Extraction of virgin coconut (Cocos nucifera) oil using supercritical fluid carbon dioxide

Abstract

Bioactive compound is an important component in health care to a majority of the world’s population. Virgin Coconut (Cocos nucifera) oil is used in Southeast Asia for treating various diseases and is well-known of its rich nutrients. In this study, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), an environmental friendly technique was used to extract the interest compounds from crude virgin coconut. The extracted virgin coconut oil is free from organic solvent and safe to be consumed. This is because the solvent used in the extraction process is carbon dioxide which is inert and no solvent residue inside the extracted oil. The layout of the experiment was developed via Statistica 8.0 using the Box-Behnken experimental design model. The oil yield, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were calculated while the comparison of the experimental results and the statistical data was done using response surface methodology (RSM). Therefore, the optimum conditions of temperature and pressure for the extraction of virgin coconut oil was obtained through the statistical study which is 47°C and 20MPa respectively.