Selectively increasing of polyunsaturated (18:2) and monounsaturated (18:1) fatty acids in Jatropha curcas seed oil...

This study was done to obtain concentrated polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) linoleic acid (LA; 18:2) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) oleic acid (OA; 18:1) from Jatropha curcas seed oil by urea complexation. Urea complexation is a method used by researchers to separate fatty acids (FAs) based on their molecular structure. Effects the ratio of urea-to-FAs, crystallization temperature and crystallization time on the final products of urea complexation were examined. D-optimal Design was employed to study the significance of these factors and the optimum conditions for the technique were predicted and verified.

Optimum conditions of the experiment to obtain maximum concentration of LA were predicted at urea-to-FAs ratio (w/w) of 5:1, crystallization temperature of -10°C and 24 h of crystallization time. Under these conditions, the final non-urea complex fraction (NUCF) was predicted to contain 92.81% of LA with the NUCF yield of 7.8%. The highest percentage of OA (56.01%) was observed for samples treated with 3:1 urea-to-FAs ratio (w/w) at 10°C for 16 h. The lowest percentage of LA (8.13%) was incorporated into urea complex fraction (UCF) with 1:1 urea-to-FAs ratio (w/w) at 10°C for 8 h.

The separation of PUFA (LA) and MUFA (OA) described here. Experimental variables should be carefully controlled in order to recover a maximum content of PUFA and MUFA of interest with reasonable yield% with a desirable purity of fatty acid of interest.