Comparison of techniques for the extraction of tobacco seed oil

The yield and fatty acid (FA) composition of the oil obtained from the seeds of a semi‐oriental tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plant, type Otlja, by various recovery techniques, which are: Soxhlet extraction (SE), maceration (ME), indirect and direct ultrasonic extraction (IUE and DUE, respectively) and cold pressing (CP), were compared. The solvent extractions of ground tobacco seeds (TS) were carried out by n‐hexane, while CP was used to recover the oil from the TS. The highest oil yield (32.9 g/100 g, i.e. 93% of the oil content in the seeds) was achieved by CP. Ultrasonically assisted solvent extractions appear to be inefficient in recovering the oil from the ground TS, as the oil yields were only 45–55% of the oil content, depending on the extraction conditions. Independently of the technique applied, linoleic acid was the major FA of the tobacco seed oil (TSO). The compositions of the TSO extracted by SE, ME, IUE and CP were very similar to each other, and the composition of the TSO recovered by DUE depended on the ultrasonic power input. The content of linoleic acid was reduced, while the content of saturated FA was increased by increasing the ultrasonic power from 5 to 50 W.