Properties of the avocado oil extracted using centrifugation and ultrasound-assisted methods

Supercritical Technology as an Efficient Alternative to Cold Pressing for Avocado Oil: A Comparative Approach

Avocado oil is rich in nutrients beneficial to human health, such as monounsaturated fatty acids, phenolic compounds, tocopherol, and carotenoids, with numerous possibilities for application in industry. This review explores, through a comparative approach, the effectiveness of the supercritical oil extraction process as an alternative to the conventional cold-pressing method, evaluating the differences in the extraction process steps through the effect of temperature and operating pressure on bioactive quality and oil yield. The results reveal that supercritical avocado oil has a yield like that of mechanical cold pressing and superior functional and bioactive quality, especially in relation to α-tocopherol and carotenoids. For better use and efficiency of the supercritical technology, the maturation stage, moisture content, fruit variety, and collection period stand out as essential factors to be observed during pre-treatment, as they directly impact oil yield and nutrient concentration. In addition, the use of supercritical technology enables the full use of the fruit, significantly reducing waste, and adds value to the agro-industrial residues of the process. It produces an edible oil free of impurities, microorganisms, and organic solvents. It is a green, environmentally friendly technology with long-term environmental and economic advantages and an interesting alternative in the avocado market.

FT-MIR-ATR Associated with Chemometrics Methods: A Preliminary Analysis of Deterioration State of Brazil Nut Oil

Brazil nut oil is highly valued in the food, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as other sectors of the economy. This work aims to use the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique associated with partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principal component analysis (PCA) to demonstrate that these methods can be used in a prior and rapid analysis in quality control. Natural oils were extracted and stored for chemical analysis. PCA presented two groups regarding the state of degradation, subdivided into super-degraded and partially degraded groups in 99.88% of the explained variance. The applied PLS reported an acidity index (AI) prediction model with root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) = 1.8564, root mean square error of cross-validation (REMSECV) = 4.2641, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) = 2.1491, R2cal (calibration correlation coefficient) equal to 0.9679, R2val (validation correlation coefficient) equal to 0.8474, and R2pred (prediction correlation coefficient) equal to 0, 8468. The peroxide index (PI) prediction model showed RMSEC = 0.0005, REMSECV = 0.0016, RMSEP = 0.00079, calibration R2 equal to 0.9670, cross-validation R2 equal to 0.7149, and R2 of prediction equal to 0.9099. The physical-chemical analyses identified that five samples fit in the food sector and the others fit in other sectors of the economy. In this way, the preliminary monitoring of the state of degradation was reported, and the prediction models of the peroxide and acidity indexes in Brazil nut oil for quality control were determined.

Effect of Predry-treatment on the bioactive constituents and quality of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) oil from three cultivars growing in China

Avocado oil has gained a lot of favor in foods and cosmetics because of its high-quality fatty acid composition and bioactive components. This study aimed to compare the effect of various predry-treatments on the yield and quality of avocado oil from three Chinese avocado (Persea americana Mill.) varieties (Hass, Reed, and Pinkerton). The results showed that drying methods had significant effect on the avocado oil yield and its composition. Among the three drying methods the highest yield was obtained by freeze drying, and Hass showed the highest yield in the three avocado varieties with its oil owning the lowest peroxide and anisidine value. Reed oil owned the highest levels of functional micronutrients (e.g., tocopherols, phenolics, squalene). Vacuum drying resulted in higher concentrations of tocopherols, phytosterols, phenolics, squalene, and thus rendered greater DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity. These results are important to improve the quality of Chinese avocado oil.

Effects of Three Extraction Methods on Avocado Oil Lipid Compounds Analyzed via UPLC-TOF-MS/MS with OPLS-DA

Avocado oil is excellent functional oil. Effects of three extraction methods (squeezing extraction, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, and aqueous extraction) on the species, composition, and contents of lipids in avocado oil were analyzed via ultra-performance liquid chromatography–time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS/MS), and the differential components of lipids were revealed by OrthogonalPartialLeast Squares-DiscriminantAnalysis (OPLS-DA), S-plot combined with variable importance in the projection (VIP). The results showed that the fatty acid composition of avocado oil mainly consisted of oleic acid (36–42%), palmitic acid (25–26%), linoleic acid (14–18%), and palmitoleic acid (10–12%). A total of 134 lipids were identified first from avocado oil, including 122 glycerides and 12 phospholipids, and the total number of carbon atoms contained in the fatty acid side chains of the lipids was 32–68, and the number of double bonds was 0–9. Forty-eight differential lipid compounds with significant effects of the three extraction methods on the lipid composition of avocado oil were excavated, among which the differences in triglycerides (TG), phosphatidylethanol (PEtOH), and phosphatidylmethanol (PMeOH) contents were highly significant, which provided basic data to support the subsequent guidance of avocado oil processing, quality evaluation, and functional studies.

Sustainable Valorization of Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. Residue as the New Lauric Oil Source Using Alternative Green Extraction and Refining Methods

Litsea cubeba is an ethnic woody oil plant, in which essential oil rather than oil has been the main foreign trade product through the decades. Concerning large amounts of residue generated from L. cubeba essential oil processing, a sustainable valorization pathway of these biowastes is proposed in this study. First, such biowastes have been systematically investigated for the first time regarding their oils extracted by three extraction methods, where ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) could significantly improve the extraction rate of traditional pressing and solvent extraction without any changes in oil quality. Moreover, the composition of acylglycerols and fatty acids in L. cubeba fruit, kernel, and peel oils were also first identified, which further proved that peels with abundant free fatty acids could lead to high acid value of L. cubeba fruit oils. Compared to virgin coconut oils, L. cubeba kernel oils have a more balanced fatty acid composition with a high lauric acid level, which could be applied as a promising lauric oil resource. Considering the high acid value in L. cubeba kernel oils, both decoloration using activated clay and alkali deacidification were attempted, where the combination of alkali deacidification and 10% of activated clay performed the best considering both quality and cost.