Comparison the effect of different extraction methods on yield and fatty acid composition of sour-orange seed oil

Ultrasound-assisted extraction is an inexpensive, simple and efficient alternative method in comparison with conventional extraction methods. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of ultrasound-assisted extraction of sour-orange (Citrus aurantium) seed oil. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (2, 4, and 6 h) was applied in comparison with heat reflux extraction (8 h at 300 W, 12 h at 200 W, and 24 h at 100 W) and conventional Soxhlet (42 h) methods in terms of yield and composition of sour-orange seed oil. The fatty acid composition of the extracted sour-orange seed oils were determined by using fast gas chromatography method. There were significant differences among sour-orange seed oil yields of different extraction methods (P0.05) and ultrasound-assisted extraction method can be introduced as a time consuming method. Moreover, in all extraction methods, sour-orange seed oil yield increased by increasing extraction time. Obtained results indicated that palmitic acid and linoleic acid were significantly the most abundant saturated fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid of sour-orange seed oil, respectively (P0.05). Also, the amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids especially α-linolenic acid of sourorange seed oil were similar to soya and canola oils. There were no significant (P0.05) differences among fatty acid profiles of the oils obtained with different extraction methods. By using ultrasoundassisted extraction and heat reflux extraction methods, it is possible to extract oils in shorter time, but with similar characteristics to the oil extracted with standard Soxhlet method.