Extraction and Analysis of Flaxseed Oil by Supercritical CO2 Method Optimized by RSM and GC-MS

Flaxseed oil has already been widely used in food production in recent years as of its prominent biological functions. This study was aimed to obtain high-quality flaxseed oil and find the suitable extraction parameters, exploiting response surface methodology of a three-variable, three-level Box-Behnken experimental design. In this study, supercritical CO2 extraction technology was used to extract flaxseed oil. The chemical composition of flaxseed oil was investigated by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy. Results showed that the optimal conditions were extraction time of 4.58 h, extraction temperature at 51°C, and extraction pressure at 31 MPa. Under these conditions, the highest extraction yield of flaxseed oil was 23.95%. 9, 12, 15-Octadecatrienoic acid was indicated to be the highest content according to GC-MS analysis, with the content of 75.22%. In conclusion, supercritical CO2 extraction was proved to be an effective technique for extracting oil from flaxseed, and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy provided the satisfactory method of analyzing flaxseed oil from flaxseed for industrial need.