Yucca aloifolia seed oil: a new source of bioactive compounds

Yucca aloifolia Linn (Y. aloifolia), also known as Spanish bayonet, is a drought-tolerant plant containing important bioactive compounds in various parts of the plant. Y. aloifolia is used as a natural medicinal herb. The purpose of the present study was to characterize and evaluate the seed oil extracted from Y. aloifolia seeds. The oil content of the seeds was 16.23%. The principal fatty acids in the oil were linoleic acid (73.38%), oleic acid (13.52%) and palmitic acid (8.18%). The oil has high vitamin E activity because of an appreciable concentration of tocols (204 mg/100 g), particularly tocotrienols, which represent 79% of the total amount of tocols. Tocotrienols have powerful antioxidant, anticancer, neuro/cardio protective and cholesterol-lowering properties. The thermal profile of Y. aloifolia seed oil was examined differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Y. aloifolia seed oil is considered to be healthy dietary oil

Characteristics of Chamaerops humilis L. var. humilis seed oil and study of the oxidative stability by blending with soybean oil

Herein we examine the characteristics of date seed oil extracted from Chamaerops humilis L. var. humilis seeds (HSO) cultivated in a gardening zone in Tunisia. Its physicochemical properties, fatty acid composition, and thermal and antioxidant properties were evaluated and compared with those of seed oil from another variety of Chamaerops humilis. The results showed that HSO possessed higher contents of oleic (44%) and linoleic (20%) acids than the other seed oil. The total tocopherol and tocotrienol content was 88 mg/100 g oil, where α-tocotrienol (64%) was the major isomer. The total phenolic (91 μg/g oil) and flavonoid contents (18 μg/g oil) of the HSO were determined, and its antioxidant capacities, measured in terms of ABTS and DPPH radical-scavenging capacities, were 210 µM TEAC/g DW and 4.3 mM TEAC/g DW, respectively. The oxidative stability index (OSI) of the oil was 16 h at 110 °C. Furthermore, the OSI of soybean oil was significantly enhanced upon blending with HSO. HSO exhibited higher thermal stability than the other oils and significantly different thermal behavior. The determination of fatty acid composition, physicochemical properties, bioactive content, oxidative stability, and thermal behavior of HSO demonstrated that this renewable resource can be used for edible purposes

Chamaerops humilis L. var. argentea André date palm seed oil: a potential dietetic plant product

Chamaerops humilis L. var. argentea André (C. humilis) date palm seeds are an underutilized source of vegetable oil, and no studies describing their physicochemical characteristics to indicate the potential uses of this seed or seed oil have been reported. The oil content of the seeds is about 10%, mainly composed of oleic acid (38.71%), l.uric acid (21.27%), l.noleic acid (15.15%), palmitic acid (9.96%), and stearic acid (7.17%). The tocol (tocopherols and tocotrienols) content is 74 mg/100 g, with δ-tocotrienol as the major contributor (31.91%), followed by α-tocotrienol (29.37%), γ-tocopherol (20.16%), and γ-tocotrienol (11.86%). Furthermore, this oil shows high thermal stability. The differential scanning calorimetery curves revealed that the melting and crystallization points are 9.33 °C and -15.23 °C, respectively. Practical Application: The study revealed that C. humilis seed oil has a great nutritional value. The consumption of this oil, either directly or via many food products, could possibly prevent many diseases, including coronary disease. These findings should make this oil of interest for several food and nonfood applications. C. humilis palms can be easily propagated by seeds. C. humilis dates are a potential source of l.w-cost seed oil, and the l.rge-scale cultivation of this crop can yield positive socioeconomic benefits to rural communities wherever date palm tree will grow

Physico-chemical properties of <i>Tecoma stans</i> Linn. seed oil: a new crop for vegetable oil

<div><p><i>Tecoma stans</i> Linn. is known to have various medicinal and therapeutic properties. However, to our knowledge, no information is available regarding their seed oils. In this study, the fatty acid (FA) compositions, physico-chemical properties and antioxidant capacities of <i>T. stans</i> seed oils (TSOs) were investigated. The oil content of the seeds was 15%. The FAs of the TSOs were analysed by GC–MS. α-Linolenic (45.47%), oleic (23.56%), linoleic (11.48%), palmitic (6.09%) and stearic (4.12%) acids were the major detected FAs. γ-Linolenic acid and stearidonic acid, unusually FAs, were also present (1.04% and 6.65%, respectively). The total tocol content in the TSOs was found to be 266.06 mg/100 g. The main component was γ-tocopherol (78.93%). The total phenolic content (168.69 mg GAE/100 g oil) and total flavonoid content (5.54 mg CE/g oil) were also determined in the TSOs.</p></div