Extração de óleo essencial da semente de abacate utilizando a hidrodestilação

Abstract

With the growth of the world’s population and the increase in demand for food, the waste of organic matter has become increasingly greater, causing environmental, economic and social impacts. Avocado (Persea Americana Mill) is an example of a food that presents waste from several parts, mainly seeds and skin, which are known to be rich in polyphenols, compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial action. In addition, they are also rich in several other active compounds, such as flavonoids, which act effectively against bacteria and fungi. Therefore, one of the ways to use this waste is to extract and obtain essential oil. In this study, the essential oil was extracted from the avocado seed using hydrodistillation. Two scales were used for this process, using a 500 mL flask and a 5 L flask. It was only possible to obtain a significant extraction in the larger system, where the yield achieved was 0.18%. A study was also conducted on the drying of the avocado seed, which started with 91.16% humidity and ended with 0.037%, proving that the avocado seed has a high moisture content. Phytochemical tests were conducted on the avocado seed, showing the presence of phenols, flavonoids, catechins and flavones. Therefore, this shows that avocado seed is a promising raw material for extracting essential oil that can have cosmetic, pharmaceutical and/or food applications.