ARS | Publication request: CUPHEA OIL EXTRACTION AND REFINING

Submitted to: Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 4, 2005
Publication Date: May 4, 2005
Citation: Evangelista, R.L. 2005. Cuphea oil extraction and refining. Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society.

Technical Abstract: Oils from the seeds of several Cuphea (Lytraceae) species were found to contain high levels of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA). Currently, MCFAs used in cosmetics, soaps, detergents, lubricants and other related products are obtained from coconut and palm kernel oils. One promising outcome of the breeding efforts to domesticate Cuphea is PSR-23, a hybrid from a cross between C. viscosisima and C. lanceolata. PSR-23 has partial seed retention and self pollination characteristics. This hybrid has been the subject of seed increases these past three years in Southwest Minnesota and in Central Illinois. The seeds were first screened and aspirated to remove trash and other foreign material. Next, cleaned seeds were then run through the gravity table to separate some heavier mature seeds needed for planting. Seeds for oil extraction had an oil content of 23.1% and a moisture content of 9.7%. Seeds were then flaked in the flaking rolls with the gap set at 0.01 inch. The flaked seeds were heated to 180'F in a seed cooker to obtain meals with 8%, 6% and 3% MC prior to screw pressing. The crude oil was chemically refined to produce refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) oil. The highest oil yield (82%) was obtained from cooked meal with 6% MC. The crude oil had free fatty acid of 3.75%. Its chlorophyll content of 326 ppm was about 10 times greater than that of crude canola oil. The RBD oil had a chlorophyll content of 0.098 ppm and a color value of 30Y 2.1 R.