Abstract

Borage seed oil extraction using cold pressing produces a good oil quality, but it has a low-yield. In a previous study on a borage oil extraction process by cold pressing using commercial enzymes, the oil yield was enhanced in comparison to the control without enzymes. The aim of this work was to further evaluate the effect of temperature, moisture and time of enzymatic hydrolysis; and the effect of this treatment under selected conditions on the pressing stage and on product qualities. The best treatment condition with Olivex-Celluclast was 45 °C, 20% moisture over 9 h of treatment. When the extraction of the pre-treated borage meal was carried out by double pressing (20 min each) on preheated matter, 95% of the oil was recovered. The enzymatic treatment did not affect the oil quality and the residual meal was more valuable due to its lower fibre content. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.