SOXHLET EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF OIL FROM CANARIUM SCHWEINFURTHII (BLACK DATE) FRUITS FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSE

The fruits of canarium schweinfurthii are good source of oil, which can be extracted for various purposes. Extraction and characterization of oil from canarium schweinfurthii (Black date) fruits was achieved using solvent extraction method. The use of soxhlet extraction (Solvent extraction) gave a reasonable percentage of oil (51.2%) by weight in grams. Black date fruits contain high quality of oil. It contains fatty acid composed of oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and others. The extracted and characterized oil has: density of 0.87g/cm3, specific gravity of 0.87g/cm3, flash point of 111?C , viscosity of 36cp at 29?C, saponification value of 125.4 mg/KOH/gram of oil, iodine value of 88.I2/100g of oil, peroxide value of 0.72ml/g of oil and free fatty acid content of 1.26%. These values are very close to those of the recommended codex standard for vegetable oil. Furthermore, the studied characteristics of the oil extracted shows that it may be used for many domestic and industrial purposes.