Full-Press Oil Extraction of Cuphea (PSR23) Seeds

Cuphea PSR23, a semi-domesticated, highcapric-acid hybrid from Cuphea viscosissima · Cuphea lanceolata, is being developed as a potential commercial alternative source of medium-chain fatty acids. The present study evaluated the effects of initial seed moisture and final moisture contents of cooked flaked seed on Cuphea’s pressing characteristics and the quality of the extracted oil. Seeds with 9 and 12% initial moisture contents (MC) were flaked and cooked at different residence times to produce cooked seeds with MC of 3.0–5.5%. Cooked seeds were pressed using a laboratory screw press. Eighty and 84% oil were extracted from cooked seeds with 5.5 and 3.0% MC, respectively. The seeds with 9% initial MC exhibited lower pressing load increase (9.1 per 1% decrease in MC) than the seeds with 12% initial MC (16.4 per 1% decrease in MC). The pressing rate decreased by 3% as the cooked flaked seed MC decreased. The amount of foots in the oil increased from 3 to 6.6% and chlorophyll content increased from 200 to 260 ppm as cooked flaked seed MC decreased from 5.5 to 3.0%. FFA contents were 2.5% for all treatments MC studied. The phosphatide content increased as the cooked flaked seed MC decreased but the amounts were still within the levels of water-degummed oil.