Optimising by-products from Croton megalocarpus seed oil extraction
A diverse industrial natural product for sustainable development in East Africa.
Croton megalocarpus (Hutch.) is a commercially important tree, native to East and Central Africa. While the bark of the tree is used in ethnomedicine, Croton nuts are harvested sustainably by smallholder farmers and are sold to a local industry, Eco Fuels Kenya which cold press the Croton seeds to extract oil for applications such as biodiesel and cosmetics. By-products of the oil extraction process include a seed-cake which is used as poultry feed and seed husks that are subjected to slow pyrolysis to give Croton vinegar oil, or mulched to organic fertilizer or charcoal briquettes but these are of low value. Glycerol is also produced during the transesterification process of the oil, but the commercial potential value of this compound has not yet been realised. Croton species produce a diversity of bioactive compounds but the by-products of Croton megalocarpus oil (CMO) extraction have not been investigated chemically.
This project will hence develop a network of Kenya and UK based scientists to identify additional uses of CMO by-products. We will use innovative natural products chemistry, extraction and process technology and bio-application to determine antifungal, antimalarial, anticancer activities as well as investigate further cosmetics and biopesticides uses through our network of researchers. We will investigate the secondary metabolite chemistry of the seed cake and test compounds for their bioactivities in various low-cost commercial assays.
The network will work towards maximising the seed value and increase income potential for all actors in the croton industry value chain, supporting small industries in East Africa, generating jobs and improving wealth generation and livelihoods.
Objectives
- Chemically analyse Croton nuts and by-products generated from the oil extraction process
- Analyse safety of extracts
- Explore new uses of Croton oil
Kew lead
Egerton University, Kenya
Eco Fuels Kenya, Kenya
Kingston University, UK
Academy of Medical Sciences
RBG Kew Pilot Study Fund
