Species of the genus Wolffia are traditionally used as human food in some of the Asian countries. Therefore, all 11 species of this genus, identified by molecular barcoding, were investigated for ingredients relevant to human nutrition. The total protein content varied between 20 and 30% of the freeze-dry weight, the starch content between 10 and 20%, the fat content between 1 and 5%, and the fiber content was ~25%. The essential amino acid content was higher or close to the requirements of preschool-aged children according to standards of the World Health Organization. The fat content was low, but the fraction of polyunsaturated fatty acids was above 60% of total fat and the content of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was higher than that of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in most species. The content of macro- and microelements (minerals) not only depended on the cultivation conditions but also on the genetic background of the species. This holds true also for the content of tocopherols, several carotenoids and phytosterols in different species and even intraspecific, clonal differences were detected in Wolffia globosa and Wolffia arrhiza. Thus, the selection of suitable clones for further applications is important. Due to the very fast growth and the highest yield in most of the nutrients, Wolffia microscopica has a high potential for practical applications in human nutrition.

Vitamin E has interesting biological functions for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry because it can act as a fat-soluble antioxidant, as well as peroxyl radical scavenger. However, this vitamin is formed by a group of compounds that include tocopherols (γ-tocopherols, α-tocopherol) characterized by their poor solubility in water, what implies the need of using stabilizing agents such as biosurfactants or minerals, in order to make them soluble or stable in formulations composed by water and oil.

Tephrosia apollinea is a legume species, native to southwest Asia and northeast Africa, rich in bioactive flavonoids (hydrophilic compounds). T. apollinea seeds were not considered previously as a potential source of lipophilic compounds such as: essential fatty acids, tocopherols, sterols, and squalene, hence, the present study were performed. The oil yield in T. apollinea seeds amounted to 11.8% dw. The T. apollinea seed oil was predominated by the polyunsaturated fatty acids - linoleic (26.8%) and α-linolenic (22.7%). High levels were recorded also for oleic (27.6%) and palmitic (14.9%) acids. Four tocopherols and one tocotrienol, with the domination of γ-tocopherol (98%) were identified in T. apollinea seed oil. The β-sitosterol (59%), Δ5-stigmasterol (21%) and campesterol (9%) were detected as main sterols in T. apollinea seed oil. The total content of tocochromanols, sterols, carotenoids and squalene in the T. apollinea seed oil was 256.7, 338.1, 12.5 and 1103.8 mg/100 g oil, respectively. T. apollinea seeds oil, due to the high concentration of lipophilic bioactive compounds can find a potential application in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry.

A method for the simultaneous determination of four tocopherols, four tocotrienols, four phytosterols, β-carotene and squalene by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed. After saponification, the samples were extracted with petroleum ether, and the extract solution was concentrated by rotary evaporation. The residue was dried under a N2 atmosphere and dissolved with methanol. The 14 nutrients were separated on a Poroshell 120 PFP column (150 mm×3.0 mm, 2.7 μm) by gradient elution with 0.1% (v/v) formic acid aqueous solution and methanol containing 0.1%(v/v) formic acid as the mobile phases at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The detection was performed using an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-mass spectrometer with selective reaction monitoring (SRM) in positive mode. The results were linear in the range of 0.05-10.0 mg/L for the 14 nutrients, and the correlation coefficients (r) were no less than 0.9971. The average recoveries of the 14 nutrients in the vegetable oil samples ranged from 80.7% to 100.5% at three spiked levels, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 6.0%. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.01 to 0.30 μg/g. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 0.04-1.00 μg/g. The proposed method is sensitive, accurate, fast and stable, and is suitable for the simultaneous determination of the 14 nutrients in vegetable oil samples.

Fifty-five compounds were isolated from the fresh stems of Cissus assamica, including 14 benzenoids, 11 triterpenes, nine steroids, five tocopherols, five chlorophylls, four flavonoids, two benzoquinones, two tannins, and three other compounds. Their structures were constructed by 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectral data, and were also identified by a comparison of their spectral data with those reported in the literature. Among these isolates, 1,2-bis-(5--tocopheryl) ethane (51) was reported for the first time from natural sources. Some purified compounds were examined for their anti-inflammatory and anticancer bioactivities. The results indicated that betulinic acid (16) exhibited strong inhibition of superoxide anion generation with IC50 value of 0.2 ± 0.1 μM, while betulinic acid (16) and pheophytin-a (47) inhibited elastase release with IC50 value of 2.7 ± 0.3 and 5.3 ± 1.0 μM, respectively. In addition, betulinic acid (16) and epi-glut-5(6)-en-ol (18) exhibited potential cytotoxicity to non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NCI-H226) and colon cancer (HCT-116) cell lines with IC50 values in the range of 1.6 to 9.1 μM.

In this study, a 10-day accelerated storage at 60 °C was carried out to investigate the evolution of volatile profiles of walnut oils from three cultivars (cvs. Santai, Xiangling, Qingxiang). Eighteen volatile oxidation compounds, including three alcohols, 11 aldehydes, one furan, one ketone, and two acids, were identified in all oil samples. Data from the three cultivars were combined and the analysis showed that 2-heptenal and 1-octen-3-ol exhibited the strongest linear correlations with peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine value (p-AnV), and the residual content of total tocopherols (Rtocos ). The contents of both compounds were also proved to be significant variables for PV, p-AnV, and Rtocos , according to the jack-knife uncertainty test applied in partial least squares analysis. Hence, 2-heptenal and 1-octen-3-ol could be used as potential markers of walnut oil quality. Besides, the oleic-derived compounds such as octanal and nonanal were suggested to be used to indicate notable decrease of PUFAs during walnut oil oxidation, since they showed the strongest negative correlations with the residual content of PUFAs (RPUFAs ). PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Nowadays a large-scale planting of walnut has taken place in China. Since walnut contains more than 60% of oil, the development of walnut oil is of great significance. Volatiles such as aldehydes are secondary oxidation products. Study on the dynamic changes of their types and contents could be helpful to understand the process of walnut oil oxidation. The measurement of walnut oil quality could also be more convenient and predictable with the use of volatile markers. Hence, this research provides insights for the future development of online quality control system for walnut oil.

Tocopherols are important antioxidants exclusively produced in plastids that protect the photosynthetic apparatus from oxidative stress. These compounds with vitamin E activity are also essential dietary nutrients for humans. Although the tocopherol biosynthetic pathway has been elucidated, the mechanisms that regulate tocopherol production and accumulation remain elusive. Here, we investigated the regulatory mechanism underlying tocopherol biosynthesis during ripening in tomato fruits, which are an important source of vitamin E. Our results show that ripening under light conditions increases tocopherol fruit content in a phytochrome-dependent manner by the transcriptional regulation of biosynthetic genes. Moreover, we show that light-controlled expression of the GERANYLGERANYL DIPHOSPHATE REDUCTASE (SlGGDR) gene, responsible for the synthesis of the central tocopherol precursor phytyl diphosphate (PDP), is mediated by PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 3 (SlPIF3). In the absence of light, SlPIF3 physically interacts with the promoter of SlGGDR, downregulating its expression. By contrast, light activation of phytochromes prevents the interaction between SlPIF3 and the SlGGDR promoter, leading to transcriptional derepression and higher availability of the PDP precursor for tocopherol biosynthesis. The unraveled mechanism provides a new strategy to manipulate fruit metabolism toward improving tomato nutritional quality.

The effect of γ-tocopherol in proportions between 0.02 and 2% by weight on the accelerated storage process of refined soybean oil is studied by 1H NMR, and compared with that of α-tocopherol. Whereas the lowest γ-tocopherol enrichment level does not affect oil evolution, at higher concentrations both γ- and α-tocopherols initially accelerate acyl groups degradation and hydroperoxides generation, more as higher is the tocopherol concentration, this effect being less marked for γ-tocopherol. However, after this initial stage, the rates of acyl groups degradation and hydroperoxides formation decrease with tocopherol concentration. Furthermore, in the case of γ-tocopherol, the higher the enrichment degree, the later hydroperoxides decomposition occurs, so that, unlike α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol delays the generation of most secondary oxidation products (aldehydes, (E,E)-keto-dienes, epoxy-keto-enes, (E)-epoxystearates and alcohols) with the exception of some epoxides. Similarly to α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol modifies the oil oxidation pathway at the highest addition level, promoting the formation of compounds with (Z,E)-isomerism, although less noticeably than α-tocopherol.

Among the unusual vegetable fats, acorn oil has interesting nutritional and functional properties. Few studies are present in literature on acorn oil characterization and antioxidant activity evaluation while no studies are present regarding the analysis of the phenolic profile. The present study aims at investigating the content of hydrophilic and lipophilic phenolic compounds and pigments, as well as antioxidant properties and quality of the oil extracted from three Quercus species grown in Algeria. Oil yield, expressed as dry weight, was in the range 7.05-8.40%. Tocopherols contents were remarkable for the three species (539-676 mg kg-1), with (β + γ)-tocopherols being the most abundant. Oils had also significant amounts of carotenoids (42-66 mg kg-1) and similar polyphenol patterns, but with a wide quantitative variability between species (195-436 mg kg-1). Twenty phenolic compounds were detected, 12 of which were tentatively identified. All of them were hydrolysable tannins derivatives (gallotannin or ellagitannin). Oils methanolic extracts had remarkable antioxidant activity; up to 3.34 and 3.79 μmol TE g-1 oil (DPPH and ABTS test, respectively). Quercus oil is a potential source of natural antioxidants, and it could be used as a new functional oil.