Evaluation of Moringa oleifera seed oil extracted with different extraction methods

Abstract

Moringa seed oil composition extracted with different methods such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), soxhlet extraction (SOXE) and solvent extraction (SE) was evaluated and compared. The oil yield obtained by SFE, SE and SOXE was 25.25, 27.53 and 29.81%, respectively. There were slightly significant differences among SFE, SOXE and SE oils in their refractive indices, peroxide values, tocopherols, carotenoids, β-sitosterol and campesterol contents. However, SOXE and SE oils showed no significant differences in their TBA, unsaponifiable matter, phenols, flavonoids, oxidative stability, oleic acid, stigmasterol, Δ7- avenasterol and Δ5-avenasterol contents. Furthermore, SFE oil showed significantly higher unsaponifiable matter, phenols, flavonoids, tocopherols, carotenoids, oleic acid, unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids ratio, sterols contents and oxidative stability. The high content of tocopherol, phenols, and flavonoids of the Moringa oils could be attributed to the higher resistance to oxidation, especially extracted by SFE. These results promote the use of SFE for the extraction of high quality Moringa oil. extraction of high quality.