Influence of Enzymatic Pretreatment on the Cell Structure and Oil
Recovery from Pumpkin Seeds
Abstract
The pretreatment of pumpkin seeds with proteolytic, cellulolytic and
pectolytic enzymes and their effect on cell structure and oil yield was
studied. Pumkin seed samples were treated with pepsin, papain, Viscozyme
L, cellulase or pectinase. The evaluation of cell integrity by immediate
hexane extraction (shaking method) showed that all samples treated with
different enzymes had a higher oil yield, ranging from 33.2 to 34.1 %
of seed weight, than the control samples (32.1 %). The number of
disrupted cells was also higher than the control (64.4%), ranging from
67.6 to 69.5 %. The highest percentage of disrupted cells, 71.0 and
71.1 %, was found in samples treated with pepsin+Viscozyme L+pectinase
and pepsin+cellulase+pectinase mixtures, respectively. To study the
effect of enzymatic pretreatment on the microstructure of pumkin seeds,
ultramicrotome slices of pumpkin seeds were treated with individual
enzymes and enzyme mixtures. The highest percentage of cell destruction
was observed in samples treated with Viscozyme L and the mixture of
pepsin+Viscozyme L+pectinase. The yield of pressed oil from pumpkin
seeds pretreated with the pepsin+Viscozyme L+pectinase mixture was 7.0
% higher than that of control samples. The quality parameters, chemical
composition and antioxidant activity of pressed oils were investigated
and the enzymatic pretreatment did not significantly affect the free
fatty acid content, peroxide value, fatty acid composition, or
phytosterol profiles. The antioxidant activity expressed as DPPH°
radical scavenging effect of the enzymatically pretreated pressed oil
was 2.7 % higher than that of the sample not pretreated with enzymes.