Chemical compositions of the Tunisian Ziziphus jujuba oil

Abstract

Thirteen fatty acids were identified from the pulps of four Tunisian Ziziphus jujuba ecotypes (Sfax, Choutrana, Mahres and Mahdia), using capillary gaseous chromatography method. These oils presented 8.31% to 12.35% of dry weights. Compared to the other ecotypes, Mahres and Choutrana were the richest of the oleic acid. The palmitic acid was the most important compound of the Sfax ecotype. Unsaturated fatty acids ranged from 62.63% to 72.40% of the total fatty acids of each ecotype. So a ratio of the unsaturated/saturated (U/S) varied from 1.68 to 2.37. The β-sitosterol and the Stigmasterol were identified as major sterols. The β-sitosterol was the prominent component in the all ecotypes and the highest level (10.65 mg/100g) was noted in Choutrana ecotype. Stigmasterol was more abundant in Sfax (16.12 mg/100g) and Choutrana (4.67 mg/100g) ecotypes. The campesterol sterol was identified only in Sfax and Choutrana ecotypes being more important (2.4 mg/100g) in Choutrana pulps.

Phytoconstituents of leaf extracts of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. plants harvested in Tunisia

“…Stigmasterol and ␤-sitosterol were the predominant sterols in leaf extracts. This was confirmed by Elaloui et al (2011Elaloui et al ( , 2014a in Z. jujuba pulp and seed extracts. She obtained 27.32 mg/100 g and 16.12 mg/100 g for stigmasterol and 214.32 mg/100 g and 10.65 mg/100 g for ␤-sitosterol in seeds and pulp, respectively.…”

“…used for medicinal and pharmaceutical applications (hypotensive, antihypoxia and hypothermie). make up 12.35% and 37.5% of the dry weight of the pulp and seeds, respectively (Elaloui et al, 2011(Elaloui et al, , 2014a. Others works have shown that the compounds extracted from Ieaves are limited and fragmented (Zhang et al, 2014).…”

“…jujuba oils. sterols ranged from 14 mg/100 g to 182 mg/100 gin the pulp and seeds (Elaloui et al, 2011(Elaloui et al, , 2014a.…”

Potential Benefits of Jujube (Zizyphus Lotus L.) Bioactive Compounds for Nutrition and Health

“…Other sterols notably stigmasterol, Δ 5 -avenasterol, Δ 5 , 24-stigmatadienol, and cholesterol are present in small quantities. Total sterols content in Z. lotus seed oil was 285.03 mg/100 g. Compared to other vegetable oils, this content is better than Z. jujuba oil (18.56 mg/100 g) [10] and virgin oil (150 mg/100 g) [59] but lower than those measured in Z. zizyphus (291.82 mg/100 g) [54] and soy oil (350 mg/100 g) [60]. It is important to indicate that there is no available data on the sterol content in the other parts of Z. lotus ; this issue remains to be determined.…”

“…In addition, in traditional medicine, both in North Africa and Middle East, several parts of Z. lotus are given as antiurinary troubles agents, antidiabetes, skin infections, antifever, antidiarrhea, insomnia agents, sedative, bronchitis, and hypoglycemic activities [6–9]. On the other hand, this plant offers a delicious read fruit (jujube) that was consumed fresh, dried, and processed as food by local populations in substantial amounts [10]. …”