EFFECTS OF WATER QUALITY ON DEGUMMING CRUDE NONCONVENTIONAL VEGETABLE OILS

ABSTRACT The effects of various degumming agents on the trace metal concentrations of five nonconventional oils extracted from the seeds of Terminalia catappa, Irvingia gabonensis, Persea americana, Dacryodes edulis and fleshy mesocarp of D. edulis fruit and one conventional oil extracted from Glycine max were studied. The degumming of these oils was done using distilled water, NaCl solution and Ca–Mg salt solution at various concentrations as degumming agents. The findings showed that the degumming ability of the various degumming agents varied from one oil to another, with the degumming efficiency of 100–300 µg/mL NaCl solutions higher than that of 50–250 µg/mL Mg–Ca solutions. For the developing countries, the degumming process outlined in this study is a viable and an affordable alternative to the hi‐tech procedures available in the developed countries. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Irvingia gabonensis, Terminalia catappa, Dacryodes edulis and Persea americana are local plants cultivated across Nigeria. Their seeds and fruits have found applications in both human and animal feeding because of their high oil and protein content. However, these nonconventional oil seed sources are prone to chemical rancidity and poor shelf life because of lack of adequate technology in handling and preserving their fruits, seeds and oils. The main application of this study is to come up with cheap technology and efficient process of removing some of the chemical components of the oils responsible for their low shelf life. This could assist the food industries in the developing countries to solve the problems of the high cost of and unavailable technology from the developed nations, and hence, tackle the problem of oil spoilage or rancidity using the findings of this research.