Extraction of flavored coriander vegetable oil through extrusion technology

International audience ; In an age where fossil resources are steadily depleting and environmental concerns have become an established subject of public and political discussions, the pursuit of sustainability is deeply entrenched in society. With regard to this and considering the consistently growing demand, the implementation of renewable resources in industrial processes could be a decisive solution. An interesting novel bioresource could be presented by Coriandrum sativum L., an annual herb from the family of Apiaceae and native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The coriander fruits are of particular interest, as they contain two distinct oil fractions. These comprise an essential oil with about 70% linalool and a vegetable oil, characterized by the presence of petroselinic acid, which constitutes over 70% of all fatty acids. Petroselinic acid, or cis-6-octadecenoic acid, presents a rare fatty acid common amongst the vegetable oils from Apiaceae crops. As a positional isomer of the more ubiquitous oleic acid, it may give rise to the synthesis of a series of novel, biobased compounds that could be of great interest to several industries. This renders the vegetable oil from coriander fruits particularly promising and as a consequence, the establishment of an efficient and economically favorable extraction process will constitute a major challenge for future research. Extrusion technology could present an attractive alternative to solvent extraction as it produces high quality vegetable oil that has not come into contact with any chemical substances. Further, the press cakes may find various profitable applications due to their essential oil content and antioxidant activity. Next to this, the extrusion cakes constitute natural biocomposites and could be transformed to value-added agromaterials through thermopressing. These biodegradable polymers could possibly replace less sustainable materials in automobile, building and furniture industries. The major disadvantage of mechanical pressing is considered its ...