Camelina sativa Seed Lipids: Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction, Characterization, and Utilization as a New Omega-3 Source

Health care systems and health related studies in the western world have focused on “development-driven” diseases for the past several decades. To tackle these health issues, results from both basic and applied research have recommended nutritional therapy and physical exercise as effective and widely accepted interventions. The demand for omega-3 fatty acids has been increasing due to their many health benefits. Nonetheless, other sources than the most used marine oils are needed to increase sustainability and prevent heavy metals intake. A potential sustainable source of omega-3 fatty acids is the underutilized camelina seed. Therefore, the goal of this research was to extract and characterize the lipids in camelina seed using a green extraction method, and to utilize the oil and its lecithin. Extraction of omega-3 rich camelina seed oil by conventional methods is challenging due to oxidation. Additionally, concerns regarding organic solvent based extractions are increasing because of their immediate danger in handling and the potential long-term health problems. Thus, interest in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) as a green technology to extract bioactive rich oils, such as camelina seed oil, has been rising. This research thus consisted of initially optimizing SC-CO2 and ethanol-modified SC-CO2 extraction conditions, and examining their advantages as compared to traditional methods. Extraction using pure SC-CO2 allowed oil recovery of 88% relative to hexane extraction, whereas ethanol modified SC-CO2 resulted in an oil yield that was comparable to hexane extraction. In addition, using ethanol as a modifier increased the polar fraction of the oil. A study on the oxidation of camelina seed oil extracted using different techniques demonstrated that modifying SC-CO2 with 10% (w/w) ethanol resulted in the highest stability. Subsequently, stable camelina seed oil emulsions were formed to improve delivery of the omega-3 fatty acids and results revealed that emulsions fabricated at 30 MPa and a higher number of passes resulted in smaller particle sizes and higher physical and oxidative stability. Lastly, the chemical composition and emulsifying property of enzymatically degummed lecithin recovered from camelina seed oil was studied and demonstrated that the lecithin was rich in phosphatidylinositol (PI) and lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) and had good emulsifying potential