Asian Research Journal of Current Science

The objective of this research was to apply the most effective pretreatment for the refining methods and determine its effect on the quality (gossypol content, free fatty acid (FFA), peroxide value, iodine value, saponification value, and colour) of cottonseed oil. This research was conducted at the Department of Postharvest Technology, Advanced Center for Agricultural Research and Education (ACARE), Yezin Agricultural University (YAU). Cottonseed of the Shwe Daung-10 variety was collected from Lune Kyaw Cotton Seed Farm, Department of Agriculture (DOA), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomised design (CRD) with four replications for each refining method in the bleaching step. The treatments comprised activated carbon (AC) and bleaching earth (BE) at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/100 g of oil, together with an untreated crude-oil control. Compared with AC, BE was more effective in decreasing the saponification value and increasing peroxide values. Both treatments were effective, but their efficiency varied depending on the quality parameters. However, gossypol content, FFA, peroxide value, and colour were all significantly decreased by both treatments, thereby improving the overall quality of cottonseed oil. As a result, the use of 1.0 g of bleaching earth and 1.0 g of activated carbon is advisable as appropriate adsorbents for the purification of cottonseed oil, depending on the quality attributes sought. Therefore, the use of 1.0 g of bleaching earth or 1.0 g of activated carbon is recommended as an effective bleaching treatment to improve the quality of refined cottonseed oil while minimising gossypol content