CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION Oil belongs to the body of lipids which is a broad group of naturally occurring hydrophobic molecules that contain carbon. They include fats, waxes, sterols, fats-soluble vitamins, etc. This is divided into saturated and unsaturated fatty acid. Saturated fatty acids are known as fats usually obtained from animals while oil belonging to the unsaturated group is usually gotten from plants.Crysophyllum albidum (White Star Apple) is a plant grown in the mid-Africa particularly in Nigeria, Cameroon, etc. Crysophyllum albidum (G. Don) is a tropical edible fruit tree. It belongs to the family sapotaceae which has up to 800 species and make up almost half the order Ebernales[1]. Okigbo[2] and Okafor[3] reported that a few species of Crysophyllum grow in the boarder regions between the forest and Savanna in Nigeria. The plants as reported by Bada[4], can be found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’ Ivoire, Uganda and Niger republic. The species is called different names depending on the locality. The table below shows some locality and names of the species.
SOME LOCALITIES AND THE SPECIE’S NAMES.
LOCALITY NAME IgboYorubaEdoScientific Name UdalaAgbalumoOtienChrysophyllum albidum(G.Don)
Flowering is usually from April to June. The flowers are sessile and occur in clusters in the leaf axils of the fruiting branch. The fruits are normally January to March but the fruit have been seen recently in November.
Fruiting branch of C. albidum
.