Abstract: The contents of fatty acids, tocopherol and sterol in Moringa oleifera seed oils from eight areas in Yunnan province were analyzed. The differences in the fat-soluble functional components of the eight M. oleifera seed oils were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). The results showed that a total of 20 fatty acids were found in these M. oleifera seed oils, mainly oleic acid (50.16%–56.51%), docosanoic acid (7.01%–12.03%), palmitic acid (4.91%–9.51%), stearic acid (6.76%–9.61%) and arachian acid (5.12%–7.24%), with unsaturated fatty acids accounting for 65.39% of the total fatty acids. The samples of M. oleifera seed oil all contained α-tocopherol (45–80 mg/100 g), δ-tocopherol (0.21–0.53 mg/100 g), and stigmasterol (243–495 mg/100 g). The results of PCA and CA showed that the compositions of functional components of the eight M. oleifera seed oil samples were similar, which fell into two distinct clusters according to different contents of functional components. The M. oleifera seed oil from Jinghong city, Xishuangbanna prefecture gained the highest comprehensive score, indicating a wide application prospect. This study provides data support and a scientific basis for further development of M. oleifera resources in Yunnan province.

Key words: Moringa oleifera seeds; fatty acid composition; tocopherol; sterol; principal component analysis; cluster analysis