The column temperature initially at 160C was increased at the rate of 3C/min and maintained at 226C for 12 min. The individual fatty acids were identified by frequent comparisons with authentic standards and calculated on a Varian 4270 integrator.All fatty acid methyl ester standards and heptadecanoic acid were purchased from Nuchek laboratories. Solvents used were of analytical grade and contained 25 mg butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) per litre. The fatty acid composition was expressed as percentage of the total oil.