Modification of Butter Oil by Extraction with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

Modification of butter oil was attempted in order to lower the cholesterol level and to improve the spreadability using extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO²). Although SC-CO² extraction successfully fractionated the triglycerides according to their carbon numbers, cholesterol could not be removed from the triglycerides by this simple extraction. The cholesterol content of SC-CO²-extracted butter oil could be decreased by passing the extract through a silicic acid column. This process succeeded in lowering both the melting point and cholesterol level of the extracted oil. The flavor of the extracted oil was similar to the original butter.