Scientists of the subsidiary organization of "National Agrarian Science and Educational Center" JSC - LLP "Kazakh Research Institute of Processing and Food Industry" informed about the prospects for deep processing of oil flax seeds.

On July 1, 2020, an online seminar on the topic "Prospects for deep processing of oil flax seeds" was held live on the official page of “Kazakh Research Institute of Processing and Food Industry” LLP. The speaker was Askhat Dalabayev. A.Dalabayev is junior researcher at the laboratory for processing oilseeds of the Astana branch of “Kazakh Research Institute of Processing and Food Industry” LLP, Master of Technology.  

Traditionally, domestic processing of flaxseed consists in obtaining flaxseed oil, while in developed countries, plant proteins, lignans, dietary fiber and deep processing products are isolated from flaxseed. Therefore, research aimed at creating domestic technology for the comprehensive and deep processing of oilseed flax seeds with the possibility of obtaining not only linseed oil, but also other functional products, is relevant.

Currently, ensuring healthy nutrition of the population is one of the main directions of development of the processing industry. Hence the need to identify new sources of biologically valuable food products. The time has come when it is very necessary to process oil flax as a raw material not only for oil, but also for food, industry for widespread use in bakery, dairy, cereal, confectionery and other industries.

Therefore, it is of great interest to create a technology for processing flaxseed seeds that combines two directions: the first is the separation into separate anatomical parts depending on their intended use and the second (when solving problems of the first direction) is the creation of fractions of different biochemical composition by phytochemical potential.

First: seed shells. It is known that the antitumor effect of flaxseed lies in the lignans contained in it. The richest plant source of SDG lignans are dietary fibers concentrated in the linen seed shell. In addition to lignans, soluble dietary fibers, which are also found in the seed shell of flax seed, also have anti-cancer effects.

Lignans belong to the class of natural phenols, which causes their high antioxidant activity. Lignans also have antiviral and bactericidal effects. It is due to the totality of these properties and in connection with the identified ability to inhibit a number of enzymes that they show themselves as an anti-tumor agent that can be used in the prevention and treatment of cancer. All these properties make the release of these substances relevant, both in pure form and in the form of lignan-enriched compositions.

Due to the fact that in the process of oil squeezing, the share of high-protein waste - linen mills accounts for more than 60%, their use as a source of protein is a promising area that allows to solve both the problem of rational utilization of oil production waste and the problem of protein deficiency.

The quantitative and qualitative composition of flax proteins indicates the promise of its use as a protein source. All essential amino acids are present in the flax seed protein, some of which comply with the FAO standard. Thus, there are prerequisites for the creation of protein products based on linseed cakes.

Third: flax seed embryo. Scientists from different countries found that the highest content of lipids (oil) is characterized by an embryo - up to almost 60% and the endosperm of flax seed - up to 40%. Omega-3 flax is absent in other anatomical parts.

And finally, vitamins and minerals are contained in the seed shell, bud and endosperm of flax seeds.

The first direction envisages preliminary mechanical oil squeezing on the press with residual fat content in the produced press up to 20%. The main grinding of the peeled flax is carried out on impact machines (hammer crusher, entoleiter, detasher, disintegrator, dismembrator) with a single or multiple pass. The crushed product is dispersed to produce fractions of linseed flour of different dispersed composition and content of fat, proteins and dietary fibres. This allows the resulting fractions to be used as components of functional products.

Defatted linseed flax flour is characterized by a high protein content with a well-balanced amino acid composition, food fibers, low fat content

The resulting products are characterized by a high protein content of about 38%, which allows them to be positioned as a high protein product for enriching flour mixtures of various compositions in the production of a wide range of bakery and flour confectionery products, including functional products. At the same time, a small amount of starch (about 8%) and fats (up to 15%) does not contribute to an increase in the calorie content of the product.

Studies have shown the possibility of using oil flax for the production of food components with high biological and consumer properties. At the same time, the composition of impurities and the technology for their extraction during the processing of oil flax require additional studies.

The work of scientists in this area has shown that flax seeds contain 100 times more lignans than other plant products. Lignans have a wide range of effects on human health. Earlier, we conducted studies on the production of a lignan-containing extract by combining the hydrolysis and extraction with a water-ethanol mixture, which was then subjected to microwave irradiation.

Second: flaxseed endosperm. It is extremely valuable because it contains a protein that has almost the same high biological activity as soybean protein. But at the same time, flaxseeds exceed soybeans in the amount of oil by almost 2 times, and this oil contains polyunsaturated acids Omega-3, which are called the elixir of youth.

In the modern world, the need for proteins and products based on them is constantly growing. According to WHO, more than 60% of humanity does not receive enough protein. The lack of proteins in the diet disrupts the dynamic balance of metabolic processes involving proteins, shifting it toward the predominance of the breakdown of the cell’s own proteins, and leads to the depletion of the body. In this regard, the issues of providing the population with protein components of nutrition are of particular importance, and the priority of research in this direction, which is confirmed by the development and implementation of special programs in the industrially developed countries of the world, is increasing.