Tropical fruits a source of lipids

There are other more descriptive methods that are sometimes used to differentiate between tropical and subtropical plants. Plants that will not grow at temperatures below 5°C can be considered strictly tropical. In addition, those plants that are found in the temperature zone where coconut palms flourish are considered tropical while those found in the temperature zone where oranges thrive are considered subtropical (Popenoe, 1974). 

Many countries located in the temperate zone have turned an envious eye to the tropics as a source of additional food resources. Because of improved transportation and preservation techniques, direct imports are a very convenient procedure for obtaining these food items. A second procedure that has been successfully implemented in a few cases is the transplantation of tropical plants for cultivation in northern regions with subtropical conditions such as Southern California and Florida. The banana and coconut are examples of fruits that have been exploited on a large scale. The avocado is gaining greater recognition as a food crop for export and the plant itself is being introduced into areas with more temperate climates. 

Kamel et al. (eds.), Technological Advances in Improved and Alternative Sources of Lipids Chapman Hall 1994 

It is an unfortunate fact that many inhabitants of tropical countries suffer from lack of fresh fruits and real starvation in densely populated hot regions such as India may be averted by the cultivation of high food value fruit trees such as avocado and mango on a large scale. The utilization of the fruit by-products such as kernel or seeds can also contribute a significant amount of edible oil and protein to the diets of native people. A number of research groups have begun a systematic search for new sources of fat and oils for supplementation of traditional oils or imported oils. These new and novel sources of oil may find uses not only for edible purposes but also for industrial raw material and as the base stock for cosmetic formulations. 

Due to the scarcity of edible oil on the world market and the consequent high prices, many countries cannot afford the foreign exchange to purchase large quantities of this commodity. Therefore, many developing countries have initiated extensive research programs to identify new 

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TROPICAL fruits A SOURCE OF LIPIDS Table 5.4 Fatty acid composition and glyceride structure... 

A comprehensive listing of all tropical fruits that have been characterized for their lipid content and fatty acid composition would be impossible but Table 5.1 gives a reasonable overview of the potential for oil recovery from a wide variety of fruits harvested from lesser known tropical plants. The seed kernel is the main source of the oil and in some cases can be quite substantial. A few of these seeds contain over 60% fat. 

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