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Minor lipid components of some Acacia species: potential dietary health benefits of the unexploited seeds
BACKGROUND: Oilseed samples from four Acacia species ( A. cyclops, A. ligulata, A. salicina and A. cyanophylla) were analyzed in order to evaluate the potential nutritional value of their unexploited seeds. METHODS: Samples were collected from different Tunisian geographic locations. Seed oils were...
Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
BioMed Central
2012
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3439337/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22577797 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-511X-11-49 |
Sumario: | BACKGROUND: Oilseed samples from four Acacia species ( A. cyclops, A. ligulata, A. salicina and A. cyanophylla) were analyzed in order to evaluate the potential nutritional value of their unexploited seeds. METHODS: Samples were collected from different Tunisian geographic locations. Seed oils were extracted and carotenoids, tocopherols and sterols were analyzed using chromatographic methods. RESULTS: The studied Acacia seeds seem to be quite rich in lipids (from 6% to 12%). All Acacia species contain mainly the xanthophylls zeaxanthin and lutein compounds: from ca. 38 mg.kg(-1) of total lipids (A. cyclops) to ca. 113 mg.kg(-1) of total lipids (A. cyanophylla). Total tocopherols varied from ca. 221 mg.kg(-1) of total lipids (A. cyclops) to ca. 808 mg.kg(-1) of total lipids (A. ligulata). Sterols are highly present and their contents ranged between ca. 7 g. kg(-1) of total lipids (A. salicina) and 11 g. kg(-1) of total lipids (A. cyclops). CONCLUSION: This study highlights that these unexploited seeds might have a potential nutritional value and encourages researchers to more explore and find developments for these plants for healthy purposes. |
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