Oil Quality of Chinese Tallow Tree Seeds Under Different Storage Conditions

Abstract

Chinese Tallow Tree (TT) has been widely considered as a noxious invader in the U.S. without any potential benefits. Recent research has revealed that TT seeds contain large percentage of oil that primarily consists of palmitic fatty acid, along with some oleic, linoleic and linolinic fatty acids. These fatty acids make TT seed oil a good candidate to be transesterified into biodiesel. In general, literature on TT seed is scarce and the effect of storage conditions on the oil quality of the seeds in particular has not been published to our knowledge. This study aims to address the issue of oil quality of TT seeds during different storage conditions. The TT seeds were stored for 3 months at various combinations of storage temperatures (0C, 4C, 10C, room temperature), and controlled atmosphere storage conditions (3% CO2, 6% CO2, vacuum, normal headspace). On a weekly basis, extracted oil from the seeds was analyzed for its oxidative stability and FFA content to obtain information on the oil quality. Results of the study reveal optimum storage conditions of TT seeds to extract maximum benefit in terms of oil quality at a minimum cost.