Detoxification from Cotyledons of Apricot Seeds (Prunus armeniaca) and its Effect on the Properties of Raw Material and Extracted Oil

Abstract

Detoxification from seed cotyledons of (Prunus armeniaca) was carried out by soaking of seed cotyledons in water before and after extraction of oil, and the results showed that seed represent (15) % of fruit weight, where hull and cotyledons weight percentages were (62.19) % and (37.81) % of the mature seed respectively. The seed cotyledons contained high level of crude oil (50.93) % and medium level of protein (30.03) % and low level of carbohydrate (12.70) % also very low percentage of the ash and fibers. On the other hand, the seed cotyledons contained high level of hydrocyanic acid (0.27) %. The percentages of free fatty acids in the extractable crude oils before and after removing of the toxicity were (0.81) % and (1.69) %, respectively. The predominant fatty acids found in the crude oil were oleic, linoleic and palmatic acids and the percentage of unsaturated fatty acids reached (94) % from total fatty acids. The oil separated into eight components using thin layer chromatography, in which the triethyl glycerol was the main component. The crude protein and ash content of powder was reduced after removal of the toxicity by soaking in water. The percentages of hydrocyanic acid before and after extracting oil between (2.30-3.37) % of the total hydrocyanic acid in the powder. The effect of removing of the toxicity on mineral and amino acid content of powder was relatively low especially after toxicity removing before oil extract. However, the powder was found to have most of the essential amino acids.

Keywords

• detoxification
• cotyledons of apricot seeds