Chemical Composition and Bioactivities of Egyptian Opuntia ficus–indica Seeds Oils Obtained by Conventional and Ultrasound-assisted Extraction Techniques

Abstract

The main objective of the current work was to assess the suitability of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) for the oil recovery from Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (O. ficus indica) seeds as compared to conventional extraction technique; Soxhlet extraction (SE). In the present study, the recovery oil yield, the saponifiable and unsaponifiable lipids of seeds oils obtained by different extraction methods, were compared. In addition, determination of the wound healing and analgesic activities of the plant seed oil, in vitro and in vivo, were evaluated. UAE and SE methods recovered total oil yields of 2.15% and 2.01%; respectively. Study of fatty acids composition exposed that the predominant fatty acids were linoleic acid (75.2% and 84.9%), oleic acid (14.01% and 8.18%) and palmitic acid (8.91% and 5.71%) for UAE and SE, respectively. Moreover, the most abundant sterol was β-Sitosterol (73.41% and 72.12%) followed by campesterol (8.84% and 8.57%) for UAE and SE, respectively. UAE significantly improved bioactivities of the oil with a significant increase in wound healing rate (85.7%) and inhibition of abdominal writhing (71.0%) compared to those obtained for oil prepared by SE (73.3% and 28.1%, respectively). Conclusion: Compared to conventional extraction method SE, the application of the innovative technique UAE for oil extraction increased the obtained oil yield of O. ficus indica and enhanced the biological activities in-vitro as well as in-vivo.