Antimicrobial Properties, Cytotoxic Effects, and Fatty Acids Composition of Vegetable Oils from Purslane, Linseed, Luffa, and Pumpkin Seeds

Petropoulos, Spyridon A.; Fernandes, Ângela; Calhelha, Ricardo C.; Rouphael, Youssef; Petrović, Jovana; Soković, Marina; Ferreira, Isabel C. F. R.; Barros, Lillian

doi:10.3390/app11125738

Open AccessArticle

Antimicrobial Properties, Cytotoxic Effects, and Fatty Acids Composition of Vegetable Oils from Purslane, Linseed, Luffa, and Pumpkin Seeds

by

Spyridon A. Petropoulos

^1,*

,

Ângela Fernandes

²

,

Ricardo C. Calhelha

²

,

Youssef Rouphael

³

,

Jovana Petrović

⁴,

Marina Soković

⁴

,

Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira

²

and

Lillian Barros

^2,*

¹

Laboratory of Vegetable Production, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytokou Street, N. Ionia, 384 46 Volos, Greece

²

Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal

³

Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Universita 100, 80055 Portici, Italy

⁴

Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5738; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125738

Submission received: 15 May 2021 / Revised: 12 June 2021 / Accepted: 18 June 2021 / Published: 21 June 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Substances in Plants: Discovery of New Compounds, Properties, Food and Agriculture Applications, and Sustainable Recovery)

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Abstract

In the present study, the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities, as well as the fatty acids composition in vegetable seed oils from linseed, purslane, luffa, and pumpkin were evaluated. For this purpose, two linseed oils and one luffa oil were commercially obtained, while purslane and pumpkin oils were obtained from own cultivated seeds. The results showed a variable fatty acids composition among the tested oils, with α-linolenic, linoleic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic acid being the most abundant compounds. In regards to particular oils, linseed oils were a rich source of α-linolenic acid, luffa and pumpkin oil were abundant in linoleic acid, while purslane oil presented a balanced composition with an almost similar amount of both fatty acids. Luffa oil was the most effective against two of the tested cancer cell lines, namely HeLa (cervical carcinoma) and NCI-H460 (non-small cell lung cancer), while it also showed moderate toxicity against non-tumor cells (PLP2 cell line). Regarding the antibacterial activity, linseed oil 3 and pumpkin oil showed the highest activity against most of the tested bacteria (especially against Enterobacter cloacae and Escherichia coli) with MIC and MBC values similar to the used positive controls (E211 and E224). All the tested oils showed significant antifungal activities, especially luffa and pumpkin oil, and for most of the tested fungi they were more effective than the positive controls, as for example in the case of Aspergillus versicolor, A. niger, and Penicillium verrucosum var. cyclopium. In conclusion, the results of our study showed promising antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties for the studied seed oils which could be partly attributed to their fatty acids composition, especially the long-chain ones with 12–18 carbons.

Keywords: seed oils; antibacterial properties; cytotoxicity; antifungal properties; omega-3 fatty acids; omega-6 fatty acids; antitumor activities; Portulaca oleracea L.; Luffa aegyptica Mill.; Cucurbita maxima L.; Linum usitatissimum L.

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MDPI and ACS Style

Petropoulos, S.A.; Fernandes, Â.; Calhelha, R.C.; Rouphael, Y.; Petrović, J.; Soković, M.; Ferreira, I.C.F.R.; Barros, L. Antimicrobial Properties, Cytotoxic Effects, and Fatty Acids Composition of Vegetable Oils from Purslane, Linseed, Luffa, and Pumpkin Seeds. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 5738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125738

AMA Style

Petropoulos SA, Fernandes Â, Calhelha RC, Rouphael Y, Petrović J, Soković M, Ferreira ICFR, Barros L. Antimicrobial Properties, Cytotoxic Effects, and Fatty Acids Composition of Vegetable Oils from Purslane, Linseed, Luffa, and Pumpkin Seeds. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11(12):5738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125738

Chicago/Turabian Style

Petropoulos, Spyridon A., Ângela Fernandes, Ricardo C. Calhelha, Youssef Rouphael, Jovana Petrović, Marina Soković, Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira, and Lillian Barros. 2021. "Antimicrobial Properties, Cytotoxic Effects, and Fatty Acids Composition of Vegetable Oils from Purslane, Linseed, Luffa, and Pumpkin Seeds" Applied Sciences 11, no. 12: 5738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125738

APA Style

Petropoulos, S. A., Fernandes, Â., Calhelha, R. C., Rouphael, Y., Petrović, J., Soković, M., Ferreira, I. C. F. R., & Barros, L. (2021). Antimicrobial Properties, Cytotoxic Effects, and Fatty Acids Composition of Vegetable Oils from Purslane, Linseed, Luffa, and Pumpkin Seeds. Applied Sciences, 11(12), 5738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125738

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Antimicrobial Properties, Cytotoxic Effects, and Fatty Acids Composition of Vegetable Oils from Purslane, Linseed, Luffa, and Pumpkin Seeds

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