Supercritical CO2 Extraction Process of Perilla Seed Oil

Perilla seeds

Perilla seed is the dry and mature fruit of Perilla, which is an oval or spherical shape, with a gray-brown or gray-brown surface, thin and brittle peel, easy to crush, oily, fragrant when crushed, and slightly taste pungent.

Perilla Seed Oil

As a traditional Chinese medicine, perilla seed has the functions of reducing qi, eliminating phlegm, relieving asthma, and moisturizing the intestines. It is used to treat phlegm, cough, asthma, intestinal dryness, and constipation. In recent years, pharmacological studies have proved that perilla seed oil can enhance intelligence, thermal memory, and vision. Perilla seed oil mainly contains fatty acids, among which a-linolenic acid is the main one, with a content of more than 70%. It is currently found to be the most abundant plant resource containing a-linolenic acid. , it is an essential fatty acid that is very beneficial to human health and has the effect of inhibiting the occurrence and metastasis of cancer.

Supercritical CO2 Extraction Process of Perilla Seed Oil

The technological process of extracting perilla seed oil with supercritical CO2 fluid is: perilla seed → pretreatment → supercritical CO2 fluid extraction → two-stage separation → perilla seed oil.

CO2 Extraction Process Parameters of Perilla Seed Oil

The main operating parameters of CO2 extraction perilla seed oil are:

Extraction kettle: 30MPa/42℃;
The first stage separation kettle: 8MPa/70℃;
Second stage separation tank: 87.5MPa/60℃;
Distillation column: 7MPa/36℃;
CO2 flow rate: 40kg/h;
Extraction time: 4h.

The extract collected from the first-stage separation tank is a light yellow, clear, and translucent oily implant with a specific fragrance, and the yield can reach 27.5%. GC-MS analysis found that it contains 12 kinds of fatty acids, mainly: palmitic acid 10.52%, a-linolenic acid 73.46%, oleic acid 7.62%, stearic acid 4.05%, nonadecenic acid 1.7%, eicosatriene Acid 0.92%, no linoleic acid was detected.

Petroleum Ether vs Supercritical CO₂

The yield of perilla seed oil obtained by using petroleum ether (60~90℃) as a solvent to extract perilla seeds is equivalent to that of supercritical CO2 fluid extraction. However, the extraction time of supercritical CO2 fluid is short, the product is clear and transparent, and does not require any follow-up treatment, while the extraction time of organic solvent is long, and there are problems such as organic solvent residue. The products extracted by the two processes were analyzed by GC-MS, and the results showed that the components and compositions extracted by the two methods were similar.