Physicochemical Characteristics of Oils Extracted from Selected Underutilized Seeds in Ozoro, Delta State, Nigeria

This work focuses on extracting oil from five local seeds using n-hexane in a Soxhlet apparatus. This study was designed to establish the suitability of the oils for domestic and industrial uses. Before extracting the oil, the nearest part of the seeds was inspected. Oils were extracted from selected underutilized seeds such as cashew (CS), orange seed (ORS), watermelon seed (WMS), paw-paw seed (PWS) and cherry seed (CHS) using n-hexane. The oil was analyzed for colour; with conventional techniques, calculate the saponification value, iodine value, acid value, percentage of unsaponifiable matter, and heat of combustion. The findings for proximal structure showed that fat ranged from 7.09 to 60.68% and protein from 17.97 to 31.16%. The levels of acidity, peroxide, iodine, saponification, unsaponifiable materials, and Polenske and density ranged from 1.07 to 5.94 mg KOH/g, 1.89 to 4.00 Meq/kg, 93.18 to 275.55 (MgI2/g), 68.41 to 326.16 KOH/g, 2.57 to 7.22 %, 1.37 to 7.44 and 0.74 to 0.87 g/L respectively. Smoke, flash, and fire points range from 75 to 90 0C, 80 to 170 0C and 230 to 300 0C respectively. According to the fatty acid composition, oleic and linoleic acid ranges were 17.14 and 60.63%, respectively. These criteria' values fell within the FAO's recommended range for edible oils. The samples used in the research oils are of high quality and suggested for use in industrial and culinary applications.