Chemical and Proximate Profiling of Papaya (Carica papaya) and Avocado (Persea americana) Seed Oils for Biorefinery Potential

Abstract

This study focussed on characterizing the chemical and proximate constituents of papaya and avocado seed oils to determine if the oils may be used as biomass in biorefineries. Fruits of the plants were harvested from trees growing in Afikpo. Standard procedures were used to remove their seeds, process them, and extract the oils. Standard techniques were used to analyze the oils’ proximate, vitamin, and element constituents. The percentage oil yield of papaya (34.4 %) was larger than that of avocado (22 %). Also, papaya oil had significantly higher (p<.0.05) fats & oils content (20.114 ± 0.608 %) than avocado oil (16.578 ± 0.479 %). Vitamins (A, D, E) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in papaya seed oil compared to avocado seed oil. The importance of the oils shown in the results is an indication of the possibility of the seeds of the plants to be harnessed for use in biorefineries. Thus, the oils from the seeds of these plants, especially papaya could be mass produced for their biorefinery advantages such as their vaporization into a wide range of value-added products like biofuels, functional food ingredients, nutraceuticals, and animal feeds.