Detoxification from Cotyledons of Apricot Seeds (Prunus armeniaca) and its Effect on the Properties of Raw Material and Extracted Oil

Abstract

Detoxification from seed cotyledons of (Prunus armeniaca) was carried out bysoaking of seed cotyledons in water before and after extraction of oil, and the resultsshowed that seed represent (15) % of fruit weight, where hull and cotyledons weightpercentages were (62.19) % and (37.81) % of the mature seed respectively. The seedcotyledons contained high level of crude oil (50.93) % and medium level of protein(30.03) % and low level of carbohydrate (12.70) % also very low percentage of the ashand fibers. On the other hand, the seed cotyledons contained high level of hydrocyanicacid (0.27) %. The percentages of free fatty acids in the extractable crude oils beforeand after removing of the toxicity were (0.81) % and (1.69) %, respectively. Thepredominant fatty acids found in the crude oil were oleic, linoleic and palmatic acidsand the percentage of unsaturated fatty acids reached (94) % from total fatty acids. Theoil separated into eight components using thin layer chromatography, in which the triethylglycerol was the main component. The crude protein and ash content of powderwas reduced after removal of the toxicity by soaking in water. The percentages ofhydrocyanic acid before and after extracting oil between (2.30-3.37) % of the totalhydrocyanic acid in the powder. The effect of removing of the toxicity on mineral andamino acid content of powder was relatively low especially after toxicity removingbefore oil extract. However, the powder was found to have most of the essential aminoacids.