Nutritional evaluation of sweet orange citrus sinensis seed oil

Highlighting the nutritional benefit of oil gleaned from the seed of sweet orange Citrus sinensis has become necessary; owing to the fact that the seed is predominantly considered a waste. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the nutritional benefits of oil extracted from the seed of sweet orange Citrus sinensis of the family; Rutaceae, and order; Sapindales. A total of 2.0 kg of coarsely crushed seeds were immersed in 15 liters of n-hexane for 72 hours in batches with intermittent vigorous shaking and the oil was further extracted using a soxhlet extractor. Other procedures for analysis were performed using standard methods. The result revealed that, the anti-nutrients levels were found to be within the safe limit, vitamin and minerals fell within the daily recommended intake limit. The proximate composition of Citrus sinensis seeds oil revealed that the oil contains; Protein 1.560±0.120, Moisture content 4.636±0.153, Fat 89.810±0.282, Ash content 1.776±0.161, Crude fibre 0.619±0.052 and Carbohydrate 1.614±0.036. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed the presence of the following fatty acid compounds; Linoleic acid 37.644%, Palmitic acid 28.051%, Isopropyl linoleate 12.699%, Pentadecanoic acid 9.652%, Stearic acid 5.839%, Butyl linoleate 2.867, and Glutaric acid 2.616%. Therefore, indicating that, the oil extracted from sweet orange Citrus sinensis seeds it’s an excellent choice for both nutritional and industrial purposes.