The Effect of Different Solvent Systems on Some Chemical Properties of Pistachio Nut Oil Contaminated with Aflatoxin

Extraction of oil from poor quality pistachios results in increased add-value. In this study, the performance of different solvents in recovery of valuable oil and meal from the pistachio sample contaminated with aflatoxin was investigated and some chemical properties of the extracted oil were determined. The pistachio nut oil was extracted by three solvent systems including n-hexane (non- polar), ethanol 96˚ (polar) and n-hexane- ethanol 96˚ (90:10) using soxhlet method and for each solvent the mean yield was determined. Fatty acid profile, Iodine, peroxide and acid values of the extracted oil were determined. Aflatoxin contents in the produced oil and meal were measured. Extraction yield of the pistachio oil by different solvents ranged from 33.6% in the samples extracted by ethanol to 40.4% in the sample extracted by n-hexane-ethanol (90:10). The most predominant saturated and unsaturated fatty acids found in the pistachio oils were palmitic and oleic acids, respectively. The highest amount of aflatoxin was found in the oil extracted by ethanol and in the meal recovered by n- hexane.