Abstract
ABSTRACT In this study, an optimized vortex-assisted method for rapid screening of oil content in Jatropha curcas L. (Jatropha) seeds is described. A 24-1IV fractional factorial design was employed to study the influence of vortex stirring rate, sample:solvent ratio, extraction time, and the number of extraction cycles in the Jatropha oil extraction efficiency. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the identification of the fatty acids. The number of extraction cycles was the most important factor, and the optimum conditions were two extractions with hexane at a sample:solvent ratio of 1:5 mg:μL, under vortex-stirring at 2500 rpm for 1 min. Linoleic acid, oleic acid and palmitic acid were the major fatty acids of Jatropha oil. The method showed inherent advantages of simplicity, accuracy, short time of analysis, and low consumption of both organic solvent and sample, and may serve as a cost-effective alternative to the modified Soxhlet method in estimation of oil content and composition in Jatropha breeding programmes. Keywords: Vortex-assisted, Jatropha oil, analysis, fractional factorial design, GC-MS.
Highlights
Jatropha is a perennial crop of easy cultivation and healthy life cycle that has received increasing popularity as a biodiesel feedstock, foodstuff, natural fence, and medicinal plant
In the case of vortex-assisted method extracts, an aliquot of 1200 μL of hexane extract of seeds was placed in the microtube
Optimization of the Vortex-assisted Method Previous studies have shown that hexane is the most efficient oil extractant, and the so-obtained oil is less turbid.[16,17,18,19,20]
Summary
Jatropha is a perennial crop of easy cultivation and healthy life cycle that has received increasing popularity as a biodiesel feedstock, foodstuff, natural fence, and medicinal plant. Liquid-solid extraction methods – such as the Soxhlet method[5] and ultrasound-assisted extraction6 – are commonly employed. They are tedious and require long extraction times (>1 h) and consume a large amount of both samples (>2 g) and solvent (>150 mL). High-throughput methods (near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance)[7,8] and supercritical CO2 9 were developed as alternatives for the extraction of oil in Jatropha seeds. Being environmentally friendly and/or fast alternatives for the estimation of oil content, these techniques are unaffordable to many laboratories, especially in developing countries. The vortex-assisted extraction method followed by GC-MS for the screening of oil content and composition in Jatropha seeds was optimized.
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