Lycium intricatum Boiss.: An unexploited and rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, 4-desmethylsterols and other valuable phytochemicals

Boulila and Bejaoui Lipids in Health and Disease (2015) 14:59 DOI 10.1186/s12944-015-0055-9 SHORT REPORT Open Access Lycium intricatum Boiss.: An unexploited and rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, 4-desmethylsterols and other valuable phytochemicals Abdennacer Boulila1 and Afef Bejaoui2* Abstract Background: Lycium intricatum Boiss., a Solanaceous shrubbery is used in Tunisia as a windbreak and medicinal plant. However, it is considered as underexploited specie despite its high potential to serve as source with economic and nutritional value. To date only limited information about its phytochemistry, especially of its oil has been published. This work provides data on fatty acids, phytosterols and vitamin D composition of L. intricatum seed oil. It opens up new possibilities of developing L. intricatum as a new crop that contains phytochemicals with high added value little influenced by selection or commercial breeding. Findings: The composition of fatty acids, phytosterols and vitamin D in L. intricatum seed oil was assessed by GC-FID. The main fatty acids of L. intricatum seed oil were linoleic acid (49.47 %), palmitoleic acid (27.96 %) and erucic acid (13.62 %). Palimtic acid was present at low percentage (0.63 %). The content of unsaturated fatty acids was high as 94.04 %. The sterolic fraction was composed of stigmasterol (18.56 mg/100 g), β-sitosterol (13.04 mg/100 g). L. intricatum oil is an oily matrix that contains hydrocarbons, mainly squalene (63.36 mg/100 g), and two triterpenic alcohol erythrodiol (80.36 mg/100 g) and uvaol (24.06 mg/100 g). provitamin D was present in high quantity (8.12 mg/100 g). Conclusions: From these results it has been shown that L. intricatum seeds have great potential as a source of fatty acids and phytosterols for natural health products. Keywords: Lycium intricatum, Seed oil, Fatty acids, Phytosterols, Vitamin D Additional non-English language abstract La composition en acides gras et en phytosterols des graines de Lycium intricatum Boiss. (Famille des Solanacées), de haute valeur nutritionnelle, a été étudiée moyennant la chromatographie en phase gazeuse (GC-FID). L’huile des graines de L. intricatum est caractérisée par des fortes teneurs en acide linoléique (49,47 %), acide palmitoleique (27,96 %) et acide erucique (13,62 %). Les acides gras insaturés présentent 94,04 % de la composition totale en acides gras. La fraction stérolique est composée du stigmasterol (18,56 mg/100 g) et du ß-sitosterol (13,04 mg/100 g). L’huile de L. intricatum est principalement composée par des hydrocarbures tels que le squalène (63,36 mg/100 g) et deux alcool triterpeniques qui sont l’erythrodiol (80,36 mg/100 g) et l’uvaol (24,06 mg/100 g). La provitamine D présente une teneure de 8,12 mg/100 g. * Correspondence: 2 Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, National Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, BP 676, Centre Urbain Nord, Tunis Cedex 1080, Tunis, Tunisia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © 2015 Boulila and Bejaoui. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Boulila and Bejaoui Lipids in Health and Disease (2015) 14:59 Background The fatty acid composition of oils from vegetable sources varies depending on plant origin, genetic factors, ripening grade of fruits and specific climatic conditions. In addition to fatty acids, vegetable oils contain phytosterols which are divided into three main classes: 4desmethylsterols (sterols), 4-monomethylsterols and the 4,40-dimethylsterols [1]. The unsaponifiable fraction of vegetable oils contains a variety of bioactive substances, which include sterols, hydrocarbons, tocopherols, terpenes and others. These minor compounds are more characteristic of each fat and oil [2, 3]. Moreover, it has been reported that phytosterols, which represent the predominant portion of unsaponifiable matter, have multifunctional properties, including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, hypercholesterolemia, antifungal and antibacterial activities [4–6]. The genus Lycium (Solanaceae family) has been identified as a rich source of polysaccharidic, proteins and particularly glycopeptides, which are responsible for many health related benefits of this plant. Lycium sp. contains 18 different amino-acids, including eight essential amino-acids. The genus includes more than 70 species growing in temperate to subtropical parts of North and South America, Southern Africa, Eurasia, and Australia [7]. Lycium sp. is well known as a traditional herbal medicine and functional food. Among the chemical constituents of Lycium fruits, the most well researched components are anthocyanins and flavonoids [8]. Recent studies indicate that extracts from some Lycium species possess a range of biological activities, including effects on ageing, neuroprotection, anti-fatigue/endurance, glucose control in diabetics, and antioxidant and antitumour properties [9, 10]. In Tunisia, four Lycium species have been identified: Lycium europaeum L., L. halimifolium Mill., L. arabicum Boiss., and L. intricatum Boiss. [11]. L. intricatum Boiss. is a common fleshy-fruited, thorny shrub up to 3 min height, typical of sub-humid and semi arid bioclimatic zones in Tunisia. It produces berries that are red when ripe. It is used as a hedge and as wind break plant. In addition the dry powder of its fruit was used to protect from eye diseases. However, in Tunisia L. intricatum is considered as underexploited specie despite its high potential to serve as source with economic and nutritional value. An improved knowledge about its chemical composition and biological activities would contribute to the use of this natural resource as a source of phytochemicals as well as to agronomic and economic advancement. To the best of our knowledge, although the potential beneficial effects of L. intricatum were obvious, there are no report in the literature concerning its fatty acids and phytosterols composition. The aim of this study was Page 2 of 6 to determine for the first time the fatty acid composition and phytosterol content of L. intricatum seed oil. Results and discussion Fatty acid profiles by GC The yield of seed oil of L. intricatum aerial parts was 20 % (±3). Seed oil yield (w/w) as calculated on the basis of dry matter weight. A total of six different fatty acids were identified (Table 1 and Fig. 1). In L. intricatum oil, linoleic acid was the dominating fatty acid with an exceptional level, up to 49.47 % followed by palmitoleic acid (27.96 %) and erucic acid (13.62 %). Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid (...truncated)