Effect of simultaneous ultrasound/pulsed electric field pretreatments on the oil extraction from sunflower seeds

In this study, the individual and synergistic effects of ultrasound (US) and pulsed electric field (PEF) on the oil yield and content of functional food ingredients of sunflower oil were evaluated. The application of a PEF treatment (1.1 kV/cm) to the sunflower suspension significantly increased the extraction yield by 12.7%, with respect to hexane extraction. However, US/PEF treatment led to a reduction in oil yield as compared with US- and PEF-treated samples. Furthermore, the content of α-tocopherol was slightly higher for the oil after applying PEF-assisted extraction and a slight decrease in this content was observed for US- and US/PEF-assisted extraction.