In a fast-growing scenario of environmental decay and resource depletion, the need to reuse industrial wastes has become urgent. Lemon (Citrus limon) seeds constitute the main by-product of industrial processing for the production of juice, pulp slices, and essential oil. In 2016 alone, the global production of lemon fruits was 17.3 million metric tons. The economic and ecological importance of the reutilization of lemon seeds in order to transform waste into a resource can be easily derived. In the past, lemon wastes were basically destined for cattle feed or agricultural fertilization. Nonetheless, the literature reports some studies on lemon seed oil, dating back to the early 1900s, where it was already emphasized that lemon by-products, such as seeds, could be a source of prosperity as well as their parent fruits. Soon after, new reports by oil chemists appeared, with preliminary investigations on the chemical and physical properties of lemon seed extracts and oil. Besides a considerable fraction of oil (around 45%), mainly consisting of beneficial lipids, lemon seeds have been demonstrated to contain nutrients such as proteins, minerals, limonoids, and glucoside derivatives. Therefore, in view of the increasing demand for new sources of edible oils, lemon seed oil has successfully entered the global market of seed oils, but remains a niche product. In this chapter, an overview of chemical composition, biological properties, and common uses and applications of the cold pressed oil are given, with a particular focus on the methodologies used for its production.

Chapter 14 - Cold pressed lemon (Citrus limon) seed oil

Ambrogina Albergamo;Rosaria Costa;Giacomo Dugo
2020-01-01

Abstract

In a fast-growing scenario of environmental decay and resource depletion, the need to reuse industrial wastes has become urgent. Lemon (Citrus limon) seeds constitute the main by-product of industrial processing for the production of juice, pulp slices, and essential oil. In 2016 alone, the global production of lemon fruits was 17.3 million metric tons. The economic and ecological importance of the reutilization of lemon seeds in order to transform waste into a resource can be easily derived. In the past, lemon wastes were basically destined for cattle feed or agricultural fertilization. Nonetheless, the literature reports some studies on lemon seed oil, dating back to the early 1900s, where it was already emphasized that lemon by-products, such as seeds, could be a source of prosperity as well as their parent fruits. Soon after, new reports by oil chemists appeared, with preliminary investigations on the chemical and physical properties of lemon seed extracts and oil. Besides a considerable fraction of oil (around 45%), mainly consisting of beneficial lipids, lemon seeds have been demonstrated to contain nutrients such as proteins, minerals, limonoids, and glucoside derivatives. Therefore, in view of the increasing demand for new sources of edible oils, lemon seed oil has successfully entered the global market of seed oils, but remains a niche product. In this chapter, an overview of chemical composition, biological properties, and common uses and applications of the cold pressed oil are given, with a particular focus on the methodologies used for its production.
2020
978-0-12-818188-1
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/3173489
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