Green extraction of oil from Carum carvi seeds using bio-based solvent and supercritical fluid: Evaluation of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities

Introduction The consumption of health-promoting products such as oil seeds may improve human health and prevent certain diseases. Carvi seeds have the potential to produce oil with nutritional and functional properties rich in active compounds. Objective To extract bioactive lipids from Carum carvi seeds using green methodologies. Material and methods Supercritical-carbon dioxide (Sc-CO2) and ethanol as co-solvent and bio-based solvent 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) were used to extract the oil from Carum carvi. The yield, the chemical composition, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of green extracted oils were investigated and compared to those obtained with conventional methods (hexane and Folch system). Results MeTHF extraction gave higher oil yield than that obtained by hexane. Fatty acids composition of the two obtained green extracted oils was similar to conventional extracted ones where petroselinic (39-43%), linoleic (29-31%) and oleic (19-21%) acids were the major compounds. Furthermore, MeTHF and Sc-CO2 green extracted oils were enriched of bioactive compounds including sterols (5.4 and 7.3 mg/g oil) and total polyphenols (9.3 and 7.6 mg GAE/g oil) which were correlated to enhanced antiradical capacity. Moreover, the green extracted oils exhibited high anti-inflammatory capacity inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) release in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages with IC50 values of 28 and 24 mu g/mL. Conclusion Green solvents are a good alternative to petroleum solvents to recover oil from carvi seeds with high amount of nutritionally important fatty acids, along with significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential.