Yellow passion fruit seed oil (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa): physical and chemical characteristics

the aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition -physico-chemical properties, fatty acid and tocopherol compositions and total phenolic compounds -and evaluate the radical-scavenging activity of crude oil extracted from passion fruit (passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) seeds, aiming to use the agro-industrial by-products. the oil seed extraction was performed by soxhlet method and the oil yield from the seeds was 30.39%. the oil showed high levels of unsaturated fatty acids (87.59%), including mainly linoleic (73.14%) and oleic (13.83%) acids, tocopherol (499.30 mg/kg) and phenolic compounds (1,314.13 mg gae/kg). the physico-chemical characteristics were similar to those of other edible oils and the oil showed significant antioxidant activity. therefore, the potential utilization of the passion fruit seed oil as a raw material for food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries could be favorable.