Alcoholic extraction of sesame seed cake oil: Influence of the process conditions on the physicochemical characteristics of the oil and defatted meal proteins

Recent studies have shown the technical feasibility of replacing the solvent industrially used in vegetable oils extraction, hexane, by short-chain alcohols, considered less toxic and operationally safer. The characteristics of the oils obtained through alcoholic extraction have been well explored, but there are still questions about the influence of this replacement on the functionalities of the protein fraction contained in the defatted meal. Ethanol and isopropanol were thus used to sesame seed cake oil extraction and it was noted that the solvent hydration (0-12%) and temperature (50-90 degrees C) influenced the extraction yield, obtaining sesamin- (4.5 g/kg) and tocols-rich oils (183 mg/kg). Conversely, regardless of the solvent type, temperatures up to 80 degrees C did not affect the nitrogen solubility index and the thermal stability of the protein fraction, allowing the application of these materials in human feed.