Balancing extraction efficiency and quality of coconut oil by innovative voltage-modulated cold plasma

Cold plasma (CP) can improve edible oil extraction efficiency, but its industrial application requires balancing processing parameters with comprehensive oil quality. This study established the process-quality relationship between CP voltage and multidimensional attributes. CP treatment increased extraction yield by 2.21%-5.37% compared to the untreated control, but no significant differences were observed among the voltage groups (30-70 kV). For the first time, a critical threshold (50 kV) for quality evolution was identified via lipidomic and volatile analysis, while 30 kV achieved balanced improvement in extraction yield (79.56%), oxidative stability, and flavor. The work proposes a voltage-regulation strategy, delineating an optimal process window for green coconut oil production and offering a transferable methodology for the coordinated enhancement of quality and efficiency in green processing technologies.