The Effects of Oil Content on the Structural and Textural Properties of Cottonseed Butter/Spread Products

Cottonseed oil composition and its application to skin health and personal care

The historical use of oils for beauty and hygiene dates back to ancient civilizations. While mineral oil and its derivatives dominated the personal care industry in the 20th century due to chemical stability and low cost, the environmental impact and sustainability concerns have driven a resurgence in the use of vegetable oils. Cottonseed oil derived from Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvaceae) has been often overlooked in favor of other plant oils, likely due to cotton's primary use as a fiber crop. Yet cottonseed oil stands out in cosmetics for its beneficial linoleic to oleic acid ratio, which supports skin barrier function, and its rich profile of phytosterols and tocopherols that provide higher oxidative stability and extended shelf life. Cottonseed oil is also adaptable for use in a variety of formulations, offering a lightweight, non-greasy emollient base with potential applications in skin care, hair, and cleansing products. This review highlights cottonseed oil as a potentially underutilized ingredient in the personal care sector and emphasizes the need for further research and development to fully exploit its properties.

Effective Degradation of Free Gossypol in Defatted Cottonseed Meal by Bacterial Laccases: Performance and Toxicity Analysis

Cottonseed meal (CSM) is the major by-product of the cottonseed oil extraction process with high protein content. However, the presence of free gossypol (FG) in CSM severely restricts its utilization in the food and animal feed industries. The development of a biological strategy for the effective removal of FG in CSM has become an urgent need. In this study, three bacterial laccases including CotA from Bacillus licheniformis, CueO from Escherichia coli, and LcLac from Loigolactobacillus coryniformis were heterologously expressed and investigated for their FG degradation ability. The results showed that CotA laccase displayed the highest FG-degrading capacity among the three laccases, achieving 100% FG degradation at 37 °C and pH 7.0 in 1 h without the addition of a redox mediator. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo studies confirmed that the hepatotoxicity of FG was effectively eliminated after oxidative degradation by CotA laccase. Furthermore, the addition of CotA laccase could achieve 87% to 98% FG degradation in defatted CSM within 2 h. In conclusion, CotA laccase can be developed as an effective biocatalyst for the detoxification of FG in CSM.