Comparative Profiling of Volatile Compounds and Fatty Acids in Pomegranate Seed Oil: Soxhlet vs. CO2IPA Extraction for Quality and Circular Bioeconomy Goals

This study compares the chemical profiles of pomegranate seed oil (PSO) from two cultivars, Granato (G) and Roce (R), extracted by Soxhlet and supercritical CO2/isopropanol. GC-MS and NMR analyses confirmed punicic acid as the dominant fatty acid, with α-eleostearic, oleic, and linoleic acids in lower amounts. Supercritical extraction increased yield (about 18%) and selectively raised α-eleostearic and linoleic acids. Volatile organic compound (VOC) profiling by HS-SPME-GC-MS showed higher...