No abstract

Candlenut (Aleurites moluccana L) is a native plant of Indonesia and one of the six spices with the highest export value. Candlenut is one of the nutraceutical ingredients, used as raw material for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Candlenut is used as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory and has benefits in healing burns. The result of processed candlenut seeds, namely candlenut oil is rich in omega 3 unsaturated fatty acids which are anti-aging and strengthen and repair hair exposed to radiation. The problem faced in producing candlenut oil is the low yield and quality of the oil which is indicated by the brownish color of the oil and the long extraction time. This study aims to study increasing the yield of candlenut oil through the application of solvent extraction and microwave assisted extraction (MAE) methods and to identify the composition of the chemical compounds produced. The raw material used in producing this candlenut oil is candlenut seeds from the protected forest area of Register 21 PerentianBaru, Pringsewu Regency, Lampung Province. This research method is an experimental design with a completely randomized design. The independent variables in this study were the ratio of the sample to the amount of solvent with a level of 1;1; 1:2; 1:3 and 1:4. The observed responses were the yield, density and chemical composition of candlenut oil. The MAE method produced the highest yield of 38,5% in the ratio of the sample to the amount of solvent 1:2 with the characteristics of the oil produced, among others, a density of 0, 864 g/ml and a refractive index of 1,4772. The GCMS results show that the chemical compounds that make up candlenut oil include 31,1% linoleic acid, 27,85% oleic acid, 25,19% linolenic acid and 4,54% palmitic acid.