A traditionalJavamethodofcoconutoilextractionassistedbypaddycrabswasinvesti-
gated tofindoutifcrabsorcrab-derivedcomponentscanbeusedtoextractoilfrom
Jatropha curcas seed kernels.UsingthetraditionalJavamethodtheadditionofcrabpaste
liberated 54%ww1 oil fromgratedcoconutmeat.Oilextractionusingcrabpastecarried
out undercontrolledtemperaturesandinthepresenceofantibioticsshowedthatenzymes
from crabplayedadominantroleinliberatingoilfromgratedcoconutmeatandaqueous J.
curcas kernel slurrieswhenincubatedat30 C or37 C. However,athighertemperature
(50 C), thermophilicbacterialstrainspresentinsidecrabsplayedasignificantroleinthe
extraction ofoilfrombothoilseedstested.Athermophilicbacterialstrainisolatedfrom
crab pasteandidentifiedbasedon16srRNAsequenceas Bacilluslicheniformis strain BK23,
when addedasstarterculture,wasabletoliberate60%ww1 oil fromaqueous J. curcas
kernel slurryafter24hat50 C. FurtherstudiesofBK23andextractionprocessoptimiza-
tion arethechallengestoimproveJatrophaoilextractionyieldandprocesseconomy.