Innovative Application of Passiflora Cincinnata Seed Oil for the Cosmetics Industry

Abstract

Passiflora cincinnata represents an alternative crop for small farmers in rainfed conditions. Its seeds oil contains high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids as oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids. The aim of this study was to obtain and characterize the lipid fraction of passion fruit seeds cultivated in rural properties, as a proposal for development of an innovative solid fragrance. The seeds were submitted to direct solar drying process to remove moisture for 240 minutes at an average temperature of 37°C. Lipid fraction was extracted according to a cold process method using methanol, chloroform and water as solvents. Fatty acid ethyl esters were identified and quantified through gas chromatography analysis. Oxidative stability was evaluated using a Rancimat equipment and TG curves were obtained in a thermobalance analyzer. The solid perfume was produced by mixing beeswax (50%), passion fruit seed oil (31%) and Protium heptaphyllum essence (19%). The Page mathematical model presented satisfactory fitting to the experimental data, expressing R2 above 98%. The extraction yield of Passiflora cincinnata Mast. seed oil was 13.5 %. The oleic (75.5%), linoleic (11.2%), palmitic (9.8%) and stearic acid (3.4%) were the most found fatty acids in the extracted oil. The oxidative stability period obtained in this work was 6.49 h. The TG and DTG curves of passion fruit oil showed a slight decomposition similar to other Passiflora oils. During storage time, no variations in the visual aspect were observed. Fragrancy was apparently preserved, which indicates that the ingredients proportion applied was adequate.