Biologically active components and health benefits of nettle seed oil

Abstract

The biologically active components of nettle seed oil and important lipid indices, which are criteria for the health benefits of the oil, have been examined. Linoleic acid predominates in triacylglycerols (77.7%), followed by oleic (16.2%). Sterols in the lipids are present at 1.1% and β-sitosterol is the main component (90.1%). The oil contains 711 mg/kg tocopherols and γ-tocopherol predominates (36.1%), followed by α-tocopherol (28.9%) and δ-tocopherol (26.9%). Atherogenicity and thrombogenicity index values are significantly low, which determine the best anti-atherogenic and anti-thrombogenic properties of the oil. The cholesterolemic index and the ratio of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids are considerably higher than 1.0 and reveal good hypocholesterolemic potential and nutritional value. The content of biologically active components of nettle seed oil indicates that it is a rich source of essential fatty acids, sterols and tocopherols and this oil can be used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products.

Nutrient Constituents, Bioactive Phytochemicals, and Antioxidant Properties of Service Tree (Sorbus domestica L.) Fruits

“…The identification of fatty acids was performed by comparison of retention times with those of a standard mixture of FAME (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA 37 comp. FAME mix) [ 30 ].…”

“…The temperature gradient was from 90 °C (hold 2 min) up to 290 °C at a rate of change of 15 °C/min and then up to 310 °C at a rate of 4 °C/min (hold 10 min); detector temperature—320 °C; injector temperature—300 °C and carrier gas—hydrogen. Identification was confirmed by the comparison of retention times with those of a standard mixture of sterols [ 30 ].…”

“…Twenty microliters of the sample (1% solution of crude oil) was injected. The tocopherols were identified and quantified by comparing the retention time and peak areas of the sample with those of the standard solutions [ 30 ].…”

“…A polyunsaturated-to-saturated fatty acids (PUFA/SFA) ratio, atherogenic (AI), thrombogenic (TI), and cholesterolemic indexes (CI) were calculated from data from the fatty acid composition following the formulas described in Petkova, Antova, and Angelova-Romova [ 30 ]. The maturity index and other carbohydrate indexes were calculated as described in Mihaylova et al [ 20 ].…”

Nettle (Urtica dioica) Additive as a Growth Promoter and Immune Stimulator in Fish

“…Moreover, the efficiency of nettle on fish glucose levels can be related to fish species, parts of nettle used as a supplement, and the type of nettle supplement (powder and/or extract) [ 35 , 36 , 67 ]. Decreasing the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood serum can be related to nettle sterols, including stigmasterol, campesterol, β -sitosterol [ 68 ], and phenolic compounds [ 27 ], which affect cholesterol biosynthesis [ 69 ]. In conclusion, the positive effect of nettle on protein, glucose, and lipid metabolism was also observed, like many other herbs.…”