Enzyme-Assisted Aqueous Extraction Of Cashew Nut (Anacardium occidentale L.) Oil

Abstract

Enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction method was applied to extract oil from cashew nut ( Anacardium occidentale L.). The commercial enzyme (Viscozyme cassava C) was tested for effectiveness in releasing oil during the aqueous extraction. The effect of several parameters such as material/water ratio, enzyme concentration and duration for enzyme incubation on the oil yield was investigated. The conditions for maximum oil release were found with the material/water ratio of 1:9, enzyme concentration of 1% (v/w E/S), and in 3 h of enzyme incubation at 50 o C with constant shaking. The maximum oil yield obtained at those conditions (38.88 % raw material) was significantly (p <0.05) higher than that of the control (without enzyme) (35.92 %), and it represented 86.28 % recovery of the total oil in seed. No hexane and other organic solvents were needed for this process. The cashew nut oil by enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction was relatively stable. Both peroxide value and free fatty acid value were lower than those in the oil obtained by Soxhlet method. Total un-saturated fatty acid in the cashew nut oil was about 84.43 %, in which the most abundant was oleic acid (65.0 %), followed by linoleic acid (18.53%). Cashew nut oil is a good dietary source of un-saturated fatty acids.