Extraction of Oil from Mulberry and Eri Silkworm Pupae and Analyzing the Physio-Chemical Properties for Commercial Utilization

Arasakumar E,Priyadharshini P,Manimegalai S

doi:10.29321/maj.10.000523

Abstract

Silkworm pupal oil was extracted using different solvents from spent dried pupal powder by soxhlet and column extraction methods. The oil content from spent silkworm pupae was maximum recovered from mulberry silkworm pupae (25.90 g/100 g) with hexane solvent in the column extraction method. The better physio-chemical properties viz., density (0.943 g/mL), specific gravity (0.991 g/mL), saponification value (235.147 g KOH/ g oil), iodine value (131.653 g I/ 100 g) and free fatty acids (5.057 %) were observed in the eri silkworm pupal oil, whereas, maximum acid number (1.966 mg KOH/g oil) and peroxide value of (2.44 ppm) was noticed in mulberry silkworm pupal oil. Hence, mulberry silkworm pupae were effectively used for oil extraction by column extraction method using hexane, and these physio-chemical properties of pupal oil were achieved the desired level for utilizing the silkworm pupae oil as commercial utilization

Highlights

Insects play a crucial role as a source of edible by-products in the history of human nutrition in developing countries all over the world
The results showed that 8 hours of drying time is necessary to reduce the moisture content of silkworm pupae suitable for oil extraction
A similar observation was observed by Niveditha et al (2020) who reported that reduction of moisture content is recommended for oil extraction from silkworm pupae

Summary

Introduction

Insects play a crucial role as a source of edible by-products in the history of human nutrition in developing countries all over the world. The consumption of cooked insects has been documented in countries like India, Japan, Thailand, Africa, Latin America, Australia, Mexico, etc., where they represent a cheaper source of good quality protein and fat (Deori et al, 2014). Pupae of sericigenous insects viz., mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, and eri silkworm, Samia ricini are valued as food material in northeastern parts of India, apart from exploitation for silk. The main ingredients of silkworm pupae are protein (51 %), essential fatty acids (29 %), cholesterol (3 %), chitin, and vitamin A, B2, and D, with these vitamins being safe and very important to human nutrition (Heo et al, 2007)

Methods

Results

Conclusion