Comparison of Fatty Acid, Sterol, and Tocol Compositions in Skin and Kernel of Turpentine (Pistacia terebinthus L.) Fruits

Acidic and enzymatic pre-treatment effects on cold-pressed pumpkin, terebinth and flaxseed oils

Oil yield and the properties of oil can be improved with various enzymatic pre-treatments before obtaining oil from oilseeds by cold-press extraction. A commercial mixture of pectolytic enzymes was used in this study. In addition, apple seed meal as a source of β-glucosidase enzyme and citric acid were applied to oilseeds (pumpkin, terebinth and flaxseed) as pre-treatments. The results were evaluated by comparing the effects of the pre-treatments on oil yield and properties. Enzyme preparate could increase the oil yield of pumpkin seeds (~300%) and flaxseed (151%). Significant increases in the phenolic contents of terebinth (from 91.67 to 319.33 mg GAE/kg) and flaxseed oils (from 12.03 to 40.47 mg GAE/kg) were achieved by citric acid and enzymatic pre-treatments. These two pre-treatments were also effective in terms of peroxide formation and oxidative stability in terebinth oil. With the help of the pre-treatments applied to oilseeds it was possible to increase the transition of phenolics from seeds to oil for terebinth oil with increase ratios of 245% for citric acid, 248% for the enzymatic process compared to the control.

Effect of sonication process of terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus L.) fruits on antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds, fatty acids and tocopherol contents

The current study investigated the impact of sonication process on antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds, total phenolic, total flavonoid, oil contents, fatty acids profile, and tocopherols of terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus) fruits. The highest antioxidant activity (87.32%), total phenolic (251.25 mg/100 g) and flavonoid (3413.72 mg/100 g) contents were observed in terebinth fruits sonicated for 30 min. The oil contents of terebinth increased from 38.93% (control) to 42.60% (sonicated for 15 min) after sonication process. The quercetin and catechin were the chief phenolic compounds in P. terebinthus extracts and their values were increased from 129.09 to 467.28 mg/100 g (quercetin) and from 5.58 to 21.33 mg/100 g (catechin) in fruits sonicated for 30 min. The major fatty acids of terebinth fruit oil were oleic (48.02-49.15%), linoleic (22.28-23.48%) and palmitic (22.10-23.67%) and sonication processes did not affect the quantities of these fatty acids. γ-Tocopherol was the most abundant isomer with the value of 63.95-122.03 mg/100 g in terebinth fruit oil. It could be concluded that pre-sonication for 30 min was more suitable for enhancing the antioxidants and phenolic compounds of P. terebinthus fruit.

Seasonal variation and gender pattern of phenolic and flavonoid contents in Pistacia chinensis Bunge inflorescences and leaves

Pistacia chinensis Bunge (P. chinensis) is a deciduous and dioecious perennial arbor of the family Anacardiaceae that flowers from March to April and bears fruit from September to October. There are three rapidly growing stages in the annual growth process of P. chinensis. However, the knowledge of the secondary metabolites related to P. chinensis gender and growth season remains scant. In this study, HPLC was used to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the content of the catechin hydrate, rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol contents in male and female tree inflorescences and leaves. Total phenolics and flavonoids were also detected using a spectrophotometer. The results indicated that the contents of these compounds fluctuated with seasons and they reached the highest levels in nascent leaves. The fluctuations of these compounds followed different pathways of evolution, by increasing or decreasing in male and female trees throughout the whole growth process because they had their own biological functions. Moreover, the extracts exhibited DPPH radical scavenging bioactivity and showed no significant cytotoxicity towards 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Together, these results demonstrated that P. chinensis has great potential as an antioxidant medicine, and the best harvest time is in the spring.