Abstract

In the present study, a Box–Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the processing factors (force: 100, 150, and 200 kN; speed: 3, 5, and 7 mm/min; and temperature: 40, 60, and 80 °C) for extracting pumpkin seeds oil under uniaxial compression. The design generated 15 experiments including twelve combinations of factors and three replicates at the center point. The responses: oil yield (%), oil expression efficiency (%), and energy (J) were calculated, and the regression models determined were statistically analyzed and validated. The optimum factors combination: 200 kN, 4 mm/min and 80 °C predicted the oil yield of 20.48%, oil expression efficiency of 60.90%, and energy of 848.04 J. The relaxation time of 12 min at the optimum factors increased the oil efficiency to 64.53%. The lower oil point force was determined to be 57.32 kN for estimating the maximum oil output. The tangent curve and generalized Maxwell models adequately (R2 = 0.996) described the compression and relaxation processes of pumpkin seeds oil extraction. Peroxide value increased with temperatures. The study provides detailed information useful for processing different bulk oilseeds under uniaxial loading for optimizing the mechanical oil pressing in large-scale oil production.

Highlights

  • Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) is one of the most cultivated cucurbit crops in the world [1]

  • The processing factors were further subjected to a response surface regression analysis based on a Box–Behnken Design of the experiment to determine their optimum values as described in the succeeding sections

  • The response profiling analysis revealed the combination of the optimum factors of which produced oil yield of 19.02%, oil expression efficiency of 56.56% with energy value of 837.33 J

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Summary

Introduction

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) is one of the most cultivated cucurbit crops in the world [1]. Pumpkin seed oil has gained great attention as an edible oil and as a potential nutraceutical [7]. Pumpkin extracts have exhibited remarkable anti-cancer activity against leukemia K-562 cells. It contains moschatin, a novel ribosome-inactivating protein that effectively inhibits the growth of targeted melanoma cells M21 [8,9]). The pumpkin seed oil has shown various other beneficial properties like anti-microbial, anti-hypertensive, anti-arthritic, antiinflammatory, and anti-depression activities [7,10]. Other studies have highlighted the health properties of pumpkin seed oil against diabetes, neonatal meningitis, diarrhea, and severe abdominal cramps [7,11,12,13]. The pumpkin seed oil is recognized for the treatment of urinary tract infection and other infectious diseases caused by some virulent Escherichia coli bacteria strain [7,14]

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