Added value to the tomato through the seeds, the basis of a functional oil

Tomato seeds could provide the basis for the development of new oils with high antioxidant functionality, according to a paper published by the Journal of Food Science. Tomato seeds are typically treated as a waste by-product of tomato processing. However, according to the research team led by Zhongli Pan of the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), implementing appropriate techniques allows an oil high in antioxidants to be developed. The research team looked at a number of process variables, including time, temperature, solvent-to-solid ratio and particle size. Increasing temperature, solvent-to-solid ratio, and extraction time increased oil yield. In contrast, larger particle size reduced the oil yield. The recommended oil extraction conditions were 8 min of extraction time at temperature of 25 ?C, solvent-to-solids ratio of 5/1 (v/w) and particle size of 0.38 mm, which gave oil yield of 20.32% with recovery rate of 78.56%. Wikipedia informs that the possibility of extracting oil from tomato seeds was studied in the USA in 1914. Searching for ?tomato seed oil?, the entry informs that the seeds have been given renewed attention as there is pressure to utilise the waste products of tomato processing, in which seeds are the largest component. In Greece, over a million tons of tomatoes are processed each year and the resulting quantity of seeds might be used to produce up to 2000 tons of oil. The oil from Greek seeds has been extracted by using ether as a solvent. When analysed, it was found to contain a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. The picture is from Wikipedia