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Rediscovery of cold pressed cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum L.) oil: a good source of fat-soluble bioactives with functional and health-enhancing traits

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Abstract

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) fruits or capsules are rich in bioactive phytochemicals with beneficial health impacts. Very few studies reported the chemistry and functionality of Elettaria cardamomum lipids, fixed oil, and cold pressed cardamom oil (CPCO). This work characterized CPCO for its lipid classes, fatty acids, phytosterols, tocols, total phenolics, antiradical potential (toward galvinoxyl and DPPH· radicals), antioxidative effects, and antimicrobial behavior (against foodborne bacteria and dermatophytic fungi). Neutral lipids were detected at the highest amount (ca. 96.6%), followed by glycolipids (ca. 2%) and phospholipids (ca. 1.3%). Oleic (C18:1, 43.7%), palmitic (C16:0, 21.6%), and linoleic (C18:2, 17.6%) were the major fatty acids in CPCO. The levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), saturated fatty acids (SFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were 47%, 32%, and 21%, respectively. CPCO contained large amounts of unsaponifiables (16.4 g/kg). The total content of phytosterols was 222 mg/100 g oil, wherein β-sitosterol was the main compound, followed by sitostanol, campesterol, stigmasterol, Δ5-avenasterol, and citrostadienol. The total content of tocols was 2.38 mg/100 g of oil, and the contents (mg/100 g oil) of α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocopherols in CPCO were 1.25, 0.08, 0.58, and 0.28, respectively. Besides, CPCO contained high amounts of total phenolics (3.9 mg GAE/g oil). CPCO exhibited better antiradical traits than extra virgin olive oil. The induction time (IT) recorded for sunflower oil (SFO) and CPCO blend (9:1, v/v) was 405 min, while the IT for blend) 8:2, v/v) was 532 min. Besides, CPCO showed broad antimicrobial effects against foodborne pathogens (Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli) and dermatophytic fungi (Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton rubrum). It could be concluded that CPCO is a good source of lipid-soluble bioactives, making it a unique raw material for novel food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.

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Abbreviations

CEO :

Cardamom essential oil

CER :

Cerebrosides

CC :

Column chromatography

CPCO :

Cold pressed cardamom oil

CPOs :

Cold pressed oils

CZD :

Clear zone diameter

DAG :

Diacylglycerols

DGD :

Digalactosyldiacylglycerol

DPPH :

2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl

ESG :

Esterified steryl glucoside

EVOO :

Extra virgin olive oil

FAME :

Fatty acid methyl esters

FFA :

Free fatty acids

GC :

Gas chromatography

GL :

Glycolipids

HPLC :

High-performance liquid chromatography

IT :

Induction time

MAG :

Monoacylglycerols

MGD :

Monogalactosyldiacylglycerol

MLC :

Minimum lethal concentrations

NL :

Neutral lipids

PC :

Phosphatidylcholine

PE :

Phosphatidylethanolamine

PI :

Phosphatidylinositol

PL :

Phospholipids

PS :

Phosphatidylserine

P St :

Phytosterols

RSA :

Radical scavenging activity

SFO :

Sunflower oil

SG :

Steryl glucoside

SQD :

Sulphoquinovosyldiacylglycerol

STE :

Sterol esters

TAG :

Triacylglycerols

TLC :

Thin-layer chromatography

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Funding

The author MFR would like to thank the Deanship of Scientific Research at Umm Al-Qura University for supporting this work by Grant Code: 20UQU0043DSR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Nutrition Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 7067, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia

    Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan

  2. Dairy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt

    Manal Khider

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

    Khaled Elbanna & Hussein H. Abulreesh

  4. Research Laboratories Unit, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

    Khaled Elbanna & Hussein H. Abulreesh

  5. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt

    Khaled Elbanna

  6. Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

    Adel M. A. Assiri

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  1. Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan
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  2. Manal Khider
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  3. Khaled Elbanna
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Contributions

Conceptualization: MFR and KE. Methodology: MFR, MK, and KE. Formal analysis and investigation: KE, HHA, and AMAA. Writing—original draft preparation: MFR and KE. Writing-review and editing: MFR and KE. Funding acquisition: MFR. Resources: MK, KE, HHA, and AMAA. Supervision: MFR and KE.

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Correspondence to Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan.

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Ramadan, M.F., Khider, M., Elbanna, K. et al. Rediscovery of cold pressed cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum L.) oil: a good source of fat-soluble bioactives with functional and health-enhancing traits. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 33, 631–642 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-022-01081-w

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