Improving the Technology of Primary Purification of the Safflower Oil Using Secondary Products of Processing on a Biological Basis

Safflower oil is a very valuable product for the body and human health. It is rich in macro- and microelements, vitamins and minerals, and also has antioxidant properties. The primary purification of safflower oil is an important stage of its production and directly affects the quality of the final product and its storage ability. Purifying safflower oil using a combination of filtration and sedimentation processes in an experimental cone-shaped centrifuge is a new direction in its processing. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of flax fiber as a filter material for safflower oil. The Akmai variety of the safflower was tested. The results showed that the quality indicators of safflower oil before and after filtration through flax fiber are different. The amount of unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic (18.31 ± 0.874%) and cis-linoleic acid (82.52 ± 1.854%) increased, as well as the content of arginine (2.1), tyrosine (0.57), methionine (0.4), cystine (2.5), tryptophan (2.6), and other amino acids (in oil g per 100 g of protein). The increase in the total amount of phenols (322.12 ± 6 mgEAG/kg of oil) was observed, which directly caused the higher antioxidant activity (42.65 ± 8%) of the safflower oil. These results demonstrate that flax fiber can enrich safflower oil. To find the optimal conditions for safflower oil centrifugation in a cone-shaped sedimentary-filtering centrifuge, the thickness of the flax fiber and the distance between the inner and outer perforated filter rotor were tested. It was found that the optimal and effective thickness of the flax fiber is 1.5 × 107 nm, while the thickness of the sediment is 0.5 × 107 nm.

In vitro α-glycosidase and urease enzyme inhibition profile of some selected medicinal plants of Pakistan

The current study aims at exploring enzyme inhibition of four species of medicinal herbs, namely Senna bicapsularis, Thevetia peruviana, Nerium oleander and Vinca major. Plant selection was done on the basis of their therapeutic uses by local practitioners. The crude methanolic extracts of these plants were tested for their α-glycosidase and urease enzyme inhibition potential. The observed urease inhibitory potential for the crude extract of S. bicapsularis, T. peruviana and N. oleander were 8.3 ± 0.33 μg, 6.98 ± 0.98 μg and 9.56 ± 1.43 μg, respectively while the V. major did not show any inhibition. In addition, the IC₅₀ value for Thiourea was 22.3 ± 1.14 μg. The crude extracts of S. bicapsularis, T. peruviana, N. oleander, V. major were shown to inhibit α-glycosidase activity with an IC₅₀ value of 630.3 ± 0.03 μg, 700.7 ± 2.43 μg, 430.4 ± 3.97 μg, and the standard (acarbose) 880 ± 1.03  μM, respectively. Based on the TLC profile, the extract of S. bicapsularis was subjected to column chromatography and the major component named rhein (1) was identified. Compound 1 exhibited excellent urease and α-glycosidase inhibitory activity with an IC₅₀ value of 7.4 ± 0.32 and 622.3 ± 1.03 μM, respectively.