Extraction of Essential Oils from Pumpkin Seeds: RSM Based Process Modeling, Optimization and Oil Characterization

The oils extracted from pumpkin seeds have been distinguished as good nutrient vegetable oil. This study aimed to study about the extraction of oils from pumpkin seed oils by Soxhlet method using ethanol as a solvent. The effect of process variables such as temperature, extraction time and particle size were aimed to optimize for maximizing the yield of seeds oil using response surface methodology (RSM). Optimization study showed that the maximum extracted crude oil yield (56.2%) was obtained at extraction temperature of 75 C, extraction time of 270 min and particle size of 0.25 mm. The process model was developed for relation between yield of oils and chosen the independent factors. At optimize condition the extracted oils were subjected to characterization. The interaction effect between different the selected process parameter were also investigated against oil extraction. In addition, the physico-chemical properties of the crude and refined oils obtained at optimum optimal condition were also determined. The FT-IR characterization on the extracted oils showed the presence of functional groups of carbohydrate, carbocyclic, alkane, carbonyl, alkene, aliphatic amine, aromatic, alcohol and methyl ester. The GC-MS characterization of the extracted oils was also investigated for fatty acids composition.