Enhancement of mustard oil yield by cellulolytic pretreatment

Summary

One part by weight of finely powdered expeller cake from brown mustard seeds (Brassica juncea) was mixed well with 2.5 parts by weight of water and, after addition of 0.2% Celluclast^TM (NOVO Industry A/S, Bagsvaerd), the mixture was allowed to stand at 20°C, 35°C or 50°C for 2 h. The enzymatic breakdown was followed using a reductometric method. The mixture was then mixed well with one part by volume of water, the temperature was rapidly raised to 100°C, and the volatile oil was recovered by steam distillation. The yield of the resulting oil from ground samples was approximately 50% higher than that obtained without cellulolytic pretreatment at 35°C. Grinding of the expeller cake enhanced enzymatic digestion. The allyl isothiocyanate content of the oil was estimated by titrimetric and gas-chromatographic methods.