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VOL. 11, ISSUE 3 (2026)
Soxhlet versus ghani extraction of Chironji (Buchanania lanzan) seed oil: A comparison of yield, physicochemical quality, and fatty acid profile
Authors
Shweta Mishra, Noopur Gautam, Anurag Singh
Abstract
Chironji (Buchanania lanzan) is a lesser-known oilseed that still
hasn't found its way into mainstream edible-oil production, despite carrying a
fatty acid profile that compares well with more established oils. Before any
advanced extraction method can be meaningfully evaluated for this seed, it
helps to know what the two conventional routes - Soxhlet and Ghani (cold press)
- actually deliver. That is what this study set out to do. Soxhlet extraction,
run with petroleum ether, recovered 50.8 ± 0.3% oil, almost 29 percentage
points more than the 21.9 ± 0.2% obtained from cold pressing. The gap makes
sense once you consider how differently the two methods work - solvent reflux
keeps dissolving lipid long after mechanical pressure has stopped squeezing
anything more out. What was less expected, or at least worth noting, is that
the oil quality barely tracked this yield gap. Moisture, acid value, free fatty
acid content, peroxide value, iodine value, saponification value, specific
gravity, refractive index, and unsaponifiable matter all came out close between
the two oils, and all sat comfortably within the range expected of a normal
edible vegetable oil. Oleic acid dominated the fatty acid profile at 54.3%,
with palmitic acid a distant second at 31.2%, pointing to an oil that should
hold up reasonably well in storage. The takeaway is fairly simple: pick Soxhlet
if yield is what matters, pick Ghani if a solvent-free process matters more -
the oil you end up with won't differ much either way.
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Pages:148-150
How to cite this article:
Shweta Mishra, Noopur Gautam, Anurag Singh "Soxhlet versus ghani extraction of Chironji (Buchanania lanzan) seed oil: A comparison of yield, physicochemical quality, and fatty acid profile". International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, Vol 11, Issue 3, 2026, Pages 148-150
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