Characterization and Optimization of Solvent and Enzymatic Extraction of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) Oil

Aims: The work seeks to extract oil from Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) using both solvent and enzymatic processes, and to find out which of the processes will be better in terms of quantity and quality
Study Design: Box-Behken model of response surface methodology with three-levels-three-factors was used which produced seventeen experimental runs.
Place and Duration of Study: Experment was carried out in the Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria between March and December, 2012.
Methodology: The solvent extraction was optimized using Box-Behnken model of response surface methodology; while the enzyme assisted aqueous extraction was carried out using ground okra mixed with distilled water at a ratio of 1:6 w/v. The oil obtained from both extraction methods were subjected to gas chromatography for characterization of okra oil.
Results: The results showed that the enzymatic extracted okra oil contained higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acid when compared to the solvent-extracted oil, hence better oil quality. Optimized oil yield of 30.4% was obtained at 2.25h, 45g sample mass and 175 mL solvent volume for the solvent extraction process.
Conclusion: Qualitatively, enzymatic extraction was the preferred method while quantitatively, solvent extraction was better.