Sustainable Utilization of Crocodile Byproducts: Extraction and Enzymatic Modification of Crocodylus siamensis Oil

The rapid growth of the crocodile industry has led to significant waste from discarded tissues. This study successfully extracted crocodile oil from waste tissues, achieving a yield of 73.20%. The oil was rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (24.4%) and contained 332.80 mg/100 g of cholesterol and 1.80 mg/100 g of vitamin A, highlighting its potential as a base oil for cosmeceutical products. Enzymatic glycerolysis was performed on the crocodile oil and showed that the reaction followed a first-order decay model. The potential of modified crocodile oil emulsions as cosmeceutical emulsions was evaluated using dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, contact angle measurements, and Franz diffusion cell analysis. The results demonstrated that O/W emulsions formulated with modified crocodile oil exhibited smaller particle size, enhanced stability, improved spreadability, and enhanced transdermal delivery capabilities, with transdermal behavior more closely following the Korsmeyer–Peppas model. These results not only provided new insights into the effective use of crocodile waste but also highlighted the importance of glycerolysis in the development of high-performance cosmeceutical base oils.