Fatty acid composition and oxidation stability of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) seed oil extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide.

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) was employed to extract oil from hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) seeds. For ground seeds, the supercritical extraction was carried out at temperatures of 40, 60 and 80 \u25e6C and pressures of 300 and 400 bar. Different solvent-ratios were applied. Supercritical CO2 extractions were compared with a conventional technique, n-hexane in Soxhlet. The extraction yields, fatty acid composition of the oil and oxidation stability were determined. The seed samples used in this work contained 81% PUFAs, of which 59.6% was linoleic acid (-6), 3.4% -linolenic (-3), and 18% -linolenic (-6). The highest oil yield from seeds was 22%, corresponding to 72% recovery, at 300 bar and 40 \u25e6C and at 400 bar and 80 \u25e6C. The highest oxidation stability corresponding to 2.16mMEq Vit E was obtained at 300 bar and 80 \u25e6C