Fatty acid composition, bioactive phytochemicals, antioxidant properties and oxidative stability of edible fruit seed oil: effect of preharvest and processing factors

Tafadzwa Kaseke; Umezuruike Linus Opara; Olaniyi Amos Fawole

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04962

Fatty acid composition, bioactive phytochemicals, antioxidant properties and oxidative stability of edible fruit seed oil: effect of preharvest and processing factors

Heliyon. 2020 Sep 17;6(9):e04962. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04962. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Authors

Tafadzwa Kaseke¹, Umezuruike Linus Opara^{1

2}, Olaniyi Amos Fawole³

Affiliations

¹ Postharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Department of Food Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa.
² Postharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa.
³ Postharvest Research Laboratory, Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa.

Abstract

Fruit seed is a by-product of fruit processing into juice and other products. Despite being treated as waste, fruit seed contains oil with health benefits comparable or even higher than the conventional seed oil from field crops. In addition to essential fatty acids, the fruit seed oil is a rich source of bioactive compounds such as tocopherols, carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids and phytosterols, which have been implicated in the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The emerging potential of fruit seed oil application in food and nutraceuticals has prompted researchers to study the effect of preharvest and processing factors on the seed oil quality with respect to nutritional qualities, antioxidant compounds and properties. Herein, the effect of cultivar, fruit-growing region, seeds pretreatment, seeds drying and seed oil extraction on tocopherols, polyphenols, phytosterols, carotenoids, fatty acids, antioxidant activity and oxidative stability of the fruit seed oil is critically discussed. Understanding the influence of these factors on seed oil bioactive phytochemicals, nutritional qualities and antioxidant properties is critical not only for genetically improving the oilseeds plants with desired characteristics, but also in seed oil processing and value addition. Therefore, preharvest and processing factors are essential considerations when determining the application of fruit seed oil.

Keywords: Agricultural science; Biochemical characterization of Food; Chemical characterization of food; Food composition; Food science; Functional properties; Horticulture; Pretreatment; Quality attributes; Seeds; Tocopherols.

Publication types

Review