4. Conclusion
Fat and oil extracts of rambutan (N. lappaceum) seeds
are potential material inputs for industrial food and
cosmetic applications. Rambutan fat and oil extracts in the
present study contained mainly palmitic (7.39 vs 10.33%),
stearic (16.58 vs 12.21%), arachidic (12.34 vs 16.22%) and
behenic (8.91 vs 6.53%) as SFA, oleic (52.18 vs 50.17%)
as MUFA, and linolenic (2.02 vs 3.04%) as PUFA. The
oral administration of rambutan seed fat and oil extracts at
dose levels up to 5,000 mg/kg bodyweight did not affect
body weight. In the study of dermal irritation, there were
no irritant effects on skin with rambutan seed fat and oil
extracts. Examining dermal toxicity with the application of
fat and oil extracts at dose level of 2,000 mg/kg
bodyweight to rats did not result in a significant change in
body weight. There were no treatment-related deaths or
any toxic effects in all animals until the terminal necropsy.
Findings of the present study are not possible to compare
with data of other investigators because there are no reports
on toxicity studies on rambutan seed fat and oil extracts. In
summary, these results suggest that rambutan seed fat and
oil extracts are practically non-toxic. This data provides a
basis of toxicity information for the use of rambutan seed
fat and oil extracts.