Currently Sacha inchi oil is obtained by cold pressing and commercialized
as the crude oil. However cold pressing only results in
a partial recovery of the oil. Extraction by conventional methods,
such as hexane extraction, could result in deterioration problems,
as well as being a flammable and toxic solvent. They may generate
deterioration of the PUFAs because of the high temperatures used
in processing, and also oxidative rancidity, producing off-flavors
and odors. Consequently these are critical factors in the extraction
process [8].
SC-CO2 extraction has become an important separation technique
in the field of food and nutraceutical applications [9–17].
With this technology, it is possible to extract heat sensitive, easily
oxidized compounds such as PUFAs, and to avoid using any toxic
solvent like n-hexane, leaving residues in the product, since CO2 is
non-toxic, non-flammable, inexpensive and easily separated from
the extract and from the solid matrix. Supercritical carbon dioxide
(SC-CO2) has been established as a good alternative solvent
for lipid extraction, such as in the extraction of PUFAs from fish
lipids [8,18], and the extraction of oil from grape seeds [19], soybean
[20], amaranth seeds [21] and hazelnuts [22]. Even though