Microwave-assisted extraction of dragon fruit seed oil: Fatty acid profile and functional properties

Dragon fruit is gaining its popularity in all over the world. The seed of the dragon fruit is highly nutritious in terms of essential fatty acid. The utilization of seed oils is getting increasingly common these days. In this work, a comparative analysis was undertaken for control and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) samples, using the RSM-CCD (Response Surface Methodology – Central composite Design) design, to determine the influences power and time on dragon fruit seed oil's Yield, PV, DPPH, and polyphenol content. The optimization was done, where the extraction yield (34.30 %), PV (3.23 me quiiv O2/kg), DPPH (69.65 %), and polyphenol (96.71 mg GAE/g) was observed. While comparing with the control sample the antioxidant activity of the seed oil in terms of (%DPPH, FRAP and ORAC) was better in microwave treated sample. The saturated fatty acid is 25 % with a monounsaturated fatty acid 20 % and Polyunsaturated fatty acid of 55 %. High amount of tocopherol content was determined having 93 % of γ -tocopherol. Dragon fruit seed oil has the possibility to be a good source for the functional components in the near future due to the presence of antioxidant compounds and essential fats.