Search Results (6)

Jojoba oil (JO) extracted from seeds has outstanding properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities, and can be stored forlong periodsof time. The unique properties of jojoba oil depend on its chemical composition; therefore, the effect of the jojoba genotype on the chemical properties and active components of the seed oil was evaluated in this study. Oil samples were collected from 15 elite Egyptian jojoba lines. The chemical composition, such as moisture, crude fiber, crude oil, ash, and crude protein of elite lines’ seeds was determined to investigate the variation among them based on the jojoba genotype. In addition, the iodine value was obtained to measure the degree of jojoba oil unsaturation, whereas the peroxide number was determined as an indicator of the damage level in jojoba oil. Fatty acid composition was studied to compare elite jojoba lines. Fatty acid profiles varied significantly depending on the jojoba genotype. Gadoleic acid exhibited the highest percentage value (67.85–75.50%) in the extracted jojoba oil, followed by erucic acid (12.60–14.81%) and oleic acid (7.86–10.99%). The iodine value, peroxide number, and fatty acid composition of the tested elite jojoba lines were compared withthose reported by the International Jojoba Export Council (IJEC). The results showed that the chemical properties of jojoba oils varied significantly, depending on the jojoba genotype. Full article

A unique storage lipid wax found in jojoba seeds can be employed as a chemical feedstock. Alternative safe and natural sources of plant nutrients are constantly sought to preserve both human health and the environment. As a result, EAI1, EAI2, and EAI3 jojoba genotypes’ growth, yield, and phytochemical behavior in response to Azolla extract at concentrations of 0, 10, and 30% were studied. Maximum productivity was found with EAI1, followed by EAI3 then EAI2 across all Azolla extracts. In relation to the Azolla extract concentrations in the two seasons, the concentration of 30% delivered the most pronounced results across all the studied genotypes. During the two seasons, administration of a combined treatment of the EAI1 jojoba genotype with 30% Azolla extract produced the highest mean values of growth, flowering, and fruiting, as well as chemical composition parameters. This means that the treatment of EAI1 genotype with 30% Azolla filiculoides Lam. plant extract yielded the highest significant seed yield (3748 and 3839 kg ha⁻¹) and oil yield per hectare (1910 and 2002 L ha⁻¹). The combination treatment of the EAI1 jojoba genotype with 10% Azolla extract yielded the highest proportion of gadoleic fatty acid (49.83%). Full article

Jojoba seeds have a unique storage lipid wax which is suitable as a basic feedstock in the chemical industry. For saving both human health and the environment, there is a continuous need to search for alternative safe natural sources of plant nutrients. Therefore, in this study the effect of mycorrhizal fungi and Moringa oleifera leaves extract on growth, flowering, fruits set, yield and the chemical composition of the jojoba shrub was studied. The application of a combination of treatments of 20 g L⁻¹ mycorrhizal fungi plus 30 g L⁻¹Moringa oleifera leaves extract recorded the maximum mean values of main branch length, length of secondary branches, number of branched nodes, number of secondary branches, flowering percentage, final fruit set percentage, seeds yield per shrub and per hectare, percentage of minerals, proteins as well as oil yield per shrub and per hectare, chlorophyll a and b, N, P, K percentage with a minimum mean value of the number of days until full bloom in both seasons. The maximum percentage of Gadoleic fatty acid was found with the combination treatment of uninoculation plus 10 g L⁻¹Moringa oleifera leaves extract. Full article

Virgin olive oil (VOO) is one of the key components of the Mediterranean diet owing to the presence of monounsaturated fatty acids and various bioactive compounds. These beneficial traits, which are usually associated with the cultivar genotype, are highlighting the demand of identifying characteristics of olive oil that will ensure its authenticity. In this work, the fatty acid (FA) composition of 199 VOO samples from Koroneiki, Megaritiki, Amfissis, and Manaki cultivars was determined and studied by chemometrics. Olive cultivar greatly influenced the FA composition, namely, oleic acid (from 75.36% for Amfissis to 65.81% for Megaritiki) and linoleic acid (from 13.35% for Manaki to 6.70% for Koroneiki). Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients revealed differences and similarities among the olive oil cultivars. The use of the forward stepwise algorithm identified the FAs arachidonic acid, gadoleic acid, linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, palmitoleic acid, and palmitic acid as the most significant for the differentiation of samples. The application of linear and quadratic cross-validation discriminant analysis resulted in the correct classification of 100.00% and 99.37% of samples, respectively. The findings demonstrated the special characteristics of the VOO samples derived from the four cultivars and their successful botanical differentiation based on FA composition. Full article

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is an important component of the Mediterranean diet and a highly priced product. Despite the strict legislation to protect it from fraudulent practices, there is an increasing demand to characterize EVOOs and evaluate their authenticity. For this purpose, 68 monovarietal EVOOs, originating from three regions of Greece (Peloponnese, Crete, and Lesvos) and two local cultivars (Koroneiki and Kolovi), were obtained during the harvesting period of 2018–2019. Fatty acids, squalene, and tocopherols were determined chromatographically according to official methods in order to study the effect of cultivar and geographical origin. Squalene and γ-tocopherol differed significantly amongst the cultivars tested. Koroneiki samples exhibited higher squalene content than Kolovi samples, whereas the opposite was observed for γ-tocopherol. The tocopherol level was highly geographical dependent, with EVOOs from Peloponnese displaying the highest concentration of α-tocopherol, whereas the content of γ-tocopherol was significantly higher in samples from Lesvos. Unsupervised and supervised multivariate analysis resulted in a satisfactory grouping of EVOOs according to cultivar. γ-Tocopherol, squalene, and the majority of fatty acids were the most discriminant variables, with γ-tocopherol, linoleic, linolenic, and gadoleic acid being present at higher levels in samples from the Kolovi cultivar. Koroneiki samples were characterized with higher levels of squalene, palmitic, palmitoleic, and arachidic acid. Full article

Horse gram [Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.] seeds containing high concentrations of fatty acids, flavonols and minerals should provide government, public and private organizations with a nutritious and healthy food for use by malnourished and food deprived people worldwide. Seeds from seven horse gram accessions, geographically adapted to Griffin, GA, USA were analyzed for fatty acid, flavonol, and mineral concentrations using gas chromatography, reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, respectively. Significant year effects occurred for stearic, oleic, linoleic, arachidic, gadoleic, and lignoceric acids. Oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid ranged from 8.9%–16.8%, 40.3%–45.6%, and 11.6%–14.3%, respectively, as percent of total fatty acids measured (total oil ranged from 2.32% to 2.87%). Seed concentrations of myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol ranged from 0–36 μg/g DW, 0–27 μg/g DW, and 240–316 μg/g DW, respectively and the only year effect was observed for kaempferol among the horse gram accessions. Year effects were found for Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, and S. Mean concentrations of macrominerals (Ca, K, Mg, P, and S) and microminerals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn) ranged from 1.3–14 mg/g DW, and 1.0–95.0 μg/g DW, respectively. Several correlations were observed among several fatty acids, flavonols, and minerals. The mono-unsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid correlated significantly with linoleic acid (r = −0.64), arachidic acid (r = −0.61), Ca (r = 0.50) and Zn (r = 0.51, all at P < 0.01). The flavonol, myricetin correlated significantly with quercetin (r = 0.92, P < 0.0001), while quercetin correlated with Ca (r = 0.82, P < 0.0001) and kaempferol correlated with Mg (r = 0.61, P < 0.01). Several mineral correlations were found including Fe with K (r = 0.66) and Mg (r = 0.56, both at P < 0.01). These seven horse gram accessions can be used in breeding programs to facilitate the production of superior cultivars with favorable fatty acid profiles, flavonol content, and mineral compositions. Full article