Composition Of Fatty Acids In Grape Seed Oil [3] [4]

The following table lists a typical fatty acid composition of grape seed oil :

Acid Type Percentage

Linoleic acid omega−6 unsaturated 69.6%

Oleic acid omega−9 unsaturated 15.8%

Palmitic acid
Saturated 7%
(Hexadecanoic acid)

Stearic acid
Saturated 4%
(Octadecanoic acid)

Alpha-linolenic acid omega−3 unsaturated 0.1%

Palmitoleic acid
omega−7 unsaturated less than 1%
(9-Hexadecenoic acid)

Grape seed oil also contains 0.8 to 1.5% unsaponifiables rich in phenols (tocopherols)
and steroids (campesterol, beta-sitosterol,stigmasterol).Grapeseed oil contains small amounts
of vitamin E, but safflower oil, cottonseed oil, or rice bran oil contain greater amounts. Grapeseed oil
is high in polyunsaturates and low in saturated fat.

Extraction Of Grape Seed Oil In Industries

Grape seed has a well-known potential for production of oil as a byproduct of winemaking and is
currently produced as a specialty oil byproduct of wine manufacture. Seed oils from eight varieties of
grapes crushed for wine production in British Columbia were extracted by supercritical carbon
dioxide (SCE) and petroleum ether (PE). Oil yields by SCE ranged from 5.85 ± 0.33 to 13.6 ± 0.46%
(w/w), whereas PE yields ranged from 6.64 ± 0.16 to 11.17 ± 0.05% (± is standard deviation). The oils
contained α-, β-, and γ-tocopherols and α- and γ-tocotrienols, with γ-tocotrienol being most
important quantitatively. In both SCE- and PE-extracted oils, phytosterols were a prominent feature
of the unsaponifiable fraction, with β-sitosterol quantitatively most important with both extractants.
Total phytosterol extraction was higher with SCE than with PE in seven of eight variety extractions.
Fatty acid composition of oils from all varieties tested, and from both extraction methods, indicated
linoleic acid as the major component ranging from 67.56 to 73.23% of the fatty acids present, in
agreement with literature reports.

Grape Seed Oil in Industries

During the winemaking process vast amounts of waste by-products are produced within a short
period of time. The focus of this article is on the most significant grape processing residues :

1. Pomace: a
solid material
consisting
mainly of
skins and
grape seeds,
which is
separated
from the juice
in the pressing
step (white
wine

fermentations), or from the wine (in red wine fermentations);

2. Grape seeds: usually obtained from pomace and;

3. Lees: a solid material consisting of deposits such as yeast, particles that precipitate, seeds, fining
agents, etc, settled to the bottom of wine containers.

The annual production of grape pomace, resulting from winemaking, is estimated to range from 5-
14.5 million tons in Europe.
Traditionally, winemaking by-products are used in animal feed or as fertilizers in vineyards. Despite
their high content in valuable biologically active compounds, these by-products have a low market
value when used as fertilizers or animal feedstocks. Additionally, their use as fertilizers may lead to
plant germination problems, due to their high content in phenolic compounds. Interestingly, these
phenolic compounds have an extremely high market value as food additives, nutraceuticals and
cosmeceuticals, due to their biological activity.