Effects of Process Parameters on the Extraction Efficiency and Chemical Characteristics of Tea Seed Oil From “Trungdu” Tea Variety

Abstract

This research was aimed at investigating the effects of some extraction process parameters on the extraction efficiency and some chemical characteristics of tea seed oil from “Trungdu” tea variety, one of the high-quality vegetable oils, similar to olive oil with high portion of unsaturated fatty acids, especially essential linoleic acid and low content of saturated fat. This work reports for the first time the effects of process parameters using solvent extraction method on the efficiency and chemical characteristics of “Trungdu” tea seed oil. The study parameters were particle size (0.25-2.00 mm), material/solvent ratio (1/12-1/6), temperature (25-55oC), time (5-11 h), speed of solvent movement (0-250 r/m) and extraction cycle (1-3 times). The responses such as extraction efficiency, chemical characteristics (acid, peroxide, iodine and saponification values) were determined. The results indicated that the extraction efficiency was affected by all designed parameters. In addition, the temperature, particle size and extraction time had the most significant effect on the iodine value and acid value. The extraction temperature and the speed of solvent movement had pronounced effects on all the acid value, peroxide value, iodine value and saponification value of tea seed oil. However, ratio of material/solvent and extraction cycle did not appreciably effect on chemical characteristics of tea seed oil. Furthermore, the optimal extraction efficiency related to higher quality properties had been achieved in the range of 35 to 45oC, 7 to 9 hours, with a particle size of 0.5 mm, material/content ratio 1/8 to 1/12, movement speed of solvent 200 to 250 r/m and extraction cycle 1 or 2 times. Therefore, the results from this work will be useful for developing an optimal procedure for obtaining tea seed oil. In addition, tea seed oil with the main acid component is oleic acid and linoleic acid, is considered a high quality oil.