EC Nutrition

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of enzymatic treatment in enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction of oil from Fig-leaf gourd seeds (Cucurbita ficifolia). Two commercial enzymes (Viscozyme L and Alcalase 2.4L) were screened for their effectiveness in releasing oil from the seeds. Several process parameters including enzyme concentration, temperature and duration for enzyme incubation were investigated in term of their effect on oil yield. Application of Alcalase 2.L resulted in significantly higher oil yield (23.33%), than that with Viscozyme L (18.75%) and the control (without enzyme) (14%). The highest oil yield was obtained under the following conditions: enzyme concentration 1.5% (v/w of dried matter) and incubation at 50°C for 2h with constant shaking. While the enzymes enhanced the oil extraction, the oil yield was still significantly lower than that obtained by Soxhlet method. The oil extracted from fig-leaf gourd seeds contained flavonoids (15.834 mg/100g), carotenoids (54.083 mg/100g), and exhibited radical scavenging activity (33.42%). The oil was of good quality with the peroxide value of 1.92 meqO₂/kg and free fatty acid of 2.4%. Fatty acid composition of the oil exhibited the predominant of linoleic acid (53.24%) along with oleic acid (19.6%) and palmitic acid (16.73%). Total unsaturated fatty acid in oil was 73.52% thus the fig-leaf gourd seed oil may be considered as a potential source of nutraceuticals.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Cucurbita ficifolia; Enzyme Assisted Aqueous Extraction; Oil Quality; Oil Yield

1. Rajasree RS., et al. “Phytochemicals of Cucurbitaceae family-A review”. International Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemical Research1 (2016): 113-123.
2. Lazos E. “Nutritional, fatty acid and oil characteristics of pumpkin and melon seeds”. Journal of Food Science 51 (1986): 1382-1383.
3. Stevenson DG., et al. “Oil and tocopherol content and composition of pumpkin seed oil in 12 cultivars”. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55 (2007): 4005-4013.
4. Caili FU., et al. “A review on pharmacological activities and utilization technologies of pumpkin”. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition2 (2006): 70-77.
5. Yadav M., et al. “Medicinal and biological potential of pumpkin: an updated review”. Nutrition Research Reviews2 (2010): 184-190.
6. Veronezi CM and Jorge N. “Bioactive compounds in lipid fractions of pumpkin (Cucurbita sp) seeds for use in food”. Journal of Food Science6 (2012): C653-C657.
7. Muntean E., et al. “Cucurbita maxima as a medicinal plant”. Hop and Medicinal Plants Year XXI 1-2 (2013): 41-42.
8. Whitaker TW and Bemis WP. “Origin and evolution of the cultivated Cucurbita”. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club (1975): 362-368.
9. Rodríguez-Miranda J., et al. “Physical properties of Cucurbita ficifolia seed and functional properties of whole and defatted meal”. International Journal of Food Processing Technology1 (2016): 27-35.
10. Ntui VO., et al. “Response of pumpkin (Cucurbita ficifolia ) to some growth regulators”. Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment 5.2 (2007): 211-214.
11. Liu J., et al. “Enzyme-assisted extraction processing from oilseeds: Principle, processing and application”. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 35 (2016): 184-193.
12. Zuniga ME., et al. “Enzymic pre-treatment of Guevina avellane mol oil extraction by pressing”. Process Biochemistry1 (2003): 51-57.
13. Zhang SB., et al. “Optimization of the aqueous enzymatic extraction of rapeseed oil and protein hydrolysates”. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society 84 (2007): 97-105.
14. Nadar SS., et al. “Enzyme assisted extraction of biomolecules as an approach to novel extraction technology: A review”. Food Research International 108 (2018): 309-330.
15. Zhang, SB and Wang T. “Destabilization of emulsion formed during aqueous extraction of peanut oil: synergistic effect of tween 20 and pH”. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society 93 (2016): 1551-1561.
16. Yusoff MM., et al. “Aqueous enzyme assisted oil extraction from oilseeds and emulsion de-emulsifying methods: A review”. Trends in Food Science and Technology1 (2015): 60-82.
17. Rosenthal A., et al. “Aqueous and enzymatic processes for edible oil extraction”. Enzyme and Microbial Technology6 (1996): 402-420.
18. Shirazi OU., et al. “Determination of total phenolic, flavonoid content and free radical scavenging activities of common herbs and spices”. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry3 (2014): 104-108.
19. Chang CC., et al. “Estimation of total flavonoid content in propolis by two complementary colorimetric methods”. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis3 (2002): 178-182.
20. Cenkowski S., et al. “Quality of extracted sea buckthorn seed and pulp oil”. Canadian Biosystems Engineering 48 (2006): 3.
21. American Oil Chemists’ Society. “Official Methods and Recommended Practices of the American Oil Chemists’ Society”. 5^th Edition, AOCS Press, Champaign (Method Cd 8-53; Ca 5a-40) (1997).
22. Latif S and Anwar F. “Effect of aqueous enzymatic processes on sunflower oil quality”. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society4 (2009): 393-400.
23. Concha J., et al. “Enzymatic pretreatment on rose-hip oil extraction: hydrolysis and pressing conditions”. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society6 (2004): 549-552.
24. Jiang L., et al. “Aqueous enzymatic extraction of peanut oil and protein hydrolysates”. Food and Bioproducts Processing2-3 (2010): 233-238.
25. Latif S., et al. “Enzyme‐assisted aqueous extraction of oil and protein from canola (Brassica napus ) seeds”. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology 110.10 (2008): 887-892.
26. Gai QY., et al. “Enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction of oil from Forsythia suspense seed and its physicochemical property and antioxidant activity”. Industrial Crops and Products 51 (2013): 274-278.
27. Jiao J., et al. “Microwave-assisted aqueous enzymatic extraction of oil from pumpkin seeds and evaluation of its physicochemical properties, fatty acid compositions and antioxidant activities”. Food chemistry 147 (2014): 17-24.
28. Latif S and Anwar F. “Aqueous enzymatic sesame oil and protein extraction”. Food Chemistry2 (2011): 679-684.
29. Górnaś P., et al. “Cold‐pressed Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. ex Spach) seed oil as a rich source of α‐tocopherol, carotenoids and phenolics: A comparison of the composition and antioxidant activity with nine other plant oils”. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology5 (2014): 563-570.
30. Teh SS and Birch J. “Physicochemical and quality characteristics of cold-pressed hemp, flax and canola seed oils”. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis1 (2013): 26-31.
31. Xuan TD., et al. “An overview of chemical profiles, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of commercial vegetable edible oils marketed in Japan”. Foods2 (2018): 21.
32. Ebrahimi N., et al. “Spectrophotometric method for quantification of flavonoids in olive oil supplied from Tehran market of Iran”. Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene2 (2015): 59-62.
33. Middleton E., et al. “The effects of plant flavonoids on mammalian cells: implications for inflammation, heart disease, and cancer”. Pharmacological Reviews4 (2000): 673-751.
34. Akın G., et al. “Cold-pressed pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo ) oils from the central Anatolia region of Turkey: Characterization of phytosterols, squalene, tocols, phenolic acids, carotenoids and fatty acid bioactive compounds”. Grasas Y Aceites 69.1 (2018): e232.
35. Vujasinovic V., et al. “The effect of roasting on the chemical composition and oxidative stability of pumpkin oil”. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology5 (2012): 568-574.
36. Mai HC., et al. “Optimisation of enzyme-assisted extraction of oil rich in carotenoids from gac fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis )”. Food Technology and Biotechnology 51.4 (2013): 488-499.
37. Konopka I., et al. “Optimization of pumpkin oil recovery by using aqueous enzymatic extraction and comparison of the quality of the obtained oil with the quality of cold-pressed oil”. Food Technology and Biotechnology4 (2016): 413-420.
38. Li Y., et al. “Ultrasound-assisted aqueous enzymatic extraction of oil from perilla (Perilla frutescens ) seeds”. CyTA-journal of Food 12.1 (2014): 16-21.