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Spice seed oils are a subject of interest to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, but the studies on this topic are limited. Characteristic color of spice seeds oils derives from naturally occurring pigments, which quantity varies due to the seed type as well as extraction conditions. Hence, this study aimed to examine differences in pigments content of seed oils upon a) seed type and b) oil extraction method. Oil from seeds of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), caraway (Carum carvi L.), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) and star anise (Illicum verum Hook. f.) was produced using Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) at 25 and 100 °C, standard Soxhlet extraction (SE) and extraction by agitation at room temperature (AE) using hexane as an extraction solvent. Accordingly, 16 oil samples were obtained and dissolved in acetone to examine the content (mg/100 g of oil) of chlorophyll a (Ch a), chlorophyll b (Ch b) and total carotenoids (TC) by spectrophotometry. Content of pigments was determined as follows: Ch a ranged from 0.58 – 30.98 mg/100 g, Ch b from 0.89 – 9.98 mg/100 g, while TC were determined in a range from 0.37 – 14.83 mg/100 g. Statistical analysis showed significant differences (p≤0.05) in pigments content among oil samples influenced by seed type as well as extraction method. Fennel oil had the highest concentrations of pigments (Ch a=23.60 mg/100 g, Ch b=8.83 mg/100 g, TC=12.31 mg/100 g). High concentrations of chlorophylls (Ch a=10.94 mg/100 g, Ch b=4.75 mg/100 g) were also present in star anise oil, however its content of TC was lower (1.20 mg/100 g). Interestingly, caraway oil had 4.82 mg/100 g of TC, while chlorophylls were less presented (Ch a=2.71 mg/100 g, Ch b=2.65 mg/100 g). The lowest contents of all analyzed pigments were determined in coriander oil (Ch a=1.73 mg/100 g, Ch b=2.16 mg/100 g, TC=0.66 mg/100 g). In relation to the extraction method, ASE/25 °C was the least exhaustive, while ASE/100 °C, SE and AE showed similar effectiveness. Finally, it can be concluded that fennel oil was the richest in pigments and ASE/100 °C could be highlighted due to the good efficiency in considerably shorter extraction time.

Marine organisms are potential sources of valuable bioactive molecules such as fatty acids, sterols and pigments which can be used in the development of new nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. Because of their high productivity, diversity and traditional diet consumption in China and Japan, particular interest is attributed to seaweeds. Considering that conventional extraction (CE) techniques are time consuming and require high solvent input, advanced techniques e.g. accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) are being developed. In this research, the impact of different solvents (hexane and ethyl acetate:ethanol 1:1 (v/v)) and extraction methods (CE and ASE at 25 and 100 °C) on the lipid extract yield, fatty acid and pigment composition of different types of seaweed were investigated. All the macroalgae (Cystoseira barbata, Codium bursa, Cystoseira compressa and Fucus virsoides) originated from the Adriatic Sea and were collected in the Zadar region. Palmitic (16, 98 %), oleic (26, 10 %) and linolenic (5, 97 %) fatty acids were the most represented in all four tested species. Macroalgae Cystoseira barbata had the best ω-6/ω-3 fatty acids ratio, while yield and total pigments were the highest in Fucus virsoides extracts. Solvent type had significant impact on total pigments, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, protochlorophyll with ethyl acetate:ethanol showing better efficiency. Even though ASE did not result in higher lipid extract yield, contents of carotenoids and total pigments were the highest in ASE 100 samples. Results of sterol determination which was made in order to obtain additional information for species differentiation showed that Cystoseira barbata extracts had the highest levels of total sterol among which fucosterol was dominant. Fucosterol also comprised more than 90 % of Fucus virsoides sterol profile while β-sitosterol was dominant in Codium bursa and Cystoseira compressa.

Mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus L.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) are traditional medicinal plants characterized with a wide spectrum of bioactive molecules, thus presenting a valuable source for various applications. For the extraction of natural antioxidants miscellaneous extraction methods are being used, among which accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) represents an advanced extraction technique. However, due to the diverse chemical structure, extraction of target compounds depends on the used solvent type. Hence, this study involved the three-step extraction of polyphenols and pigments from mastic and thyme dry leaves using ASE (60 °C/3×5 min) and agitation-assisted extraction (AAE) (60 °C/30 min) with solvents arranged by their polarity: hexane was used for the first fraction, followed by acetone (80%) and finally ethanol (96%). Obtained fractions were analyzed for total content of polyphenols (TP), hydroxycinnamic acids (THCA), flavonols (TFL), chlorophylls (TCHL) and carotenoids (TCAR). Statistical analysis of obtained results showed significant (p≤0.05) differences in fractions' composition among plants and applied extraction methods. Acetone fraction was the most abundant with all analyzed compounds accompanied with the greater ASE efficiency, especially in polyphenols’ isolation. In hexane and ethanol fractions, longer AAE time resulted with greater performance in extraction of polyphenols, while higher pigments yields were achieved with ASE. Although mastic tree dominated in TP content, extracts of both plants showed their abundance of bioactives, proving their potential for further implementation in various food products. Further optimization of ASE conditions could contribute to even better extraction efficiency.

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati utjecaj različitih otapala (heksan (H) i etil acetat:etanol=1:1 (E-E)) te metoda ekstrakcije (klasična ekstrakcija na sobnoj temperaturi (K) i ubrzana ekstrakcija otapalima pri povišenom tlaku, ASE) na udio lipida i pigmenata kod različtih vrsta morskih algi (Cystoseira barbata, Codium bursa, Cystoseira compressa te Fucus virsoides). U svim dobivenim lipidnim ekstraktima je određen sastav masnih kiselina, a sastav sterola je određen u heksanskim ekstraktima s najvećim udjelom ulja. Nadalje, spektrofotometrijski je određen sastav pigmenata; klorofili (a i c), karotenodi te protoklorofili. Najbolji omjer ω-6/ω-3 masnih kiselina, bogat izvor sterola i pigmenata te gotovo najviše ulja je ekstrahirano iz makroalge Cystoseira barbata. Dobiveni podaci su statistički analizirani te je u većini slučajeva vrsta alge imala značajan utjecaj, a tretmani i otapala su pokazala značajan utjecaj samo u pojedinim slučajevima. Najveći udio ulja je ekstrahiran konvencionalnom metodom korištenjem oba otapala, a pigmenata primjenom ASE pri 100 °C s otapalom E-E. The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of solvents (hexane (H) and ethyl acetate:ethanol=1:1 (E-E)) and extraction methods (classis extraction and accelerated solvent extraction, ASE) on the lipid and pigment content of different types of seaweed (Cystoseira barbata, Codium bursa, Cystoseira compressa and Fucus viroids). The fatty acid composition was determined in all the lipid extracts and the sterol composition was determined in the hexane extracts with the highest oil content. Furthermore, the composition of the pigments was determined spectrophotometrically; chlorophylls (a and c), carotenoids and protochlorophylls. The best ratio of ω-6/ω-3 fatty acids, a rich source of sterols and pigments and almost the higher content of oil was extracted from macroalgae Cystoseira barbata. The data obtained were statistically analyzed and in most cases the type of algae had more significant impact than treatments and solvents that showed a significant impact only in some cases. The highest oil content was extracted by conventional method using both solvents as well as pigments collected with E-E_ASE 100.