Physicochemical Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Pulsed Electric Field-Treated Baobab Oil

This study investigated the impact of pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatment on the characterisation and antioxidant activity (AA) of baobab seed oil. Prior to extraction, PEF treatments of 1–3 kV/cm at 40–120 pulses and specific energies (SE) of 1.60–43.2 kJ/kg were applied. No differences in oil yield (9.50–11.85%) were observed; however, PEF at a SE of 19.20 kJ/kg produced a higher yield than the control at 9.55% (p < 0.05). PEF did not alter the refractive index, specific density, acid value (AV), free fatty acids, peroxide value (PV), iodine value and fatty acid profile (p > 0.05). The PV was less than the Codex specification (≤15 mEq/kg); however, the AV (5.54–10.50 mg KOH/g) were above the recommended limit of 4 mg KOH/g. The latter is likely attributed to the initial quality of the seeds irrespective of PEF treatment. Regarding antioxidants, DPPH-RS responded to PEF (p < 0.05), with a non-linear trend across treatments. The DPPH-RS of PEF-treated oils ranged from 38.89–76.23%, compared to 49.9% for the control. This demonstrates that PEF preserved the quality of baobab oil, while its effect on AA depended on treatment intensity: lower energy levels enhanced DPPH-RS, whereas higher intensities reduced it.