Basic Research Journal of Food Science and Technology ISSN 2354-4074 Vol. 2(1) pp.

01-04 January 2015

Available online http//www.basicresearchjournals.org
Copyright © 2014 Basic Research Journal

Short Communication

Extraction of oil from wild walnut and some nutritional

characteristics of nut and oil of wild walnut (Juglans
nigra) growing in Manipur
Swati Meshram1*, Amol Prakash Sonone2*, K. Lakshmi Bala3
1
Department of Food Process Engineering, SHIATS, Allahabad, India.
2
Academic Associate/ Research Scholar, Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management, Pune, India.
3
Department of Food Process Engineering, SHIATS, Allahabad, India.

*Corresponding author email: amolpsonone@gmail.com

Accepted 28 November, 2014

ABSTRACT

Oil was extracted from dried and crushed wild walnuts by Soxhlet. The yields of oil on weight of nut
were 64.90% and 61.12%, and the oil had yellow color. Wild walnuts were evaluated for some physical
properties and chemical composition. Wild walnuts were determined for moisture (2.766 %), total
protein (14.63 %) crude fiber (1.4%), ash (1.866%), carbohydrate (12.27%), nut (10.46g), and kernel (5.08
g). Relative density, bulk density, refractive index free fatty acids, peroxide value, Butyro meter reading,
saponification number, unsaponifiable matter, iodine value and acid value were established in the wild
walnut oil. The wild walnut contents large amount of the minerals Ca, P, K, Mg, and Na. The work
attempts to contribute to knowledge of nutritional properties of wild walnuts. Wild walnut and its oil
were found to be rich in protein, oil, fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, and minerals. These results may be
useful for the evaluation of dietary information

Keywords: Wild walnut, wild walnut oil, proximate composition, fatty acid composition, Minerals.

INTRODUCTION

Wild walnut (Juglans nigra) a member of Juglandaceae
family is one of the finest nuts of temperate regions. It is
the oldest cultivated nut in the world and grown
spontaneously almost all over North East India. Also, oil
yielding crop plants are very important for economic
growth of the agricultural sector. The oil nut containing
unusual fatty acids are industrially important, as they are
used as an ingredient in food, while the hard wild walnut
shell is used commercially in abrasive cleaning,
cosmetics, and oil well drilling and water filtration. Wild
walnut production is expected to gradually rise in the next
5 years from 100.60 MT to 172.24 MT in the year from
2004 to 2012. But very little percent of production is
consumed and remaining production of wild walnuts is
waste due to its hard covering. Wild walnut has thicker
shells that are harder to crack. Walnuts are mostly eaten
as desserts nuts or used in cakes, desserts and
confectionary. Walnuts are rich in fat, a diet
supplemented with walnuts had a beneficial effect on
blood lipids, lowering blood cholesterols and lowering the
ratio of serum concentrations of low density lipoprotein:
high density lipoprotein by 12 %. In 2004, the Food and
Drug Administration stated: “Supportive research shows
that eating 1.5 ounces per day of walnuts, as part of a
low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet may reduce the
risk of coronary heart disease.”Walnuts are a rich source

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of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, monosaturated
fats and an excellent source of those hard to find omega-
3 and omega-9 fatty acids which helpful in keeping heart
healthy. Wild walnut has around 60 to 65 % oil. The
serving size of walnut oil is less than the amount of wild
walnuts needed to get the same nutritional benefit. For
example: A 35 gram serving of walnut oil provides the
same nutritional benefits as 50 grams of walnuts.
Walnuts are also rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are
substances that counter the effects of free radicals, which
are substances that cause cell damage and accelerate
the aging process. (Toshiyuki et al., 2003).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
MATERIAL
Wild walnut was collected from local market of Manipur in
October 2013. The dried wild walnuts stored at ambient
temperature until the extraction of oil and further analysis.
For oil extraction nuts are dried and reduced to powder in
a morter.
Oil extraction
The oil from the wild walnuts were extracted by Soxhlet
method using the solvents concentrations. The oil
contents were calculated from the ratios of mass of oil to
the mass of crushed nuts used for extraction. The
optimum period of oil extraction is about 2 hrs.
Physico-Chemical analysis
The nut and kernel weights of 100 fruits were determined.
The chemical and physical properties (moisture, total
protein, crude fat, crude fiber, ash, relative density,
refractive index, Butyro meter reading, free fatty acids,
peroxide value, iodine value, saponification number, and
unsaponifiable matter) were analyzed according to AOAC
methods. Nitrogen was established by Kjeldhal analysis,
multiplying by 6.25 and determined as protein.
The total fat content was determined in accordance
with AOAC method. For free fatty acid content and acid
value, a known value of oil mixed with neutral solvent,
titrate against (0.1N) KOH. This reading was multiplying
with 28.2 for the free fatty acid and 56.1 for the acid
value. For saponification number and unsaponifiable
matter, a known weight of oil adds to ethanolic KOH and
refluxes it. Then for saponification value this titrate
against 0.5 N HCl and for unsaponifiable matter this
transfer to saponified material with addition of ether and
wash it. For peroxide value, a known weight of oil was
dissolved in a mixture of acetic acid/ chloroform (3:2 v/v),
and saturated solution of KI was then added. The
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Sonone et al. 02
liberated iodine was titrated with sodium thoisulphate
solution (0.05 m) in the presence of starch as indicator.
Determination of mineral contents
About 0.5 g of dried ash obtained was moistened with
glass distilled water (0.5-1 ml) and conc. HCl was added
and evaporated to dryness as before. Lastly 4ml of HCl
and 5 ml of distilled water were added. This solution was
warmed over a boiling water bath and filtered through
whatman no. 4 filter paper. This mineral solution was
used for estimation of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium,
sodium, etc. (Ranganna, 1995)
Statistical analyses
The statistical package programmes as RSM were used
for multivariative variance analysis test at (p<0.05) and
ANOVA test. Whenever ANOVA indicated a significant
difference, a pair-wise comparison of means by least
significant difference (LSD) was carried out.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The wild walnut oil was extract using two different
solvents. Yield percentages of wild walnut oil are shown
st
in Figure 1. Solvent 1 was not more beneficial as
nd st
compared to solvent 2 . Yield of oil from solvent 1 was
nd
61.12% and solvent 2 was 64.90% with 2 hr has
optimum period. These results were correlated with the
results of reported by Marcela L. Martinez. The physico-
chemical properties of wild walnuts are shown in table 2.
Nut and kernel wt., moisture, ash, protein, crude fat, fiber
and carbohydrate. Nut and kernel weights were
determined as 7.99 g and 3.41 g respectively. Density of
wild walnut oil was 0.42 g/ml; bulk density was 4.19 g/ml.
Previous studied reported as 3.46-4.22 g and nut weight
as 8.15-14.95 g. Proximate compounds (%) of the
walnuts were: protein (13.77), ash (1.81). moisture (2.98),
fat (62.84).
The extracted wild walnut oil was yellowish in color.
Physical and chemical properties of oil are given in table
3. A relative density was found as 0.98, and higher than
the value reported by Mehnet Musa Ozcan for walnut oil
(0.9721) and by Ozcan and seven for peanut kernel oil
(0.954-0.955). Refractive index was found as 1.4704 and
Butyro meter reading was 67.00, this value higher than
the reported value 1.446 for walnut oil. The
unsaponifiable matter content was 5.07 g/kg higher than
that of walnut oil (4.7 g/kg) and lower than that of
terebinth fruit oil (15.7 g/kg). Free fatty acid and acid
value was found as 0.252 % and 0.283 mg/g. The
peroxide value was 1.04 meq/kg oil, lower than generally
recommended for commercial edible crude vegetable oils
03. Basic Res. J. Food Sci. and Technol.

80

Oil recovery (%)

60
40
solvent 1 (%)
20
0 solvent2 (%)
1h 2h 3h
Extraction period

Figure 1. Oil recovery of wild walnut oil

Table 1. Proximate composition of wild walnuts

Properties Values
Whole nut wt. / walnut (g) 10.46±1.3
Kernel wt. /walnut (g) 5.08±0.8
3
Density (g/cm ) 0.42
3
Bulk Density (g/cm ) 4.19
Moisture (%) 2.766±0.71
Ash (%) 1.866±0.03
Total Protein (%) 14.63±1.1
Carbohydrate (%) 12.27±

Table 2. Physico-chemical properties of wild walnut oil

Properties Values
Relative Density 0.98±0.0012
Refractive index 1.4704±0.003
Butyro meter Reading 67.00±0.001
Peroxide value (meq/kg) 67.00±0.23
Free fatty acid (%) 0.252±0.06
Acid value (mg KOH/ g) 0.283±0.12
Iodine value (g/100 kg) 144.81±6.71
Saponification value(mg/g) 196.46±7.14
Unsaponification value (g/kg) 5.07±0.73
*Mean ± standard deviation

Table 3. Mineral contents of wild walnut

Mineral Values (mg/100g)

Calcium 250±13.7
Phosphorus 410±11.2
Potassium 550±34.7
Magnesium 126±26.3
Sodium 12±7.8
*Mean ± standard deviation

(≤ 10). Table 2. walnuts types have a similar composition profile.

There is no doubt that walnuts can contribute to a
healthy diet. Sabate et al. showed that the inclusion of 84
g of walnuts per day in diets of health men for a period of
8 weeks significantly reduced their blood cholesterols
level provided that their diets were adjusted to keep the
total fat intake to reasonable levels. The results of the
experiments presented here show that same family of
The mineral content of wild walnut was determined by
standard method (Ranganna 1995) shown in table 4 and
found to be excellent. Wild walnuts were found to be rich
in some minerals such as Ca (250 mg/100g), K(550
mg/100g), P(410mg/100g), Mg(126mg/100g) and
Na(44mg/100g). Caglarirmak reported as 280-380
mg/100g of P, 230-340mg/100g of K, 81-99mg/100g of

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Mg and 67-105.5mg/100g of Ca in fresh walnuts. Our
results were found higher compared with mineral values
reported by Caglarirmak. Calcium is the major
component of bone and assists in teeth development.
Table 3.
CONCLUSION
Wild walnuts have more percent of the oil about 65%.
Walnuts oil is excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids,
decrease in coronary heart disease risk, cancer risk, and
slowing of the aging process. Wild walnut oils have a
higher content of free fatty acids and there is a health
composition for nutrition. These findings may be useful
for dietary information, which requires prior knowledge of
the nutritional composition of edible wild walnuts. The
high protein content, oil, minerals contents and pleasant
taste suggest that this nut can be use. The consumption
of wild walnuts is rising around the world owing to the
increasing popularity of natural products. According to
results, it could be said that the wild walnuts have a rich
source of a number of important that provide a very
useful effect on human health.
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