The supercritical fluid extraction of corn germ oil has been studied in this work. Extractions were carriedudout at different pressure, temperature and flow rate to analyze the influence of these variables on theudextraction kinetics and the oil quality obtained. Extraction curves are initially linear with a slope close toudthe oil solubility value in supercritical CO2. Based on these results a mathematical model was successfullyudapplied to describe the extraction curves. Characterization of supercritical crude corn oil was performedudby determining some physical parameters such as refraction index, density and color. Additionally, theudfatty acid composition, neutral lipids, the content of tocopherols, acid index, peroxide value, antioxidantudcapacity and the oxidative stability were determined in the corn oil extracted. Fatty acid composition wasudcompared with that for crude germ oil and no significant differences between the oils extracted by bothudmethods were found. Oxidative stability test using the Rancimat showed that supercritical CO2 extractedudcorn oil is less protected against oxidation than n-hexane extracted oils.
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