Ethanol-Modified Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of the Bioactive Lipid Components of Camelina sativa Seed

Camelina sativa seed is an underutilized oil source that attracts a growing interest, but it requires more research on its composition and processing. Its high omega-3 content and growing demand for clean food processing technologies make conventional oil extraction less attractive. In this study, the effect of extraction methods on the bioactive lipid composition of the camelina seed lipid was investigated, and its bioactive lipid composition was modified at the extraction stage using ethanol-modified supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂). Ethanol-modified SC-CO₂ extractions were carried out at varying temperatures (50 and 70 °C), pressures (35 and 45 MPa), and ethanol concentrations (0–10%, w/w), and were compared to SC-CO₂, cold press, and hexane extraction. The highest total lipid yield (37.6%) was at 45 MPa/70 °C/10% (w/w) ethanol. Phospholipids and phenolic content increased significantly with ethanol-modified SC-CO₂ (p < 0.05). SC-CO₂ with 10% (w/w) ethanol concentration selectively increased phosphatidylcholine (PC) content. Apparent solubility of camelina seed lipids in SC-CO₂, determined using the Chrastil model, ranged from 0.0065 kg oil/kg CO₂ (35 MPa/50 °C) to 0.0133 kg oil/kg CO₂ (45 MPa/70 °C). Ethanol-modified SC-CO₂ extraction allowed modification of the lipid composition that was not possible with the conventional extraction methods. This is a promising green method for extraction and fractionation of camelina seed lipids to separate and enrich its bioactives.