Subcritical Fluid Extraction of Chinese Quince Seed: Optimization and Product Characterization

Abstract

Chinese quince seed (CQS) is an underutilized oil source and a potential source of unsaturated fatty acids and α-tocopherol-rich oil. Subcritical fluid (SCF) extraction is executed at lower pressures and temperatures than the pressures and temperatures used in supercritical fluid extraction. However, no studies on the SCF extraction of CQS oil are reported. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the use of SCF for the extraction of CQS oil and to compare the use of SCF with the classical Soxhlet (CS) and supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) extraction methods. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to investigate the extraction conditions: temperature (45–65 °C), time (30–50 min), and solvent/solid ratio (5–15 mL/g). The optimization results showed that the highest yield (27.78%) was obtained at 56.18 °C, 40.20 min, and 12.57 mL/g. The oil extracted by SCF had a higher unsaturated fatty acid content (86.37%–86.75%), higher α-tocopherol content (576.0–847.6 mg/kg), lower acid value (3.97 mg/g), and lower peroxide value (0.02 meq O2/kg) than extractions using CS and SC-CO2 methods. The SCF-defatted meal of oilseed exhibited the highest nitrogen solubility index (49.64%) and protein dispersibility index (50.80%), demonstrating that SCF extraction was a promising and efficient technique as an alternative to CS and SC-CO2 methods, as very mild operating conditions and an eco-friendly solvent can be used in the process with maximum preservation of the quality of the meal.

Recovery of Oil with Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Polyphenols from Chaenomelessinensis (Thouin) Koehne: Process Optimization of Pilot-Scale Subcritical Fluid Assisted Extraction

“…However, a significant decrease in oil yield recovery was found at temperatures of higher than 35 °C. The same trend was observed in the available literature [ 16 ], when authors used a solvent/solid ratio of 10 mL/g and took 30 min to extract oil from C. sinensis seeds. However, the maximum temperature was 55 °C in that study [ 16 ].…”

“…The same trend was observed in the available literature [ 16 ], when authors used a solvent/solid ratio of 10 mL/g and took 30 min to extract oil from C. sinensis seeds. However, the maximum temperature was 55 °C in that study [ 16 ]. Increased temperature promotes a decrease in the density of subcritical n -butane, thus hampering oil solubility [ 17 ].…”

“…Therefore, 30 min was used as the extraction time in the present work as oil yield and the extraction efficiency was taken into consideration. The same extraction time has previously been used [ 16 ]. The authors concluded that 30 min was enough time for the extraction of seed oil after SbFE in this study [ 16 ].…”

Characterization and Biological Activities of Seed Oil Extracted from Berberis dasystachya Maxim. by the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction Method

“…Solvent extraction of BDSO was conducted by using the method of Wang et al with some modifications [4]. The seeds of B. dasystachya (20 g) were mixed with 400 mL of petroleum ether (60-90 • C) in a Soxhlet extractor and extracted at 80 • C for 7 h. The solvent was evaporated with a rotary evaporator at 55 • C and flushed with nitrogen.…”

“…The seeds of many plants have been used as oil sources for nutritional, medicinal, and industrial purposes [4]. However, many of these inexpensive, valuable wild plants remain inadequately utilized and investigated [5].…”