This study evaluated the physicochemical properties of oils extracted from steam-exploded camellia seed (Camellia oleifera Abel.). Steam pressure, resident time, fatty acid composition, total phenolics, tocopherol, squalene, and sterol contents, and volatile compounds were determined. 1H NMR and FTIR spectra were performed for the structure of camellia seed oil. This study has found the highest yield of oil was 86.56% and was obtained when steam explosion pretreatment was at 1.6 MPa 30 s. Oil extracted by steam explosion pretreatment exhibited favorable physicochemical properties and stronger antioxidant activities compared to untreated oil. The compositions of fatty acid were similar between treated and untreated camellia seed oil. According to the 1H NMR and FTIR analyses, the functional groups of the oils were not significantly affected by the steam explosion pretreatment. Furans such as 2-pentyl-furan, 2-furanmethanol, and 3-methyl-furan were produced from stream-exploded camellia seed. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that steam explosion pretreatment efficiently promoted the release of oil by destroying the cell structure of camellia seed. Therefore, steam explosion can be an effective method for the camellia seed oil extraction.
Keywords: camellia seed oil; physicochemical properties; steam explosion; volatile compounds.