Fruit seed waste generated by agro-processing industries represents an underutilized resource with potential for edible oil production. Fruit seed oils consist of variability in oil content, ranging from 70% (citrus and melon seeds). These oils can be characterized by high levels of polyunsaturated (50–75%) and monounsaturated fatty acids (20–75%), tocopherols, sterols, and phenolic compounds. This review critically evaluates conventional and emerging extraction technologies for fruit seed oil recovery, with focus on extraction efficiency, oil quality, and sustainability considerations. Conventional solvent extraction provides high oil recovery (90–98%) but requires long extraction times (6–24 h) and high solvent and energy inputs. Emerging technologies such as ultrasound-, microwave-, enzyme-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field pretreatment, and supercritical CO 2 extraction significantly reduce processing time (seconds to < 40 min), solvent consumption (20–60% reduction), and bioactive degradation, while enhancing oil yield (10–55% increase) and oxidative stability. However, their industrial applicability varies due to differences in capital cost, energy demand, and scalability. Comparative analysis indicates that hybrid and process-intensified approaches provide the most balanced pathway for sustainable valorization of fruit seed oils. FSOs can serve as functional alternatives to conventional edible oils with extraction methods selected based on yield-quality balance, sustainability metrics, and targeted food applications.
Singh et al. (Thu,) studied this question.