DIRECTED INTERESTERIFICATION OF NUTMEG SEED FAT TO INCREASE TRIMYRISTIN RECOVERY

• Main Author: Nur Istyami, Astri
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/33383
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Nutmeg seed (Myristica fragrans) is one of spices that is largely produced in Indonesia. The fat is dominated by trimyristin, a triglyceride with three molecules of myristic acid linked with one molecule of glycerin. Trimyristin is frequently used for synthesis of isopropyl myristate, a common emollien substance in cosmetical industries. By far, the yield of trimyristin isolation is 18-29% of total triglyceride, meanwhile composition of myristic acid in nutmeg seed is 71,8%. Some myristic acids are linked to glycerol along with various fatty acids other than myristic acid, thus not all myristic acid is presented in nutmeg fat as trimyristin. To obtain more triglycerides with three molecules of myristic acid, directed interesterification will be established. It is a widely known method to rearrange fatty acids in esthers for some industrial application. Temperature cycles are established to maximize the yield of triglyceride crystals. The interesterification was held with variation of amount of temperature cycle (with no cycle, with 2, 4, 6, and 8 cycles) and catalyst content (0,1%, 0,3%, and 0,5%) of total triglycerides. The mass of attained crystal, saponification value, and iodine value indicates an increment of trimyristin content of directed interesterification products compared to the natural nutmeg seed fat. The profiles of crystal yield, molecule relative masses, and iodine values were attained to describe the effects of catalyst content and cycle amount to triglyceride composition in the reaction products.