Recent advances in Camellia oleifera Abel: A review of nutritional constituents, biofunctional properties, and potential industrial applications

Camellia oleifera Abel, known as edible-oil tree, is a subtropical evergreen shrub or small tree and distributed in China and South-East Asian countries with high nutritional and medicinal values. Approximately 249 ingredients have been isolated and structurally identified from different parts of C. oleifera. Among them, tri-terpenoid saponins, flavonoids, polyphenols, and polysaccharides are major bioactive constituents. Pharmacological studies revealed that this plant of homology of medicine and food and its extracts or compounds possess extensive beneficial health properties both in vivo and in vitro. However, C. oleifera seed cakes, as a by-product after squeezing the oil in C. oleifera seed, have not been fully considered as potential functional food ingredients to exploit foods with promising health benefits. This paper presents a comprehensive and systematic overview about the nutritional and phytochemical compositions, pharmacological properties, and industrial applications of C. oleifera, which will provide the latest information for further exploitation and applications of C. oleifera in functional food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.