fruitsand seeds of this plant are used for treatment of various diseases.The fruits are also a source of olive oil. However, to the bestof our knowledge, no study has been carried out to determine theolive oil contents of the fruits and seeds of O. ferruginea andthe quality of the oils. Materials and methods. Therefore, investigationswere undertaken to determine the olive oil contents and the qualityof the oils in the fruits and seeds in terms of fatty acid composition.Four populations of O. ferruginea (Kolibehar, Saioond and Kais fromthe Kullu district, and Thalaut from the Mandi district of HimachalPradesh) were selected as the sources of fruits and seeds. Resultsand discussion. The selected sites differed in respect to theirgeographical characteristics. The olive oil content was considerablyhigher in the fruits than in the seeds. The olive oil contents inthe fruits varied from 20.67% to 27.40%, with the Thalaut population exhibitingthe highest oil content. The olive oil content in the seeds variedfrom 7.5% to 12.5%; the oil content was the lowest in fruits ofthe Saioond population and the highest in the Thalaut population.In all the populations, monounsaturated oleic acid was predominant;oleic acid ranged from 61.6% to 66.9% in the fruit oil and 64.4%to 67.2% in the seed oil. Differences in the fatty acid compositionbetween the seed and fruit oils were also seen. Conclusion. Ourstudy suggests that the fruits of O. ferruginea may be a potentialsource of olive oil. Thus, sustainable use of this potential ofthe tree could be useful in the socio-economic development and environmental conservationof the areas where it grows.