Extraction kinetics and quality evaluation of oil extracted from bitter gourd (Momardica charantia L.) seeds using emergent technologies

It's a well-known fact that bitter gourd seed oil is a rich source of a-eleostearic acid that have positive effects on breast cancer, diabetes and coronary artery diseases. The conventional methods of oil extraction often lead to a lower yield and consumes more time. This study was carried out by using three different process intensification tools such as ultrasound assisted extraction (USAE); microwave assisted extraction (MWAE) and ohmic assisted extraction (OHAE) at different power level and solid to liquid ratio. P-cymene was used as a green solvent for extraction and Peleg's model was adopted to describe the kinetics of extraction process. The highest yield of 27.42% for USAE, 30.42% for MWAE and 25.34% for OHAE was observed. In addition, USAE extracted oil was better in quality aspects. The extracted oil mainly composed of poly-unsaturated fatty acids; alpha-eleostearic, linolenic acid, gamma linolenic acid and stearic acid. Among all the treatments, USAE gave best quality of oil with highest percentage of alpha-eleostearic (6.51%), linolenic acid (6.24%) and stearic acid (0.80%). The present study indicates that USAE and use of p-cymene serves as a potential sustainable approach for edible oil production without imposing environmental burden.

Automated summary

Bitter gourd seed oil is a rich source of α-eleostearic acid with positive effects on health. This study compared different extraction methods and found that ultrasound assisted extraction (USAE) had the highest yield and quality of oil, especially when using p-cymene as a solvent. USAE and p-cymene can be a sustainable approach for edible oil production.