PROCESSES FOR MAKING ANIMAL FEED AND PROTEIN ISOLATES FROM JOJOBA MEAL

Hexane-extracted jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis, Link.) seed yields meal that contains 25-30% crude protein (N x 6.25) and the antinutritional factors (ANF) simmondsin, simmondsin 2'-ferulate, 5-demethylsimmondsin, and 4,5-didemethylsimmondsin. The ANF were water-extracted or degraded enzymatically or microbiologically and resulting meals fed to mice. At levels up to 20% of the diet, meals treated with ammonia or sodium hydroxide showed no toxicity and supported growth equal to that of the control diet, whereas microbiologically treated or ammonia plus steam treated meals supported a lower growth rate at 10 and 20% substitution. ANF-degrading enzymes inherent in the meal were inactivated in the steam-sparging recovery of hexane after 10 min of steaming when the meal reached 93-degrees-C, but they were still active after 5 min when the meal was processed at 66-degrees-C. The water extraction and inherent enzyme processes were scaled up to 4- and 15-kg batches. Proteins were extracted from the meal with 0.1% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt or 1% ascorbic acid in water and separated by membranes to give white water-soluble protein isolates.