Abstract
The aim of this work was to compare the content and composition of oil from cherry seeds using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using carbon dioxide as solvent, and Soxhlet extraction using diethyl ether. The compositions of free fatty acids and phytosterols, achieved with two extraction methods, were analyzed. Gas chromatographic analysis of unsaponifiables cherry seed oil samples, obtained with SFE and Soxhlet extraction, permitted to identify in particular two sterols, the ß-sitosterol and campesterol. Brassicasterol or stigmasterol were not present in the extracts. The percentages of monitored components changed in function of extraction used procedure, allowing to assert that, with SFE, higher yield of phytosterols was provided. Preliminary data showed that there were significant differences also in the fatty acid composition of cherry seed oil obtained with the two extraction procedures (by means supercritical carbon dioxide or solvent). With the Soxhlet extraction, 48.6% of saturated fatty acids, 17.74% of unsaturated acids, 32.75% of polyunsaturated are obtained. On the contrary, with SFE decreased the percentage of saturated fatty acids (38.43%) in favor of larger amounts of unsaturated (19.93%) and polyunsaturated (36.04%). The supercritical fluid extraction procedure proved so effective in getting an oil of superior quality, without the possibility of degradation phenomena due to the solvent or heat. In both extraction procedures the cherry seed oil contained high percentages of arachidic acid (C20:0) and linoleic acid (C18:2, ?-6). An interesting result was also the presence of nervonic acid in remarkable amount, in all examined samples. Nervonic acid is a long-chain monounsaturated fatty acid (C24:1, ?-9), of marine origin, precursor of the neuronal cell membrane glycolipids, with a key role in the modulation of ion channels and membrane receptors, and therefore widely used as a neurotrophic factor in food supplements and nutraceuticals.
