Oil extraction from seeds of Lallementia peltata and evaluation of its qualitative properties during storage

Abstract

Abstract Background: Fats and oils are one of the main ingredients in the food formulation. Oils stability is one of the main parameters in the evaluation of their quality. Today, attention to the use of vegetable oils has increased due to its potential health benefits and high oxidative stability. Balangu (Lallemantia peltate) is an aromatic annual plant that is used as a medicinal plant and contains many volatile and essential oils. Due to the prevalence of Balangu plant in the region and its widespread use of seeds in medicine and lack of information on its oil and the effect of moisture adjustment on Balangu seed oil, in this study we tried to identify Balangu oil and analyze the effects of moisture adjustment on their physicochemical characteristics and contents of fatty acids (FA), phytosterols, phenolics and tocopherols extracted from cold-press seeds. Materials and Methods: After preparing the oil seeds to find the optimal moisture to increase the oil extraction efficiency, the lallemantia peltata seeds were divided into five parts and their moisture content was adjusted to 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10%, respectively, and then under extraction. The oil was extracted by cold pressing and then the samples were stored at room temperature (25°C) for 3 months and its quality characteristics (acid value, peroxide value, fatty acid content, oxidative stability by rancimet test and Schaal test, total phenolic compounds, phytosterol and tocopherol content) were evaluated Results & Conclusion: The results showed that the highest percentage of extraction was related to moisture content of 7.5% (33.50%). AV, PV and total tocopherol contents increased as the moisture content of the raw seeds was increased while the TPC, chlorophylls and carotenoids content decreased. However, compositions of FAs and phytosterols did not change significantly. Storage of Balangu gave increased AV, PV, TPC and γ-tocopherols and decreased δ-tocopherols and α-tocopherols, chlorophylls and carotenoid content. Fatty acid and phytosterol contents were not affected during storage of Balangu oil. This study has shown that Balangu oil contains useful amounts of phytosterols, n-3 and n-6 FAs and tocopherols and would be a positive addition to many processed foods.

Keywords: Balangu, Lallemantia peltata, Seed oil, Fatty acids, Cold-press, Tocopherols