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Background: Myrtle ( Myrtus communis L.) is a coastal Mediterranean aromatic medicinal plant rich in essential oil components, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. Studies highlight the potential health benefits of myrtle bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antiproliferative properties. Since limited research exists on myrtle fruit's lipid fraction, the aim of this study was to apply supercritical CO 2 extraction to obtain bioactive compounds from myrtle berries focusing on the fatty acids, sterols, and essential oils., Methods: The optimization of the supercritical CO 2 extraction of myrtle fruit using CO 2 as solvent was carried out using the response surface methodology with Box-Behnken experimental design. The following conditions were tested: temperature (40, 50, and 60 °C), pressure (200, 300, and 400 bar), and flow rate (20, 30, and 40 g min -1 ) on the yield of lipid extract as well as on the yield of fatty acids, phytosterols, and volatiles present in the extract and constituting its bioactive potential., Results: In the extracts examined, 36 fatty acids, 7 phytosterols, and 13 volatiles were identified. The average yield of the extract was 5.20%, the most abundant identified fatty acid was essential cis-linolenic acid (76.83%), almost 90% of the total phytosterols were β-sitosterol (12,465 mg kg -1 ), while myrtenyl acetate (4297 mg kg -1 ) was the most represented volatile compound. The optimal process conditions obtained allow the formulation of extracts with specific compositions.

Background: Nettle is a medicinal plant rich in bioactive molecules. The composition of nettle leaves and stems has been extensively studied, whereas the root has been insufficiently investigated. Therefore, the present study aimed to optimize the parameters of advanced extraction technique, pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), for the lipid fraction of nettle root rich in triterpenoid derivatives and to compare the efficiency of isolation under optimal conditions with conventional Soxhlet extraction (SE)., Results: The PLE yields ranged from 0.39-1.63%, whereas the total content of triterpenoid derivatives ranged from 43.50-78.26 mg 100 g -1 , with nine sterols and three pentacyclic triterpenoids identified and quantified within a total range of 42.81-76.57 mg 100 g -1 and 0.69-1.68 mg 100 g -1 dried root, respectively. The most abundant sterol and pentacyclic triterpenoid were β-sitosterol and β-amyrin acetate, with mean values of 50.21 mg 100 g -1 and 0.56 mg 100 g -1 dried root., Conclusion: The optimal PLE conditions were 150 °C/5 min/four cycles and showed significantly better performance compared to SE (68 °C, 8 h), establishing an excellent technique for the isolation of the nettle root lipid fraction. Also, triterpenoid derivatives from nettle could be used as functional ingredients for the development of new foods and dietary supplements. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.)

This study aimed to determine the optimal pressure and temperature for the maximum extraction yield and recovery of lipophilic bioactive compounds (BACs) during the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SCO2) of fennel seeds. For this purpose, the SCO2 pressure (78.6–361.4 bar) and temperature (35.9–64.1 °C) were varied and optimized, and all of the extracts obtained were analyzed for the volatiles, fatty acids, sterols, tocochromanols and carotenoids. The results showed that the maximum extract yield and content of all of the compounds analyzed favored a higher pressure (320 bar) and lower temperature (40 °C), except for the volatiles, which were the highest at 120 bar and 42 °C. However, the optimal SCO2 conditions for obtaining the highest overall total lipophilic fraction were 320 bar and 40 °C, respectively. The fennel SCO2 extract obtained under these conditions contained 18 volatiles (trans-anethole as the major component), 12 fatty acids (oleic and petroselinic as the major compounds), 12 sterols (β-sitosterol and stigmasterol as the major compounds), two pentacyclic triterpenoids (α-, β-amyrin), one tocopherol (α-tocopherol), two tocotrienols (γ-, δ-tocotrienol) as well as two carotenoids (lutein and β-carotene). The SCO2 proved to be very efficient for the isolation of various lipophilic BACs from fennel, and the results of this study may be of interest to academia and industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the influence of cryogenic grinding on the quality of rapeseed cake. Rapeseed cake is a good source of valuable proteins (30%) and oil (14%), with a balanced fatty acid composition and a fair amount of sterols, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the presence of antinutritive compounds prevents its use as a food source. Grinding under cryogenic conditions is much more efficient than grinding at room temperature in terms of particle size reduction. The additional cryogenic grinding of the cake had little effect on the nutritional components, as phytosterols and soluble dietary fiber increased slightly. It had no effect on insoluble dietary fiber, polyphenols, and tannins. Prolonged grinding time, both at room and subzero temperatures, reduced the total amount of glucosinolates by 34 and 43%, respectively. However, the reduction in undesirable components is not sufficient to use cryogenic grinding as the sole treatment for the cake, but it could be a good pretreatment for chemical or biological treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pumpkin seed cake, a by‐product of pumpkin seed oil production, is a potential source of nutraceuticals, which remain unexploited by current management practices. This research assessed its bioactive potential and investigated the effect of cryogenic grinding pretreatment on extractability of various nonpolar and polar bioactive molecules. Notable amounts of squalene (1,684 mg/kg), phytosterols (3,900 mg/kg), and tocopherols (220.3 mg/kg) were extracted from the untreated (control) pumpkin seed cake together with 72.6 mg/kg of protochlorophylls and 90.1 mg/kg of total phenols. Control pumpkin seed cake also yielded 16.75% of total fiber. Application of cryogenic grinding as well as its duration significantly increased the amount of bioactive molecules extracted from pumpkin seed cake as well as extracts antioxidant activity. Major increase was determined for phytosterols and protochlorophylls which were 2 and 2.5 fold higher, respectively, in pumpkin seed cake samples ground with cryogenic cooling during 12 min. Practical applications: Yearly production of pumpkin seed oil leaves behind more than 11.500 tons of by‐product in the form of pumpkin seed cake which is currently mainly used as livestock feed or for composting. Results of this study reveal high bioactive potential of pumpkin seed cake, which opens way to new possibilities of its utilization in functional food and dietary supplements production. In particular, it could be exploited as low cost raw material for the extraction of high added value extracts aimed for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Application of cryogenic conditions during grinding additionally enhances bioactive potential of pumpkin seed cake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]