The present study explores the extraction of vegetable oil from yellow melon seeds using three extraction techniques dynamic maceration, Soxhlet extraction, and reflux heating combined with organic solvents of varying polarity together with kinetic modeling and antioxidant potential of obtained extracts. The influence of key operating parameters, particularly extraction temperature and solvent type, on oil yield was systematically investigated. The experimental results were further compared with data reported in the literature. Among the solvents tested, hexane exhibited superior extraction efficiency across all techniques, yielding 30.27% for Soxhlet extraction, 51.54% for reflux heating, and 26.19% for dynamic maceration. Understanding the mechanism of mass transfer is crucial for industrial scaling. Kinetic modeling allows researchers to predict oil yields over time and identify the limiting steps of the process. To gain deeper insight into the extraction mechanism, the experimental data were modeled using a phenomenological approach based on the single-sphere diffusion model. The modeling results demonstrated a strong agreement between predicted and experimental data, confirming the robustness and applicability of this model for describing the oil extraction kinetics. Methanol exhibits higher diffusivity values compared to acetone and hexane, with De = 1.7110E−8 (m2/s) at 25 °C and De = 1.4345E−8 (m2/s) at 50 °C indicating that oil diffuses faster in methanol than in the other two solvents Additionally, the physicochemical characterization of the extracted oil including acid value (AV = 0.71), saponification value (SV = 191), refractive index (RI = 1471), and density (d20 = 0.849) revealed values consistent with established standards. Antioxidant activity evaluated through DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and Fe2+-phenanthroline assays showed maximum antioxidant activity with a concentration of 28.244 µg TE/mg indicated a significant antioxidant potential of the obtained oils. These findings highlight yellow melon seeds as a promising source of bioactive vegetable oil and provide valuable insights for process optimization and potential industrial valorization. The novel integration of experimental extraction kinetics with diffusion-based inverse modeling to determine the effective diffusivity of oil in yellow melon seeds, providing a predictive approach for evaluating and optimizing the effects of solvent polarity and temperature on the extraction process. Graphical Abstract

From Yellow Melon Seeds to Oil: Experimental Insights, Kinetic Modeling and Antioxidant Evaluation

期刊论文
发表日期：

2026年7月21日

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Mehdi Louaer,
Narimane Lammari,
Douaa Beldjaou,
Abdeslam Hassan Meniai

摘要

The present study explores the extraction of vegetable oil from yellow melon seeds using three extraction techniques dynamic maceration, Soxhlet extraction, and reflux heating combined with organic solvents of varying polarity together with kinetic modeling and antioxidant potential of obtained extracts. The influence of key operating parameters, particularly extraction temperature and solvent type, on oil yield was systematically investigated. The experimental results were further compared with data reported in the literature. Among the solvents tested, hexane exhibited superior extraction efficiency across all techniques, yielding 30.27% for Soxhlet extraction, 51.54% for reflux heating, and 26.19% for dynamic maceration. Understanding the mechanism of mass transfer is crucial for industrial scaling. Kinetic modeling allows researchers to predict oil yields over time and identify the limiting steps of the process. To gain deeper insight into the extraction mechanism, the experimental data were modeled using a phenomenological approach based on the single-sphere diffusion model. The modeling results demonstrated a strong agreement between predicted and experimental data, confirming the robustness and applicability of this model for describing the oil extraction kinetics. Methanol exhibits higher diffusivity values compared to acetone and hexane, with D_e = 1.7110E−8 (m²/s) at 25 °C and D_e = 1.4345E−8 (m²/s) at 50 °C indicating that oil diffuses faster in methanol than in the other two solvents Additionally, the physicochemical characterization of the extracted oil including acid value (AV = 0.71), saponification value (SV = 191), refractive index (RI = 1471), and density (d²⁰ = 0.849) revealed values consistent with established standards. Antioxidant activity evaluated through DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and Fe²⁺-phenanthroline assays showed maximum antioxidant activity with a concentration of 28.244 µg TE/mg indicated a significant antioxidant potential of the obtained oils. These findings highlight yellow melon seeds as a promising source of bioactive vegetable oil and provide valuable insights for process optimization and potential industrial valorization. The novel integration of experimental extraction kinetics with diffusion-based inverse modeling to determine the effective diffusivity of oil in yellow melon seeds, providing a predictive approach for evaluating and optimizing the effects of solvent polarity and temperature on the extraction process.

Graphical Abstract