Supercritical fluid extraction of fig leaf gourd seeds oil: Fatty acids composition and extraction kinetics

Fig leaf gourd (Cucurbita ficifolia, Bouché) seeds oil was extracted in a Soxhlet apparatus (oil content of 43.5%) and by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) in the temperature and pressure ranges of 308–318 K and 18–20 MPa, respectively. il batches showed similar fatty acids compositions. Main fatty acids were ω6-linoleic acid (about 60%), palmitic acid (about 15%) and oleic acid (about 14%). The induction time was used to determine the oxidative stability, 4.2 and 8.3 h being obtained for SFE extracted oil and n-hexane extracted oil, respectively. ing the kinetics of supercritical fluid extraction, the Sovová’s model was selected and successfully applied to the description of the oil extraction curves. The fitted parameters, the overall mass transfer coefficient for the fluid phase, Kf, and the overall mass transfer coefficient for the solid phase, Ks, vary in the ranges 2.34–4.57 × 10−2 s−1 and 1.73–4.34 × 10−4 s−1, respectively. The free oil content for milled seeds, fk, was calculated as 61%. These parameters are consistent with those published for several other oils.