ENZYMATIC PRETREATMENT TO ENHANCE OIL EXTRACTION FROM FRUITS AND OILSEEDS - A REVIEW

Enzymatic treatment to enhance oil recovery from olive, avocado or coconut pastes has been used with excellent results both on a laboratory and industrial scale (olive) obtaining the oil in shorter times and increasing the capacity of the equipment. This treatment was tried for the extraction of oil and protein from oilseeds on a laboratory scale (peanut, rapeseed - also in a pilot plant - sunflower and soybean). Considering that two thirds of the total fat and oil production is supplied by oilseeds (soybean, sunflower, rape and palm accounting for more than 70% of vegetable oils) this is a promising field for biotechnological applications. In the present work the different processes, as well as the factors affecting their efficiency, are discussed.