Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seed oil: A preliminary study

Abstract

Reducing the pollution is a serious environmental challenge facing the oil producing industry worldwide. Conventionally, oil from oleaginous is extracted in large scale by mechanical expression or organic solvent extraction. In spite of its high yield, organic solvent extraction is time-consuming and very harmful to health and environment. Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction (AEE) is an eco-friendly extraction method using water as an extraction medium. Its application is a feasible alternative to traditional processing technologies without using organic solvents. However, its efficiency depends on many factors. This study aims to investigate the potential of AEE method to extract oil from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seeds using hemicellulase. Four extraction parameters with different levels that are incubation temperature, incubation time, initial pH, and enzyme concentration were evaluated. The optimum extraction conditions recorded were 65°C, pH 5, 4% w/w of enzyme and 3 hours of incubation. The obtained results showed that AEE reach a maximum of 70.45 % oil recovery. Therefore, Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction can be suggested as an environmentally cleaner alternative method to efficiently extract oil from safflower seeds.