Influence of the Extraction Process on the Characteristics of Romanian Mountain Walnut Oil

Abstract

The objective of this work is to extract walnut oil using various processes in order to compare the influence on the nature of the components extracted, and thus identify the areas of potential use. We carried out the extractions by mechanical process, thanks to a press in reduced model provided with a worm. We obtained cold extracted oil whose characteristics slightly diverge from extra virgin oil found in shops in Romania, but its composition is similar. We were also able to extract by chemical process using two methods, Folch and Soxhlet. Commercially available table walnut oils are only cold extracted to avoid the presence of solvents. Those are difficult to remove and strongly oxidize the oil. Currently, consumers appreciate walnut oil for its taste and nutritional qualities. In nutrition, this oil is put forward for its composition rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are needed for human body. Food supplements made from walnut oil are available today. For the moment, this is the only use of walnut oil. Indeed, there are some studies on other fields of application, but they remain in the field of research and nothing has yet been commercialized. In this present study, we compared the chemical and physical properties of cold-extracted oil with the solvent extraction of walnut kernel originating from the mountain region of Rumania. The cold extracted oil has a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (63%) and monounsaturated fatty acids (30%), a very low level of saturated fatty acid (7%) and no content of linolenic acid. The Soxhlet and Folch methods produced slightly different oils with increased amounts of minor components, which changes their characteristic. Even when solvent-extracted oils do not meet the standard criteria imposed by the Codex Alimentarius, they offer a possible use in the fields of food, cosmetics industries and biomedicine.