Temperature Effects on Yields, Fatty Acids and Tocopherols of Prickly Pear (Opuntia Ficus Indica L.) Seed Oil of Oriental Region of Morocco

Abstract This study focuses on yields, chemical quality, composition, and the stability of the fatty acids of the oil extracted from Opuntia ficus indica seeds, collected from the eastern region of Morocco, regardless of the temperature and the extraction method used. The results of this study reveal that prickly pear is a rich source of oil. The obtained oil yields varied from 12.49%±0.09 for the mechanical extraction, 11.46±0.10 for the chemical extraction, and 10.52%±0.09 for the maceration. The main fatty acids found in O. Ficus indica are linoleic acid 75.80%±0.10 (Chemical), 74.07%±0.14 (Maceration) and 71.59%±0.14 (Mechanical), and palmitic acid 17.32%±0.02 (Chemical) 22.419% ±0.06 (Maceration) and 26.58% ±0.00 (Mechanical). So the oil of prickly pear could be classified as a linoleic. Among the Tocopherols founded, a high value of b-tocopherol has been detected in the mechanical extraction with 502.04±0,76 mg/kg followed by the chemical and the maceration extraction with (430.12±0.61mg/kg, 315.47± 0.96 mg/kg) respectively. The findings of the present study reveal that the oil of O. ficus indica could be used in cosmetics and pharmacological products.