Study of supercritical CO2 extraction of tamarillo (Cyphomandra Betacea) seed oil containing high added value compounds.

In the present investigation, the extraction of tamarillo seed oil was conducted using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2), under different conditions of pressure (20-38.1 MPa) and temperature (40-64°C). In order to determine the effect that these extraction parameters have over the yield and composition of the oil, a central composite design was used. The optimum yield was 21.07% obtained at 38.1 MPa and 64°C. The fatty acids of the tamarillo seed oil obtained with SC-CO2 were identified: linoleic (70.12%), oleic (16.18%), palmitic (9.68%), stearic (2.12%), linolenic (1.70%), and palmitoleic (0.23%). Other components, such as squalene (2.96-19.75 mg/mL), β-sitosterol (2.05-3.68 mg/mL), cycloartenol (1,23-2.81 mg/mL) dihydrolanosterol (0.28-0.70 mg/mL) sterols and γ-tocopherol (0.89-2.10 mg/mL) were also noted. The extraction kinetic was studied at 27.5 MPa -50°C and 38.1 MPa -64°C. The semi-empirical model of Sovová et al. [24] described 99.21% of the experimental behavior of extraction kinetics. High yields of tamarillo seed oil, as well as its unique composition of unsaturated fatty acids and minor components, show the potential for its application in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.