Bioactive Constituents in Cold-Pressed Plant Oils: Their Structure, Bioactivity and Chromatographic Analysis.

Cold-pressed oils are oils prepared from pressing plant materials with a screw or hydraulic press, yielding oils with little contamination of harmful chemicals and high content of nutrients and functional constituents. Cold-pressed oils have gained increasing recognition as food supplements for preventing and ameliorating body deterioration due to ageing and the progression of lifestyle diseases or non-communicable diseases. This article aimed to review their structure, bioactivity, and chromatographic analysis of the mostly found functional compounds in cold-pressed oils, including phytosterols, carotenoids, tocols (tocopherols and tocotrienols), phenolic compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, stilbenes, and lignans), and squalene.

Pumpkin seed oil: a comprehensive review of extraction methods, nutritional constituents, and health benefits.

Pumpkin seed oil (PSO), a rich source of nutrients, is extracted from the seeds of different pumpkin varieties for food and medicines. This article aims to provide an evidence-based review of the literature and to explore the extraction technologies, nutritional properties, and biological activity of PSO. From previous literature, PSO contains a large proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, with linoleic acid as the main component, and an amount of tocopherol, phytosterol, and phenolic acids. Some differences in the yield, composition, and physicochemical properties of PSO can be associated with the pumpkin's cultivars and the extraction methods. Some novel technologies involved in supercritical fluid extraction, enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction have been replacing the conventional technologies gradually as promising methods for the safe, non-polluting, and effective recovery of PSO. This healthy vegetable oil was reported by several in vitro and in vivo studies to have potential protective roles in oxidative stress, inflammation, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in garambullo fruit (Myrtillocactus geometrizans) at different ripening stages.

Garambullo (Myrtillocactus geometrizans) is endemic in México, and although popularly consumed locally, its nutritional characteristics and value have not been studied in details. The objective of this work was to investigate the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in garambullo fruit from different sites at three ripening stages. Fruit from the three ripening stages (red, purple, and dark purple) were investigated for their physicochemical characteristics, hydrophilic (phenolic compounds, betalains, and ascorbic acid), and lipophilic (carotenoids, tocopherols, and fatty acids) bioactive compounds, using spectrophotometry, gas chromatography (GC-FID), and high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC/DAD-ESI-MS). The antioxidant capacity was measured with the 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and the ferric-ion-reducing antioxidant power assays. The color components of the fruit, chroma and a* values increased, whereas lightness (L*) and b* significantly decreased during ripening. Five betacyanins and four betaxanthins were tentatively identified with HPLC/DAD-ESI-MS, and betacyanins were more abundant than betaxanthins. Betalains content and antioxidant capacity of hydrophilic extracts significantly increased during ripening. Ten phenolic compounds were identified, with ferulic acid being the most abundant. Tocopherols were low (0.023-0.033 mg/100 g fw). Five fatty acids were abundant, and linoleic acid was the most important. Phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, total carotenoids, and fatty acids decreased during fruit ripening. Garambullo fruit is rich in phytochemical compounds of importance for human nutrition and health. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The physicochemical and bioactive compounds characterization in garambullo fruit is important to establish maturation and harvesting indices, postharvest strategies to preserve fruit quality and prolong postharvest life, promote the consumption and utilization of the fruit, and the designing of proper functional foods. In addition, the knowledge on the bioactive components might be useful to include this fruit in personalized nutritional approaches for patients with risks of certain chronic diseases. The methodology used in this study could be useful for the study of other fruits, especially those from the Cactaceae family.

Evaluation of Selected Medicinal, Timber and Ornamental Legume Species' Seed Oils as Sources of Bioactive Lipophilic Compounds.

Bioactive lipophilic compounds were investigated in 14 leguminous tree species of timber, agroforestry, medicinal or ornamental use but little industrial significance to elucidate their potential in food additive and supplement production. The tree species investigated were: Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia concinna, Albizia lebbeck, Albizia odoratissima, Bauhinia racemosa, Cassia fistula, Dalbergia latifolia, Delonix regia, Entada phaseoloides, Hardwickia binata, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Senegalia catechu, Sesbania sesban and Vachellia nilotica. The hexane-extracted oils of ripe seeds were chromatographically analysed for their fatty acid composition (GC-MS), tocochromanol (RP-HPLC/FLD), squalene and sterol (GC-FID) content. A spectrophotometrical method was used to determine total carotenoid content. The results showed generally low oil yield (1.75-17.53%); the highest was from H. binata. Linoleic acid constituted the largest proportion in all samples (40.78 to 62.28% of total fatty acids), followed by oleic (14.57-34.30%) and palmitic (5.14-23.04%) acid. The total tocochromanol content ranged from 100.3 to 367.6 mg 100 g-1 oil. D. regia was the richest and the only to contain significant amount of tocotrienols while other oils contained almost exclusively tocopherols, dominated by either α-tocopherol or γ-tocopherol. The total carotenoid content was highest in A. auriculiformis (23.77 mg 100 g-1), S. sesban (23.57 mg 100 g-1) and A. odoratissima (20.37 mg 100 g-1), and ranged from 0.7 to 23.7 mg 100 g-1 oil. The total sterol content ranged from 240.84 to 2543 mg 100 g-1; A. concinna seed oil was the richest by a wide margin; however, its oil yield was very low (1.75%). Either ß-sitosterol or Δ5-stigmasterol dominated the sterol fraction. Only C. fistula oil contained a significant amount of squalene (303.1 mg 100 g-1) but was limited by the low oil yield as an industrial source of squalene. In conclusion, A. auriculiformis seeds may hold potential for the production of carotenoid-rich oil, and H. binata seed oil has relatively high yield and tocopherol content, marking it as a potential source of these compounds.

Genome-wide scan for oil quality reveals a coregulation mechanism of tocopherols and fatty acids in soybean seeds.

Tocopherols (vitamin E) play essential roles in human health because of their antioxidant activity, and plant-derived oils are the richest sources of tocopherols in the human diet. Although soybean (Glycine max) is one of the main sources of plant-derived oil and tocopherol in the world, the relationship between tocopherol and oil in soybean seeds remains unclear. Here, we focus on dissecting tocopherol metabolism with the long-term goal of increasing α-tocopherol content and soybean oil quality. We first collected tocopherol and fatty acid profiles in a soybean population (>800 soybean accessions) and found that tocopherol content increased during soybean domestication. A strong positive correlation between tocopherol and oil content was also detected. Five tocopherol pathway-related loci were identified using a metabolite genome-wide association study strategy. Genetic variations in three tocopherol pathway genes were responsible for total tocopherol content and composition in the soybean population through effects on enzyme activity, mainly caused by non-conserved amino acid substitution or changes in gene transcription level. Moreover, the fatty acid regulatory transcription factor GmZF351 directly activated tocopherol pathway gene expression, increasing both fatty acid and tocopherol contents in soybean seeds. Our study reveals the functional differentiation of tocopherol pathway genes in soybean populations and provides a framework for development of new soybean varieties with high α-tocopherol content and oil quality in seeds.

Free tocopherols and tocotrienols in 82 plant species' oil: Chemotaxonomic relation as demonstrated by PCA and HCA.

The tocopherol (T) and tocotrienol (T3) profile were investigated in the present study for four hundred and eighteen plant oil samples, including thirty-one families, eighty-two species, and five cross-species. Fifteen species were dominated by tocotrienols, while sixty-seven - by tocopherols. The mean proportion of γ-T was almost half of the total tocochromanol content (49.3%) in the investigated samples, while α-T constituted to one quarter (25.0%), and the remaining other tocochromanols were present as minor constituents. A strong relationship between the taxonomic plant origin and the presence of the characteristic tocochromanol profile in oils obtained from those plants was noted. This is the first study to demonstrate that not only monocotyledonous, but also dicotyledons families can be rich in tocotrienols. The usefulness of statistical tools - principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) for plant sample discrimination based on their tocochromanol profile was also shown.

Bicarbonates and carbonates as antioxidants in vegetable oils at frying temperatures.

Antioxidant activity of bicarbonates and carbonates including NaHCO3 , Na2 CO3 , KHCO3 , and K2 CO3 was evaluated in soybean oil (SBO) at 180°C. KHCO3 and K2 CO3 had stronger activity than NaHCO3 and Na2 CO3 . KHCO3 (5.5 mEq/L, 0.060 wt.%) and K2 CO3 (5.5 mEq/L, 0.041 wt.%) were more effective than 0.02 wt.% tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) in preventing oxidation of SBO. While the antioxidant activity of KHCO3 and K2 CO3 increased with increasing their concentrations up to 5.5 mEq/L, it decreased at 11 mEq/L. KHCO3 and K2 CO3 were also effective in preventing oxidation of other vegetable oils including avocado, canola, corn, high oleic soybean, and olive oils. Correlation tests conducted with the results from the six oils showed that KHCO3 and K2 CO3 had weak to moderate positive correlations with γ- and δ-tocopherols. In a separate study in stripped SBO, it was found that KHCO3 had a synergistic effect with α-tocopherol, but not with γ- and δ-tocopherols. KHCO3 had additive or synergistic effect with rosemary extract, epigallocatechin gallate, ascorbic acid, and ascorbyl palmitate. Antioxidant activity of KHCO3 was confirmed in frying of potato cubes in SBO and canola oil. Although more studies should be conducted for better understanding of the mechanisms and factors affecting the antioxidant activity of bicarbonates and carbonates, this study demonstrated that they could serve as antioxidants or co-antioxidants of other antioxidants in frying. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Inorganic salts including NaHCO3 , KHCO3 , Na2 CO3 , and K2 CO3 hadstrong antioxidant activity in vegetable oils at frying temperatures when they wereadded as powder. Antioxidant activity of 0.06 wt.% KHCO3 was higherthan that of 0.02 wt.% TBHQ in soybean oil and canola oil during frying potato. KHCO3 had additive orsynergistic effect with rosemary extract, epigallocatechin gallate, ascorbicacid, and ascorbyl palmitate indicating that these inorganic salts can be usedas co-antioxidants to enhance the antioxidant activity of existing antioxidantswhile they can be used alone as well.

Influence of the Extraction Method on the Quality and Chemical Composition of Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Oil.

The present study investigated and compared the quality and chemical composition of Moroccan walnut (Juglans regia L.) oil. This study used three extraction techniques: cold pressing (CP), soxhlet extraction (SE), and ultrasonic extraction (UE). The findings showed that soxhlet extraction gave a significantly higher oil yield compared to the other techniques used in this work (65.10% with p < 0.05), while cold pressing and ultrasonic extraction gave similar yields: 54.51% and 56.66%, respectively (p > 0.05). Chemical composition analysis was carried out by GC−MS and allowed 11 compounds to be identified, of which the major compound was linoleic acid (C18:2), with a similar percentage (between 57.08% and 57.84%) for the three extractions (p > 0.05). Regarding the carotenoid pigment, the extraction technique significantly affected its content (p < 0.05) with values between 10.11 mg/kg and 14.83 mg/kg. The chlorophyll pigment presented a similar content in both oils extracted by SE and UE (p > 0.05), 0.20 mg/kg and 0.16 mg/kg, respectively, while the lowest content was recorded in the cold-pressed oil with 0.13 mg/kg. Moreover, the analysis of phytosterols in walnut oil revealed significantly different contents (p < 0.05) for the three extraction techniques (between 1168.55 mg/kg and 1306.03 mg/kg). In addition, the analyses of tocopherol composition revealed that γ-tocopherol represented the main tocopherol isomer in all studied oils and the CP technique provided the highest content of total tocopherol with 857.65 mg/kg, followed by SE and UE with contents of 454.97 mg/kg and 146.31 mg/kg, respectively, which were significantly different (p < 0.05). This study presents essential information for producers of nutritional oils and, in particular, walnut oil; this information helps to select the appropriate method to produce walnut oil with the targeted quality properties and chemical compositions for the desired purpose. It also helps to form a scientific basis for further research on this plant in order to provide a vision for the possibility of exploiting these oils in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food fields.

Effects of Extraction Methods on the Bioactivities and Nutritional Value of Virginia and Valencia-Type Peanut Oil.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of peanut varieties cultivated in Morocco (Virginia and Valencia) and extraction methods (cold press, CP; Soxhlet, Sox and maceration, and Mac) on the fatty acid profile, phytosterol, and tocopherol contents, quality characteristics, and antioxidant potential of peanut seed oil. The DPPH method was used to determine the antioxidant activity of the oils. The results revealed that fatty acid content was slightly affected by the extraction technique. However, the CP method was shown to be an excellent approach for extracting oil with desirable quality features compared to the Sox and Mac methods. Furthermore, the peanut oil extracted via CP carried a higher amount of bioactive compounds and exhibited remarkable antioxidant activities. The findings also revealed higher oleic acid levels from the Virginia oil, ranging from 56.46% to 56.99%. Besides, a higher total phytosterol and tocopherol content and DPPH scavenging capacity were obtained from the Valencia oil. Analyzing the study, it can be inferred that extraction method and variety both affect the composition of the peanut oil's bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity. This information is relevant for extracting peanut oil with a greater level of compounds of industrial interest.

Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Compounds of Native Brazilian Fruits of the Arecaceae Family and Its Potential Applications for Health Promotion.

The fruits from the Arecaceae family, although being rich in bioactive compounds with potential benefits to health, have been underexplored. Studies on their composition, bioactive compounds, and effects of their consumption on health are also scarce. This review presents the composition of macro- and micronutrients, and bioactive compounds of fruits of the Arecaceae family such as bacaba, patawa, juçara, açaí, buriti, buritirana, and butiá. The potential use and reported effects of its consumption on health are also presented. The knowledge of these underutilized fruits is important to encourage production, commercialization, processing, and consumption. It can also stimulate their full use and improve the economy and social condition of the population where these fruits are found. Furthermore, it may help in future research on the composition, health effects, and new product development. Arecaceae fruits presented in this review are currently used as raw materials for producing beverages, candies, jams, popsicles, ice creams, energy drinks, and edible oils. The reported studies show that they are rich in phenolic compounds, carotenoids, anthocyanins, tocopherols, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and fatty acids. Moreover, the consumption of these compounds has been associated with anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, antiobesity, and cardioprotective effects. These fruits have potential to be used in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Despite their potential, some of them, such as buritirana and butiá, have been little explored and limited research has been conducted on their composition, biological effects, and applications. Therefore, more detailed investigations on the composition and mechanism of action based on in vitro and/or in vivo studies are needed for fruits from the Arecaceae family.

Chemical Composition Assessment of Structural Parts (Seeds, Peel, Pulp) of Physalis alkekengi L. Fruits.

In recent years there has been an extensive search for nature-based products with functional potential. All structural parts of Physalis alkekengi (bladder cherry), including fruits, pulp, and less-explored parts, such as seeds and peel, can be considered sources of functional macro- and micronutrients, bioactive compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and dietetic fiber. The chemical composition of all fruit structural parts (seeds, peel, and pulp) of two phenotypes of P. alkekengi were studied. The seeds were found to be a rich source of oil, yielding 14-17%, with abundant amounts of unsaturated fatty acids (over 88%) and tocopherols, or vitamin E (up to 5378 mg/kg dw; dry weight). The predominant fatty acid in the seed oils was linoleic acid, followed by oleic acid. The seeds contained most of the fruit's protein (16-19% dw) and fiber (6-8% dw). The peel oil differed significantly from the seed oil in fatty acid and tocopherol composition. Seed cakes, the waste after oil extraction, contained arginine and aspartic acid as the main amino acids; valine, phenylalanine, threonine, and isoleucine were present in slightly higher amounts than the other essential amino acids. They were also rich in key minerals, such as K, Mg, Fe, and Zn. From the peel and pulp fractions were extracted fruit concretes, aromatic products with specific fragrance profiles, of which volatile compositions (GC-MS) were identified. The major volatiles in peel and pulp concretes were ß-linalool, α-pinene, and γ-terpinene. The results from the investigation substantiated the potential of all the studied fruit structures as new sources of bioactive compounds that could be used as prospective sources in human and animal nutrition, while the aroma-active compounds in the concretes supported the plant's potential in perfumery and cosmetics.

Effect of microwave heating on lipid composition, chemical properties and antioxidant activity of oils from Trichosanthes kirilowii seed.

Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim seed is a primary source of edible vegetable oil and possesses a high nutritional value, making them extremely beneficial to humanity. To promote the extraction process of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim seed oil, the effect of microwave heating time (700 W for 0, 2, 4, and 6 min) on lipid composition, chemical properties, and antioxidant activity of oils was studied. The results showed that the oil yield of the seed increased with the microwave heating time. Besides, microwave heating time significantly affects (p < 0.05) DPPH and tocopherols, and the IC50 value of DPPH was highest with microwave heating for 6 min, whatever the shells are reserved. The tocopherol content was highest with microwave heating for 2 min in the seed shell oil, which was 1930.60 mg/kg. The longer microwave heating time could improve the oil yield and antioxidant activity of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim seed oil. The seed shell also affects chemical properties, fatty acid composition, antioxidant activity, and tocopherol contents of the Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim seed oil. The Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim seed shell oil has higher DPPH and tocopherols contents than seed kernel oil, while seed kernel oils showed higher oil yield and acid value. Our finding is valuable for manufacturers to choose suitable means to produce Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim seed oil of required qualities and chemical compositions for targeted use.

Physiochemical Properties, Lipid Breakdown, ß-Carotenoids, Tocopherols, Vitamins, Amino and Fatty Acid Profiles of Soxhlet Extracted Oil from Different Garden Cress Seed (Lepidium sativum L.) Genotypes in Ethiopia.

Physiochemical properties, lipid breakdown, ß-carotenoids, tocopherols, and vitamins as well as amino and fatty acid profiles of Soxhlet-extracted oil from five different garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.) seed genotypes (namely: CG8, CG7, CG17, CG4, and 207910) across Ethiopia regions were investigated. Results showed that despite the seeds' proximate peak and least values, the extraction yield, viscosity, specific gravity, refractive index, lipid breakdown, and boiling point of garden cress seed oil across the genotypes noticeably varied with promising amino and fatty acid profiles. Further, the genotype CG17 obtained greater quantities of ß-carotenoids, tocopherols and vitamin values compared to the other genotypes.

Comparison of chemical characterization and oxidative stability of Lycium barbarum seed oils: A comprehensive study based on processing methods.

Five different processing methods (cold pressing, hot pressing, solvent extraction, ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction) were evaluated to extract oils from Lycium barbarum (L. barbarum) seeds based on the lipid composition, minor bioactive components, and oxidative stability of oils. A large proportion of unsaturated fatty acids was detected in the L. barbarum seed oil, especially linoleic acid (65.24-66.26%). Minor bioactive components were abundant in L. barbarum seed oils, including tocopherols (292.65-488.49 mg/kg), phytosterols (9606.31-166,684.77 mg/kg), polyphenols (35.65-113.87 mg/kg), and carotenoid (4.17-46.16 mg/100 g). Specifically, the phytosterol content was higher than that of other common oils. Comparing the different processing techniques, ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction provided the highest extraction yield and recovery. The quantities of tocopherols, phenols, and phytosterols in hot-pressed oil were higher than those in oils extracted from other methods, and thus it had the best oxidative stability. L. barbarum seed oils extracted by different techniques showed various characteristics and could be distinguished through principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: L. barbarum seed oil is a potentially underutilized oil resource with abundant essential fatty acid and phytosterol, which owns great value to apply in the nutritional, cosmetic, and medicinal fields. Hot pressing is an efficient method to produce L. barbarum seed oil for health care with high nutritional value and good quality, which can also be easily implemented on an industrial scale.

Profiles of Fatty Acids, Polyphenols, Sterols, and Tocopherols and Scavenging Property of Mediterranean Oils: New Sources of Dietary Nutrients for the Prevention of Age-related Diseases.

The present study provides the fatty acid, tocopherol, phytosterol, and polyphenol profiles of some Mediterranean oils extracted from pumpkin, melon, and black cumin seed oils and those of dietary argan seed oil. Gas chromatography analysis revealed that oleic and linoleic acids were the most abundant fatty acids. Argan and melon seed oils exhibited the highest levels of oleic acid (47.32±0.02%) and linoleic acid (58.35±0.26%), respectively. In terms of tocopherols, melon seed oil showed the highest amount (652.1±3.26 mg/kg) with a predominance of γ-tocopherol (633.1±18.81 mg/kg). The phytosterol content varied between 2237.00±37.55 µg/g for argan oil to 6995.55±224.01 µg/g for melon seed oil. High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis also revealed the presence of several polyphenols: vanillin (0.59 mg equivalents Quercetin/100 g) for melon seed oil, and p-hydroxycinnamic acid (0.04 mg equivalents Quercetin/100 g), coumarine (0.05 mg equivalents Quercetin/100 g), and thymoquinone (1.2 mg equivalents Quercetin/100 g) for black cumin seed oil. The "Kit Radicaux Libres" (KRL) assay used to evaluate the scavenging properties of the oils showed that black cumin seed oil was the most efficient. On the light of the richness of all Mediterranean oil samples in bioactive compounds, the seed oils studied can be considered as important sources of nutrients endowed with cytoprotective properties which benefits in preventing age-related diseases which are characterized by an enhanced oxidative stress.

Effects of Seed Roasting Temperature on Sesame Oil Fatty Acid Composition, Lignan, Sterol and Tocopherol Contents, Oxidative Stability and Antioxidant Potential for Food Applications.

Roasting is a key step for preparing sesame oil that leads to important changes in its organoleptic properties and quality. In this study, white sesame seeds were roasted for 20 min in an electric oven at different temperatures (120, 150, 180, 210, 250 and 300 °C). The oils extracted from unroasted and roasted seeds were compared for their chemical composition: fatty acids (including trans isomers), phytosterols, lignans (sesamin and sesamolin), tocopherols and total phenolic compounds, as well as their oxidative stability and antiradical capacity. There were no obvious differences in the oil densities, refractive indexes or iodine values, but the saponification values were affected by temperature. Relevant primary and secondary lipid oxidation were observed at T > 250 °C, resulting in a higher p-anisidine value and K232 as well as K268 values. Roasting improved oil yield (from 33.5 to 62.6%), increased its induction period (from 5.5 to 10.5 h) and enhanced the total phenolic content (from 152 to 194 mg/100 g) and antiradical activity of the extracted oil. Depending on roasting temperature, a gradual decline was recorded in total amounts of phytosterols (up to 17.4%), γ-tocopherol (up to 10.6%), sesamolin (maximum of 27.5%) and sesamin (maximum of 12.5%). All the investigated oils presented a low quantity in triglyceride polymers, clearly below the maximum tolerated quantity according to the European regulation. The optimal roasting temperature for obtaining high nutritional grade oil within the permissible values was 210 °C. The unsaponifiable components (including lignans and sterols) extracted from roasted seeds have been shown to be natural additives to fresh meatball products to extend shelf life. The results of this study may help to boost the nutritional content of plant-based diets by allowing for the use of roasted sesame seed oil and its components.

Comparative Evaluation of the Nutrients, Phytochemicals, and Antioxidant Activity of Two Hempseed Oils and Their Byproducts after Cold Pressing.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the recovery of agri-food waste within the circular economy perspective. In this study, the nutritional, phytochemical, and biological features of the cold-pressed hempseed oil (HSO) and hempseed meal (HSM) of two industrial hemp varieties (USO 31 and Futura 75, THC ≤ 0.2%) were evaluated. The HSOs showed a high total phenols and flavonoid content, which were confirmed by LC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis, with rutin as the most abundant compound (56.93-77.89 µg/100 FW). They also proved to be a rich source of tocopherols (81.69-101.45 mg/100 g FW) and of a well-balanced ω-6 to ω-3 fatty acid ratio (3:1) with USO 31, which showed the best phytochemical profile and consequently the best antioxidant activity (about two times higher than Futura 75). The HSMs still retained part of the phytochemicals identified in the HSOs (polyphenols, tocopherols, and the preserved ω-6/ω-3 fatty acids ratio) and a modest antioxidant activity. Furthermore, they showed a very interesting nutritional profile, which was very rich in proteins (29.88-31.44 g/100 g FW), crude fibers (18.39-19.67 g/100 g), and essential and non-essential amino acids. Finally, only a restrained amount of anti-nutritional factors (trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, and condensed tannins) was found, suggesting a promising re-use of these byproducts in the nutraceutical field.

Synergistic Interactions between Tocol and Phenolic Extracts from Different Tree Nut Species against Human Cancer Cell Lines.

Tree nuts are rich in polar (phenolic compounds) and non-polar (tocols) antioxidants, with recognized effects in the prevention of diseases such as cancer. These biomolecules possess antiproliferative activity on cancer cells; however, the combined effect of both types of compounds has been scarcely studied, and this approach could give valuable information on the real anticancer potential of tree nuts. In the present study, the antiproliferative activity of pure tocols and phenolic compounds, tocol- and phenolic-rich extracts (TRE and PRE, respectively) from tree nuts and the extracts combinations, was evaluated in four cancer (HeLa, MCF7, PC3, A549) and one control (ARPE) cell lines. The most sensible cell lines were HeLa and MCF7. TRE and PRE from nuts were chemically characterized; γ and δ tocopherols, total tocols, total tocopherols and total phenolic compounds were negatively correlated with cell viability in MCF7 cells. In HeLa cells, only δ and total tocopherols were negatively correlated with cell viability. TRE and PRE had a low effect in reducing cell viability of the cancer cell lines, the most effective extracts were those of emory oak acorn (EOA), pecan nut (PEC) and walnut (WAL), and these were further studied for their pharmacological interactions, using the combination index and the isobologram methods. Combinations of both extracts showed a synergistic and strongly synergistic behavior in the three nuts (EOA, PEC and WAL), with combination indexes between 0.12 and 0.55. These results highlight the need to understand the interactions among components found in complex natural extracts or food products in order to fully understand their bioactivities.

A novel method based on saponification coupled to micelle-extraction for recovering valuable bioactive compounds from soybean oil deodorizer distillate.

The feasibility of using saponification coupled to extraction with mixed micellar systems to recover bioactive compounds from soybean oil deodorizer distillate, was evaluated for the first time. Under the selected conditions, saponification with KOH 0.6 M and aqueous micellar system prepared with Tergitol 15-S-7 9% w/w, rhamnolipids 0.25 %w/w and sodium citrate 100 mM pH 5.00, at 65 °C, allow the recovery of almost 100% of α- and δ- tocopherols, and 90% of γ-tocopherols. LC-MS measurements demonstrated that the final extract also contained phytosterols and squalene. Additionally, the obtained extract preserved about 100% of the total antioxidant activity. This result was attributable to the fact that 93% of the tocopherols recovered in the micellar phases resulted to be associated with surfactant micelles, environment that is known to improve their antioxidant capacity. These results open perspectives to the use of this methodology to extract these valuable compounds from complex oily sources.

Characterization of a novel squalene-rich oil: Pachira macrocarpa seed oil.

Pachira macrocarpa is a woody oil crop with high economic and ornamental value. Although P. macrocarpa seeds are rich in oil, little information has been reported about its characterization. In this study, the fatty acids, minor components (tocopherols, squalene, phytosterols, and total phenols), antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity, thermal, and rheological behavior of the P. macrocarpa seed oil (PSO) were investigated for the first time. The results showed that the seeds contained 43.34% lipid, which was mainly composed of palmitic acid (49.96%), linoleic acid (31.22%), and oleic acid (13.48%). The contents of tocopherols, squalene, phytosterols, and total phenols in PSO were 42.01 mg/100 g, 96.78 mg/100 g, 119.67 mg/100 g, and 3.79 mg GAE/100 g, respectively. PSO showed relatively strong DPPH radical scavenging capacity (93.47 µmol TE/100 g) and high melting point (20.8°C). In addition, the oil exhibited Newtonian flow behavior and was not toxic to normal L929 cells at concentrations of 500-8000 µg/ml. As a whole, PSO may be considered as a valuable source for new multipurpose products for industrial utilization. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pachira macrocarpa is a woody oil crop and its seeds are rich in oil. Our study has investigated the physicochemical properties and chemical composition of the P. macrocarpa seed oil (PSO). The present study revealed PSO had potential as an edible oil, and it may be considered as a valuable source for new multipurpose products for food industrial utilization.