Green extracts of grape seed oil - potential source of fatty acids and health benefits

Supercritical CO2 extraction of oil from grape seed samples obtained from a Portuguese industry without any previous treatment was carried out at temperatures from (313 to 333) K, pressures up to 40.0 MPa and different scCO2 flow rates. The qualitative analysis of the crude oil was carried out by NMR. The fatty acids were analyzed by GC-FID with reference to the parameters in Annex I to European Commission Regulation. The results show similar content of triacylglycerols and diacylglycerols both in the n-hexane and scCO2 extracts, but the latter have higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and lower content of saturated fatty acids, and hence are more beneficial for human health and wellbeing.