Study of specification of refined camelina oil and effect of deodorization process on fatty acid composition and tocopherol content

Camelina oil is highly unsaturated and is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Camelina oil contains high amounts of tocopherol which confers a reasonable shelf life without the need for special storage conditions. Generally crud oils contain many unwanted matters which must be removed to yield a stable product with a bland or pleasant taste. Chemical refining includes degumming, neutralization, bleaching and deodorization as separate process. In this study, the qualitative (FFA and PV) and compositional characteristics of camelina oil obtained from four regions of Ilam, Kermanshah, Hamedan and Fars were investigated after chemical refining operations. Changes in composional specifications were also evaluated before and after the final stage of refining, deodorization.Oils were extracted from camelina seeds from above region by soxhlet method, The extracted oils were refined. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), tocopherols FFA and PV were determined. Collected data was subjected to a one- way analysis of variance and Duncan's posthoc at the P<0.05.The most important fatty acid in terms of quantity in all samples was linolenic acid (LAn-3) and then omega- 6 linoleic acid.The trans acid isomers content, not detected more than 0.06% in any of the samples. Total tocopherol content in the camelina oil samples before deodorization were measured from 893.1-1122mg/kg and after deodorization ranged from 626.68-727.53mg/kg. Significantly loss in tocopherol content (total and individual) was observed after deodorization in all samples (p<0.05). The predominantly measured tocopherol isomer was gamma tocopherol. The present study concluded that the chemical refining of camelina oil has no significant effect on the optimal composition of its fatty acids and no trans isomers was formed. FFA and PV after deodorization were in the range of Iran national standard organization. The loss of tocopherol can be seen both in total and individual.