Abstract
The present work presents a first characterization of the oil from the Moringa (Moringa oleifera) kernel as a potential candidate for biodiesel production. Moringa is an indigenous tree in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, where there is a nascent biodiesel industry. Several extraction methods are compared in terms of the extraction yields, including solvent extraction (n-hexane and ethanol), and supercritical extraction (Sc-CO2). The results are also compared against previ- ously reported data. For supercritical extraction pressures of 200 to 400 bar and temperatures of 40℃ and 60℃ were tested. Gas Chromatography analysis reveals that the main fatty acids in Moringa oil are oleic acid (69%), palmitic acid (10%), and stearic acid (8%).
Highlights
Moringa oleifera, known as “Moringa” or “Malunggay” is an Indian tree that grows in Asia, Africa, Southamerica, the Caribbean and Oceania
The oil extracted from Moringa is known as Ben oil and reportedly contains 70% of oleic acid, an 18-carbon long monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)
Since the oleic acid has good oxidative stability when compared with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), it has found use in the food industry, as it allows for longer storage and high-temperature frying processing
Summary
Known as “Moringa” or “Malunggay” is an Indian tree that grows in Asia, Africa, Southamerica, the Caribbean and Oceania. Since the oleic acid has good oxidative stability when compared with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), it has found use in the food industry, as it allows for longer storage and high-temperature frying processing. It has uses in medicine and water treatment. The oil from Moringa seeds has shown the strongest antifungal activity against a zoophilic dematophyte caused marked inflammatory reactions in humans [3]. Another potential use of Moringa oil is as biodiesel feedstock. It is hoped that the results will provide information to compare Moringa seeds cultivated in Yucatan-Mexico as raw material candidate for vegetable oil and biodiesel
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