Title of Submission
Organosulfide Components of Onion Oil and Processing Byproducts
Degree Program
Biomolecular Sciences, PhD
Major Advisor Name
Owen McDougal
Type of Submission
Scholarly Poster
Abstract
Onions that do not sell in the market are brought to processing companies that first steam, then steam distill the onions on an industrial level in order to extract out the pungent oil for sale to restaurants. This process method results in large amounts of pre-steam distillation as well as post-steam distillation byproducts. Onion, onion oil and the byproducts created as a result of processing were tested for their organosulfide composition via ether extraction and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It was found that the pre-steam distillation and post-steam distillation slurries do not contain significant amount of organosulfides, suggesting that the slurries are largely composed of water and plant matter, and that the organosulfides are confined to the oil product and degraded as part of the steam distillation process.
Funding Information
Oregon State University