Vietnamese scientists have produced vegetable oil from purple passion fruit seeds (Passiflora edulis).
The oil obtained from this process can be blended with other products for use in food and cosmetics.
Purple Passion Fruit Seeds Are Rich in Beneficial Oil
The production process of vegetable oil from purple passion fruit seeds (Passiflora edulis) is an exclusive solution developed by Professor Dr. Nguyen Manh Cuong and his colleagues at the Institute of Natural Compounds Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.
This solution refers to the process of producing vegetable oil from purple passion fruit seeds. The oil obtained can be mixed with other products for applications in food and cosmetics.
Professor Dr. Nguyen Manh Cuong shared that during the production of juice and other products from purple passion fruit, a large amount of by-products, including the fruit peel and seeds, is often discarded, leading to environmental pollution or is not utilized effectively.
Purple passion fruit seeds comprise about 6 – 12% of the fruit’s weight, resulting in the annual production of thousands of tons of seeds. With the area cultivated with purple passion fruit increasing significantly in the coming years, the surplus seed volume will also rise. Therefore, utilizing purple passion fruit seeds to create value-added products aimed at food and cosmetic applications is both necessary and urgent.
Purple passion fruit seeds contain components such as polyphenols, primarily piceatannol, resveratrol, and dimethylstilbene compounds like scirpusin A and scirpusin B; oil: accounting for 15 – 20% of the seed weight, which includes phytosterols, some tocopherols, and mainly unsaturated fatty acids.
Analysis of the chemical composition shows that oil from purple passion fruit seeds grown in Vietnam has a content of linoleic acid (ω-6) at 66.94%, oleic acid (ω-9) at 18.86%, sterols at 2935.35 mg/kg, triglycerides at 74.11%, and tocopherols at 18.04 mg/kg.
Purple passion fruit seeds are rich in beneficial oil, antioxidants, and have very low saturated fat content.
The unsaturated fatty acids in purple passion fruit seed oil are primarily linoleic and oleic acids, accounting for over 89%. The ω-6 unsaturated fatty acid content in purple passion fruit seed oil is comparable to that found in several vegetable seed oils currently available on the market, such as sunflower, grape seed, safflower, and sesame oils. Analysis of the fatty acid composition of purple passion fruit seeds shows a high unsaturated fatty acid content and low saturated fatty acid content, making it a suitable vegetable oil for food processing.
Unsaturated acids ω-6 and ω-9 are essential fatty acids for the body, helping to prevent cardiovascular diseases, combat cancer, lower blood pressure, and reduce cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. As purple passion fruit seed oil contains high levels of ω-6 and ω-9, it has skin brightening properties and is non-greasy; it helps moisturize and cleanse the skin, nourishing all skin types, especially acne-prone skin; and is very effective in anti-aging and dermatitis treatment.
Discovering the Optimal Oil Extraction Formula
Professor Dr. Nguyen Manh Cuong stated that the research team applied the surfactant Tween 20 combined with NaCl for high-yield, rapid, economical, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly oil extraction.
Unlike conventional oil extraction processes (which typically use harmful solvents such as hexane, kerosene, chloroform, and ethyl acetate), the vegetable oil obtained from purple passion fruit seeds is extracted using the surfactant Tween 20 combined with NaCl under specific conditions such as: surfactant and NaCl concentration; raw material/extraction solution ratio (volume/volume), pH; extraction temperature and time.
From the technical status of the solution, the authors found that the extraction technique using non-reusable materials, harmful solvent systems, and expensive complexes to produce oil from oilseed sources is a significant barrier to the development of products in the vegetable oil manufacturing industry.
The process of extracting vegetable oil from purple passion fruit seeds using the surfactant Tween 20 (as a substitute for conventional harmful solvents) combined with NaCl for high yield is the innovative and creative highlight of this useful solution.
The production process of oil from purple passion fruit seeds allows for the use of the oil as raw material to produce products applicable in cosmetics and food. The oil obtained from this beneficial process possesses antioxidant activity; it can be used alone or combined with other products to manufacture applications in food and cosmetics.
