Abstract
An aqueous enzymatic method was developed to extract corn oil from corn germ. The basic steps in the method involved “churning” the corn germ with various enzymes and buffer for 4 h at 50°C, and an additional 16 h at 65°C, followed by centrifugation and removal of the oil layer from the surface. No hexane or other organic solvents are used in this process. By using oven-dried corn germ samples (6 g) from a commercial corn wet mill, corn oil yields of about 80% were achieved using three different commercial cellulases. A fourfold scale-up of the method (to 24 g of germ) resulted in oil yields of about 90%. Nine other commercial enzymes were evaluated and resulted in significant but lower oil yields. In the absence of enzymes, oil yields of 27 to 37% were achieved. The chemical compositions of hexane-extracted vs. aqueous enzymatic-extracted corn oils were very similar.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Reiners, R.A., Extraction of Oil from Vegetable Materials, U.S. Patent 4,310,468 (1982).
Stolp, K.D., and R.W. Stute, Process for Obtaining Corn Oil from Corn Germ, U.S. Patent 4,341,713 (1982).
Moreau, R.A., Corn Oil, in Vegetable Oils in Food Technology, edited by F.D. Gunstone, Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 2002, pp. 278–296.
Environmental Protection Agency; 40 CFR Part 63; National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Solvent Extraction for Vegetable Oil Production; Final Rule, Federal Register 66:19005–19026 (2001). http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a010412c.html (accessed October 2004).
Rhee, K.C., C.M. Carter, and K.F. Mattil, Simultaneous Recovery of Protein and Oil from Raw Peanuts in an Aqueous System, J. Food. Sci. 37:90–93 (1972).
Shi, L., J. Lu, G. Jones, P.A. Loretan, and W.A. Hill, Characteristics and Composition of Peanut Oil Prepared by an Aqueous Extraction Method, Life Support Biosci. 5:225–229 (1998).
Bocevska, M., D. Karlovic, J. Turkulov, and D. Pericin, Quality of Corn Oil Obtained by Aqueous Enzyme Extraction, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 70:1273–1277 (1993).
Karlovic, D.J., M. Bocevska, J. Jakolevic, and J. Turkulov, Corn Germ Oil Extraction by a New Enzymatic Process, Acta Aliment. 23:389–400 (1994).
Hanmoungjai, P., Pyle, D.L. and Niranjan, K., Enzymatic Process for Extracting Oil and Protein from Rice Brain, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 78:817–821 (2001).
McGlone, O.C., C.M. Octavio, A.L.-M. Canales, and J.V. Carter, Coconut Oil Extraction by a New Enzymatic Process, J. Food Sci. 51:696–698 (1986).
Olsen, H.S., Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction of Oil from Rapeseeds, a Case Study by Novo Nordisk A/S: netlink: www.emcentre.com/unepweb/tec_case/food_15/process/p16.htm, 1998 (accessed October 2004).
Picuric-Jovanovic, K., Z. Vrbaski, and M. Milovanovic, Aqueous-Enzymatic Extraction of Plum Kernel Oil, Fett-Lipid 99:433–435 (1997).
Picuric-Jovanovic, K., Z. Vrbaski, and M. Milovanovic, Influence of the Aqueous-Enzymatic Method on the Oxidative Stability of Plum Kernel Oil, 101:109–112 (1999).
Rosenthal, A., D.L. Pyle, and K. Niranjan, Aqueous Enzymatic Process for Edible Oil Extraction, Enzyme Microb. Technol. 19:402–420 (1996).
Rosenthal, A., D.L. Pyle, K. Niranjan, S. Gilmour, and L. Trinca, Combined Effect of Operational Variables and Enzyme Activity on Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction of Oil and Protein from Soybean, 28:499–509 (2001).
Sharma, A., S.K. Khare, and M.N. Gupta, Enzyme Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Rice Bran, Oil, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 78:949–951 (2001).
Sharma, A., A.K. Khare, and M.N. Gupta, Enzyme-Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Peanut Oil, 79:215–218 (2002).
Singh, R.K., B.C. Sarker, and B.K. Kumbhar, Response Surface Analysis of Enzyme Assisted Oil Extraction, Factors for Sesame, Groundnut and Sunflower Seeds, J. Food Sci. Technol. Mysore 36:511–514 (1999).
Owusu-Ansah, Y.J., Enzyme-Assisted Extraction, in Technology and Solvents for Extracting Oilseeds and Nonpetroleum Oils, edited by P. Wan and P.J. Wakelyn, AOCS Press, Champaign, 1997, pp. 323–332.
Hojilla-Evangelista, M.P., L.A. Johnson, and D.J. Myers, Sequential Extraction Processing of Flaked Whole Corn: Alternative Corn Fractionation Technology for Ethanol Production, Cereal Chem. 69:643–647 (1992).
Kwiatkowski, J.R., and M. Cheryan, Extraction of Oil from Ground Corn Using Ethanol, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 79:825–830 (2002).
Strop, H.R., and R.R. Perry, Vegetable Oil Extraction Process, U.S. Patent 4,808,426 (1989).
Moreau, R.A., M.J. Powell, and K.B. Hicks, Extraction and Quantitative Analysis of Oil from Commercial Corn Fiber, J. Agric. Food Chem. 44:2149–2154 (1996).
Johnston, D.B., and V. Singh, Use of Proteases to Reduce Steep Time and SO2 Requirements in a Corn Wet-milling Process, Cereal Chem. 78:405–411 (2001).
Singh, V., L.W. Doner, D.B. Johnston, K.B. Hicks, and S.R. Eckhoff, Comparison of Coarse and Fine Corn Fiber for Corn Fiber Gum Yields and Sugar Profiles, Cereal Chem. 77:560–561 (2000).
Huang, A.H.C., Oleosin and Oil Bodies in Seeds and Other Organs, Plant Physiol. 110:1055–1061 (1996).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Moreau, R.A., Johnston, D.B., Powell, M.J. et al. A comparison of commercial enzymes for the aqueous enzymatic extraction of corn oil from corn germ. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 81, 1071–1075 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-004-1023-3
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-004-1023-3