effect of mycoflora associated during the seed storage on quantity and quality of jatropha curcas l.oil

Research Article
Seweta Srivastava*, Vinit Pratap Singh, Gorakh Nath Gupta, Ravindra Kumar, Asha Sinha and Vandana Srivastava
DOI: 
xxx-xxxx-xxx
Subject: 
science
KeyWords: 
Bio-fuel, Jatropha curcas, mycoflora, seeds, storage
Abstract: 

Jatropha curcas L. is a wonder plant with a variety of applications and enormous economic potentials. Oil from the seeds can be used as alternative fuel and for making biodiesel which aims to overcome energy crisis problems. The objective of the present study is to quantify the Jatropha oil after fungal infestation during storage. Oil was extracted from fresh, stored and infested Jatropha seeds. Seeds were infested with six dominant fungi viz. Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium chlamydosporum and Penicillium glabrum as well as fresh seeds were used for the extraction of Jatropha oil. The seeds were powdered and extracted thoroughly with light petroleum ether (60-80°C) in a Soxhlet extractor for 24-48 h in each case. Fresh seeds produced 47.189% oil while stored Jatropha curcas L.L. seeds showed decline in their oil content. The present study also revealed that oil content of Jatropha curcas L.L. was declined due to infestation of seed mycoflora and it is also the main cause of deterioration of seeds during storage.