SUMMARY
The work aimed to investigate the extraction of Mucuna deeringiana seed oil using supercritical carbon dioxide as solvent, and the chemical profile of fatty acid components. The experiments were performed in a laboratory scale unit in a temperature range from 40°C to 60°C and pressure from 176.7 to 250 bar. The results indicated that particle diameter, temperature and pressure were important variables for CO2 extraction yields. The extracted oils were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of their fatty acid compounds, and the results showed the presence of essential fatty acids. The main fatty acids were linoleic acid (about 40%), palmitic acid (about 20%) and oleic acid (about 16%); approximately 5% of linolenic acid is reported. No significant differences were found in the fatty acid analysis for the range of variables investigated.