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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #74008
Title: SIMMONDSIN CONCENTRATE FROM DEFATTED JOJOBA MEAL

Author
item Erhan, Selim
item Abbott Dr, Thomas
item NABETANI, HIROSHI - NATL FOOD RES INSTITUTE

Submitted to: Journal Of Industrial Crops And Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/5/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Jojoba oil is an ingredient that we see on store shelves in shampoo and other cosmetics and even in some transmission fluids. The oil is 50% of the jojoba seed which is grown and harvested in the Southwestern U.S. The other half of the seed use to be discarded in landfills because it had no use. Interestingly, there is a natural appetite suppresent in the seed of jojoba called simmondsin. When added to animal feed, they feel full with less food than they would normally eat. Getting simmondsin out of the seed residue and purifying it so that it can be tested has been done on a small laboratory scale, but this paper tells how it has been done on an industrial scale. This is a necessary step in order to calculate the cost of producing the ingredient commercially and to produce it in the quantities needed for tests in animals. If the tests confirm what we already have found and approvals follow, then the simmondsin would have a market in pet foods, cattle feed and chicken feed. Jojoba farmers would have a new market for their seed and not have to rely on just oil for return on their investment. Pet owners and farmers pinched by high feed prices would have some new ways to control feed intake by their animals.

Technical Abstract: A water-extract of defatted jojoba meal was filtered and concentrated from 2.6% solids to 23% solids on a pilot scale in a reverse osmosis concentration apparatus and then freeze-dried. The characteristics of the membrane and new concentrator were determined with both glucose and the water-extract from jojoba meal. Permeate flux was not significantly affected by the change in total flow within the controllable limits at 1, 2, 10, or 20% glucose concentration. Keeping the total flow past the membrane at 57 L/m, the pressure across the membrane was varied and the permeate flux measured at various concentrations. A permeate flux rate of 2.21 x 10-5 could be maintained for glucose concentrations up to 20%. For the extract, pressure across the membrane was adjusted to maintain a permeate flux of 1.24 x 10-5 m/s (3.8L/min for a 5.1 m2 surface area membrane) not exceeding the system limit of 6.9 MPa. Using this method, 193 L of 2.6% solids jojoba extract could be concentrated to 25.3 L of 19.7 solids in 45 min. Permeate flux decreased with time because maximum pressure could not maintain a flux rate of 1.24 x 10-5 m/s at higher solids concentrations. The average permeate flux over the entire experiment was 0.99 x 10-5 m/s. Based on the pilot scale tests, 568 kg of meal was extracted and processed on industrial equipment, including a vacuum drum dryer coated with diatomaceous earth and spray-drying the concentrate to obtain a powdery solid containing 42% simmondsin and related analogues. The results of the industrial trials and recommendations for process improvements are discussed.