Optimization of Key Techniques for Ethanol Extraction of Camellia Seed Oil by Response Surface Experiment

The ethanol extraction method was utilized to extract the oil from camellia seed oil. Single-factor tests were applied to study the effects of ethanol concentration, material/solvent ratio and extraction temperature on the yield of camellia seed oil. Then, response surface methodology (RSM) was conducted to ascertain the optimum condition for oil extraction, and the fatty acid composition of the oil were analyzed. Results indicated that the optimal parameters of extraction were using ethanol concentration 100%, material/solvent ratio 1:12 and extraction temperature 90 °C. Under these conditions, the extraction yield was high up 45.36%(v/w).According to the results of GC-MS analysis, the camellia seed oil was composed of eight kinds of fatty acids. The content of 10-Octadecenoic acid was 77.57%. Calculating via the area normalization method, the unsaturated fatty acid accounted for 88.01% (w/w) of the total amount of oil. Therefore, the camellia seed oil was a kind of nutritional oil with a high development potential.