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Updated: May 28, 2026

Preparation, Purification, and Use of Fatty Acid-containing Liposomes
Published on: February 9, 2018
Hydrolysis optimization and characterization study of preparing fatty acids from Jatropha curcas seed oil
Jumat Salimon1, Bashar Mudhaffar Abdullah, Nadia Salih
1School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. jumat@ukm.my.
Background:
Fatty acids (FAs) are important as raw materials for the biotechnology industry. Existing methods of FAs production are based on chemical methods. In this study potassium hydroxide (KOH)-catalyzed reactions were utilized to hydrolysis Jatropha curcas seed oil.
Results:
The parameters effect of ethanolic KOH concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time to free fatty acid (FFA%) were investigated using D-Optimal Design. Characterization of the product has been studied using Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The optimum conditions for maximum FFA% were achieved at 1.75M of ethanolic KOH concentration, 65°C of reaction temperature and 2.0 h of reaction time.
Conclusions:
This study showed that ethanolic KOH concentration was significant variable for J. curcas seed oil hydrolysis. In a 18-point experimental design, FFA% of hydrolyzed J. curcas seed oil can be raised from 1.89% to 102.2%, which proved by FTIR and HPLC.
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