Influence of Moisture Content and Seed Dimensions on Mechanical Oil Expression from African Oil Bean (Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth) Seed

Purpose: New low-cost oilseeds are needed to meet an ever-increasing demand for oil for food, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications. African oil bean seed is a tropical crop that is underutilized and has high oil yields, but there have been no studies conducted on its mechanical oil expression up to now. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of moisture content and seed dimensions on mechanical oil expression from the seeds. Methods: Fresh oil bean seeds were procured, de-hulled, and cleaned. Initial seed moisture content, obtained in accordance with the ASAE standard, was 12% dry basis (db). The seeds were further conditioned by dehydration and rehydration prior to oil expression to obtain four other moisture levels of 8, 10, 14, and 16% db. The major diameter of the seeds was measured using digital vernier calipers, and the seeds were classified into size dimensions (less than 40, 41-45, 46-50, 51-55, and greater than 55 mm). The oil yield and expression efficiency were obtained in accordance with standard evaluation methods. Results: The highest oil yield and expression efficiency (47.74% and 78.96%, respectively) were obtained for a moisture content of 8% db and seed dimensions of less than 40 mm, while the lowest oil yield and expression efficiency (41.35% and 68.28%, respectively) were obtained for a moisture content of 14% db and seed dimensions between 51-55 mm. A mathematical model was developed to predict oil yield for known moisture content and seed dimensions, with a coefficient of determination R 2 of 95% and the confidence level of the predictive model of 84.17%. The probability of prediction F ratio showed that moisture content influence was more significant than seed dimensions. Conclusions: The higher the moisture content and larger the seed dimensions, the lower the oil yield from African oil bean seeds.