Abstract

E. O. Aluyor, P. Aluyor and C. E. Ozigagu

Crude groundnut oil was obtained by solvent extraction from groundnut seeds and refined. The crude and refined oils were then analyzed. The results obtained show that the acid value decreased from 2.890 to 0.420 mg/KOH. Free fatty acid decrease after refining from 2.82 to 2.02%; phospholipids decreased from 23.11 to 5.53%; copper content decreased from 0.37 to 0.0361% and iron decreased from 3.98 to 0.31%. These can be viewed as an improvement in the quality of the oil after refining. Refining did not have much effect on the fatty acids composition except for slight inconsistent decrease in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.