Pomegranate seeds are a rich source of oil, with the mass of oil being up to 20 % of the total seed weight. The predominant fatty acid classes in pomegranate oil are C18:3 (31–86 %), followed by C18:2 and C18:1. As it contains a high amount of healthy conjugated fatty acids and other anticancer agents the pomegranate oil has gained some attention for medical applications. However, the fatty acid composition strongly depends on the extraction method, such as solvent extraction, supercritical CO2 extraction, or cold press.
Ali Khoddami, University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues analyzed the physicochemical properties and fatty acid profile of pomegranate oils extracted by cold press from three different sources: from pomegranates of the variety Torshe Malas Iran and two commercial oils from Iran and Turkey. Oils obtained by cold press are characterized by a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as punicic, linoleic, and oleic acid compared to other extraction methods. 13 different aromas are found for all oils by gas chromatography. Altogether the properties of pomegranate seed oils obtained by cold press indicate a very high oil quality. This could enable the generation of a substantial revenue for pomegranate processing factories.
- Physico-chemical properties and fatty acid profile of seed oils from pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) extracted by cold pressing,
Ali Khoddami, Yaakob Bin Che Man, Thomas H. Roberts,
Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 2014.
DOI: 10.1002/ejlt.201300416