A review on newer techniques in extraction of oleaginous flaxseed constituents

Abstract

Flaxseed is the chief oilseed crop that is grown in many regions of the world for medicinal and nutritional purposes. It has been used for oil and fiber since centuries. Flaxseed has an enormous role in functional foods for its nutritional and pharmaceutical values. Among the various components of flaxseed lignans, phenolic acids, proteins and oil are of the main interest. Oil and lignans have prime concentrations in the flaxseed. To study the extraction of these compounds, various extraction methods have been investigated. Oil has been extracted by mechanical pressing in ancient times but presently new techniques have been developed. These include microwave assisted extraction, supercritical CO2 extraction, ultrasonic assisted extraction, etc. Enzymes are also gaining importance in the extraction of oil, lignan and proteins as they give more yield of compounds and easily degrade the cell wall of the flaxseed. The need of these novel techniques lies in the fact that traditional methods have different shortcomings like low yield, more time, more energy and less environmental friendly. This review put on a view to different techniques which have been investigated for the extraction of different components of flaxseed. Quality evaluation and comparison of flaxseed oils and other bioactive components obtained by newer techniques with those produced by conventional extraction methods is also reported.

Keywords

• flaxseed
• nutritional composition
• newer extraction techniques
• oleaginous plant constituents