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Wild almond (Amygdalus scoparia) oil is rich in oleic acid and, considering both nutritional and stability points of view, it can be utilized for future food applications. In the current study, acid degumming was investigated based on a method by response surface methodology using four degumming parameters, namely the amount of phosphoric acid (0.0–0.2%, w/w), the amount of water (1.0–5.0%, w/w), degumming temperature (30–70 °C), and degumming time (10–50 min). Optimum conditions for the minimum phosphorus level in the oil were found to be 0.15% phosphoric acid, 3.0% water, 40 °C degumming temperature, and 28 min degumming time, resulting in an almost complete removal of phosphorus. The final degummed wild almond oil had less than 1 mg kg−1 phosphorus (reduced from an original value of 206 mg kg−1). The experimental value of phosphorus reduction at optimum conditions agreed well with that predicted by the model. Peroxide value, anisidine value, iron, copper, and lead contents, phytosterols, unsaponifiable matter, and color of the oil decreased significantly during the degumming process; however, the fatty acid composition did not change. Also, degumming did not significantly impact the free fatty acid level, refractive index, density, iodine value, and the saponification value of the oil. However, tocopherols and the oxidative stability of the oil increased during degumming. Crude wild almond oil contained a trace level of amygdalin, which was completely eliminated during the degumming process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of different heat treatment methods on the extraction yield of oil and the amygdalin contents of the wild almond meal and oil were investigated. When using hexane as a solvent for the extraction, oil yield and amygdalin contents of the extracted oils increased by increasing the applied temperature as the pretreatment (46.1–51.6%, w/w, for oil yield and 26–49 mg/100 mL oil for the amygdalin content). When using mechanical oil extraction, hot‐press resulted in higher oil yield (23.2%) than did the cold‐press (15.6%) but the amygdalin levels of the extracted oils were not significantly different (12.8–12.9 mg/100 mL oil). Autoclaving ground wild almond and hot‐press resulted in a significant increase in the peroxide and acid values of the oils. Investigation of fatty acid profiles of different samples showed that heat treatment and extraction method in this study did not impact the fatty acid profiles of the extracted oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of roasting and aqueous extraction conditions for oil recovery from wild almond were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Optimum conditions for oil extraction were obtained at 142 °C roasting temperature, 16.5 min roasting time, 5.67 extraction pH and 4.6 h extraction time. Under these conditions, the extraction yield of 34.5% (w/w, based on the original weight of the sample) was obtained, which is equivalent to 80.0% of the total oil in the kernel. This was lower than that obtained by hexane Soxhlet (HS) extraction (43.1%, w/w, considered as 100% of total oil) but higher than that of cold pressing (CP) (18.5%, w/w; i.e., 42.9% of total oil). The refractive indices and saponification values of the oils were not affected by the extraction method. However, fatty acid and tocopherol compositions and DPPH radical scavenging capacities as well as unsaponifiable matter, iodine, peroxide and acid values of the obtained oils were impacted by the extraction method. The results showed that the quality attributes (omega-6 fatty acid content, peroxide and acid values, total tocopherol contents and antioxidant activity) of the oil obtained by AEP were somewhat similar to those of the oil extracted by CP and much superior to those of the oil obtained by HS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild almond Amygdalus scoparia is a very fruitful tree that is spread over an extensive region of Iran. Considering its high quality oil, the development of clean extraction processes based on the use of compressed fluids is encouraged. In this study, the main factors involved in supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) of wild almond have been optimized by using two different experimental designs and considering the oil extraction yield as a response variable; effects of time, temperature, pressure, and use of co-solvents were studied for SFE while effects of time, temperature and type of solvent were evaluated for PLE. Results showed that the maximum oil yield using supercritical carbon dioxide was 42 %, obtained under the following conditions: extraction temperature, 40 °C; extraction pressure, 40 MPa; and 10 % ethanol as co-solvent. The optimum extraction yield for PLE was 55 %, which was achieved using ethanol as solvent at 150 °C for 20 min. Lipidomic analysis revealed that the amount of oleic acid in the oil extracted by SFE was higher than those obtained by using other classical procedures. In addition, triacylglycerols constituted more than 98 % of the extracted oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seeds of wild almond, Amygdalus scoparia, contain a relatively high quantity of oil. In the current study, aqueous enzymatic extraction of the oil from Iranian wild almond was investigated using a protease and a cellulase to assist the extraction process. The effects of temperature, incubation time and pH on the oil recovery were evaluated using Box−Behnken design from response surface methodology (RSM). A 77.3 % recovery was predicted for oil using aqueous enzymatic extraction procedure at the optimized conditions of RSM (pH 5.76; 50 °C/5 h) when both enzymes were used at 1.0 % level ( v/ w). In practice, when both enzymes were used, a maximum of 77.8 % oil recovery was achieved at pH 5; 50 °C/4 h. Fatty acid profile, refractive index and saponification value of the aqueous enzymatic extracted oil in the current study were similar to those of the oil extracted with hexane. However, acid value, unsaponifiable matter and p-anisidine value were higher when compared to those with hexane extracted oil. Peroxide value of the aqueous enzymatic oil was lower than that of oil extracted by hexane. Aqueous enzymatic extraction can be suggested as an environmentally-friendly method to obtain oil from wild almond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical compositions of oils extracted from three wild almond species [ Amygdalus scoparia from Beyza, Iran (AZ); A. scoparia from Borazjan, Iran (AJ), and A. hausknechtii from the Firuzabad region, (AH)] and a domestic species, A. dulcis from Estahban, Iran (AD), as a reference, were investigated. Total oil content ranged from 44.4% in AJ to 51.4% in AD. Saponification numbers were in the range of 173.5 (for AJ) to 192.9 for AD. Oxidative stability, total phenolic contents and total wax contents were found to be within the ranges 11.7-14.0 h, 33.9-43.2 and 2.05-2.53%, respectively. The main monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) was oleic acid ranging from 66.7% for AH to 69.7% for AZ. The only polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) was linoleic acid ranging from 18.2% for AZ to 23.0% for AD. The major saturated fatty acid was palmitic acid. MUFA contents and MUFA to PUFA ratio in the oils from wild almond species as well as those in the domestic one were found at higher levels than those in the common vegetable oils such as soybean, various nut oils, and also those from the seeds of pomegranate, grape, date and sesame. Oils from wild almond species investigated here are rich in oleic acid and can be considered as potential vegetable oils in the human diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]