What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to optimize the extraction process of hazelnut oil to enhance its bioactive components and sensory qualities.

February 28, 2026Open Access

An efficient and clean extraction approach for hazelnut oil with high ceramide: Enhanced biological properties and abundant flavor complexity

Key Points

The research aims to optimize the extraction process of hazelnut oil to enhance its bioactive components and sensory qualities.
Used subcritical water extraction (SWE) under specific temperature and time conditions.
Compared SWE-derived hazelnut oil with other extraction methods like cold-pressed and Soxhlet extraction.
Analyzed oil composition, including unsaturated fatty acids and ceramide content, using lipidomics.
Evaluated antioxidant activity and macrophage proliferation effects of extracted oil.
Achieved maximum yield of hazelnut oil at 42.80%.
SWE-derived oil showed the highest levels of palmitoleic and oleic acids.
SW-HO exhibited distinct flavors attributed to high levels of specific aroma compounds.
Significantly higher ceramide content was found in SWE-derived oil compared to others.
Enhanced antioxidant activity and macrophage proliferation observed at 400 μg/mL.

Abstract

This study optimized the extraction of hazelnut oil (HO) using subcritical water extraction (SWE), achieving a maximum yield of 42.80% under conditions of 210 °C, 30 min, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:10 g/mL. SWE-derived HO (SW-HO) was compared with commercial (P-HO), cold-pressed (CP-HO), and Soxhlet-extracted (S-HO) oils. All HO types contained over 92% unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), with SW-HO showing the highest contents of palmitoleic and oleic acids. SW-HO exhibited distinct caramelized flavor, which was attributed to abundant furans and pyrazines. Lipidomics revealed significantly higher ceramide (Cer) content in SW-HO, which demonstrated superior antioxidant activity and significantly enhanced RAW264.7 macrophage proliferation at 400 μg/mL. These findings suggest that SWE effectively produces high-quality HO with elevated bioactive components (Cer, total phenol, and UFAs), enhancing functional properties and sensory attributes. This work provides both technical and theoretical support for the functional preparation and development of HO. • SWE enables simultaneous heat pretreatment and extraction for hazelnut oil. • SW-HO had the highest content of unsaturated fatty acids (palmitoleic and oleic acids). • SW-HO, richest in aldehydes, ketones, furans, pyrazines, and pyrroles, endows desired flavor. • Lipidomics showed the highest ceramide content in SW-HO compared to other groups. • The high ceramide content of SW-HO promotes its functional properties.

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Cite This Study

Zhang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a287010a974eb0d3c026c4 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2026.103709

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