Characteristics and composition of peanut oil prepared by an aqueous extraction method

Peanut is one of the crops being tested for NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) program for future long-duration human space missions. The ALS program is developing an integrated system for biomass (food, oxygen) production and resource recycling. Oil will be used mainly for cooking and its availability is important for food preparation. Peanut seeds contain 40-50% oil and hence are considered an excellent source of oil. In the ALS environment, a simple, compact, and energy-efficient system is needed. The feasibility of such a method, peanut oil preparation by water extraction, was investigated. The results indicated the important processing conditions to be: a peanut particle size of 0.02 cm or less, a pH of 4, simmering for 20 min plus churning at 65 degrees C for a few hours, and a centrifugation at 6000 x gn to separate the oil. The oil recovery yield was about 80%. The saponification value, specific gravity, refractive index, and viscosity were similar to that of commercial peanut oil except the color was lighter for the water-extracted oil. Gas and thin-layer chromatographic analyses showed that fatty acid and lipid profiles were similar to the commercial peanut oil. The only difference observed was that the oil prepared by the aqueous method had lower linoleic and higher oleic acids than the commercial peanut oil. The oil prepared by this aqueous method appeared to be of high quality.