Quality of Edible Sesame Oil as Obtained by Green Solvents: In Silico versus Experimental Screening Approaches

The present study aimed to investigate the qualitative and quantitative performance of five green solvents, namely 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF), cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), p-cymene, d-limonene and ethanol to substitute n-hexane, for sesame seed oil extraction. In fact, both CPME and MeTHF gave higher crude yields than n-hexane (58.82, 54.91 and 50.84%, respectively). The fatty acid profile of the sesame seed oils remained constant across all the solvent systems, with a predominance of oleic acid (39.27-44.35%) and linoleic acid (38.88-43.99%). The total sterols gained the upmost amount with CPME (785 mg/100 g oil) and MeTHF (641 mg/100 g oil). CPME and MeTHF were also characterized by the optimum content of tocopherols (52.3 and 50.6 mg/100 g oil, respectively). The highest contents of total phenols in the sesame seed oils were extracted by CPME (23.51 mg GAE/g) and MeTHF (22.53 mg GAE/g) as compared to the other solvents, especially n-hexane (8 mg GAE/g). Additionally, sesame seed oils extracted by MeTHF and CPME also had the highest antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as compared to the other green solvents and n-hexane, encouraging their manufacturing use for sesame seed oil extraction.

Automated summary

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of five green solvents (2-methyltetrahydrofuran, cyclopentyl methyl ether, p-cymene, d-limonene, and ethanol) in replacing n-hexane for sesame seed oil extraction. Both cyclopentyl methyl ether and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran yielded higher crude yields than n-hexane. The fatty acid composition of sesame seed oils remained consistent across all solvent systems, with high concentrations of oleic acid and linoleic acid. Cyclopentyl methyl ether and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran extracted the highest levels of sterols, tocopherols, and total phenols, and exhibited the strongest antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These findings suggest that cyclopentyl methyl ether and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran are promising alternatives for sesame seed oil extraction.