Abstract:
Camelina belongs to the Brassicaceae family whose seeds contain about 30-50% of oil. The high
nutritional value of camelina oil is primarily related to its fatty acid profile. The oil is enriched with
tocopherols, carotenoids, chlorophyll, and phospholipids. Due to the presence of these compounds, the
oil is stable and resistant to oxidation processes. Magnesium is the most abundant mineral in oil. It is
known that the oil has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, skin, hormonal balance,
diabetes, etc. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the extraction techniques on the
physico-chemical properties of oil obtained from camelina seeds of genotype NS Zlatka cultivated in
Serbia. Soxhlet extraction showed a higher oil yield (26.7%) compared to cold pressing (26.0%). There
were significant variations observed in density, pH value, acid value, and saponification value,
whereas, moisture content, viscosity, and the refractive index did not differ between camelina oils
produced by both methods. The obtained data showed that there were significant differences in the fatty
acid composition. The content of 9.99% of saturated, 32.82% of unsaturated, and 57.19% of
polyunsaturated fatty acids was noticed for the Soxhlet extraction. In the case of cold pressing, the
percentage of saturated (9.23%) and unsaturated fatty acids (32.12%) is in favor of large amounts of
polyunsaturated fatty acids (58.65%). In both extraction procedures, the camelina seeds oil contained
high percentages of linolenic (C18:3n3), linoleic (C18:2n6c), and eicosenoic acids (C20:1n9). The
content of -carotene and phenolic compounds (118.96 mg/kg and 26.0 mg GAE/100 g, respectively)
in the oil obtained by the Soxhlet extraction was higher than the cold-pressed oil (89.43 mg/kg and 7.3
mg GAE/100 g, respectively). The oil obtained using Soxhlet extraction had superior nutritional
characteristics compared to the cold-pressed oil. Generally, the oils isolated using these methods could
be used as high-quality oils in food and medicinal formulations. They are also can be used as ecofriendly
solvents for natural products.
