Abstract
Acorn oil has been receiving increasing attention due to its nutritional potentials. However, its application as a novel food ingredient has not yet been fully explored. This paper summarizes chemical composition, extraction methods, potential health benefits, and current applications of acorn oil, with the aim of providing suggestions for its exploitation. Acorn oil is an excellent source of essential fatty acids (oleic, linoleic, α-linolenic, and palmitic acids). Acorns are a rich source of tocopherols, with γ-tocopherol being the most abundant. It also contains various bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and sterols (mainly β-sitosterol). Diets enriched with acorn oil can be beneficial in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and type 2 diabetes as well as offer antioxidant activity. Further studies should focus on producing better quality acorn oil such as the application of more innovative and optimized techniques that can increase its health benefits and hence utilization.
Highlights
Quercus spp. represent an important genus of the Fagaceae family which consists of 300 species worldwide, including deciduous and evergreen trees. ese species produce a widely known fruit, commonly identified as acorns, which are of vital importance for both humans and animals
Phytosterols are present in acorn oil between 4632.71 and 11576.09 mg/kg, which are inclusively higher than those reported for almond (1430 mg/kg), soybean (1600 mg/kg), olive (2210 mg/kg), pistachio (2790 mg/kg), and pine oils (4298 mg/kg) [17]. ese compounds with various biological activities are useful for promoting the decrease of blood serum triglycerides and cholesterol levels [19]. is review provides a detailed summary of physicochemical, extraction, methods, health benefits, and current applications of acorn oil, with the aim of promoting better utilization in the formation of different value-added products and stimulating future research
It was found that the degree of unsaturation of the oil extracted by Focused microwave-assisted Soxhlet extraction (FMASE) is significantly dependent on the extraction conditions. erefore, as an alternative to those traditional extraction methods, a series of modern techniques have been applied for acorn oil extraction, such as ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) [13] supercritical CO2 extraction [25, 26]
Summary
Quercus spp. represent an important genus of the Fagaceae family which consists of 300 species worldwide, including deciduous and evergreen trees. ese species produce a widely known fruit, commonly identified as acorns, which are of vital importance for both humans and animals. Acorns are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid, and essential fatty acids such as linoleic (n − 6) and linolenic (n − 3). Acorns contain various biologically active compounds such as tannins, phenolic acids, and flavonoids [3, 10], which are important in the human diet to maintain an adequate level of antioxidants. Acorn oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids (75–90%), especially oleic acid (65%), and essential fatty acids such as linoleic (17–37%) and α-linolenic (1–4.58%) acid (Table 1), which is important in eicosanoid synthesis, promoting the decrease of blood serum triglycerides and the increase of HDL-cholesterol levels. Phytosterols (mainly β-sitosterol) are present in acorn oil between 4632.71 and 11576.09 mg/kg, which are inclusively higher than those reported for almond (1430 mg/kg), soybean (1600 mg/kg), olive (2210 mg/kg), pistachio (2790 mg/kg), and pine oils (4298 mg/kg) [17]. ese compounds with various biological activities are useful for promoting the decrease of blood serum triglycerides and cholesterol levels [19]. is review provides a detailed summary of physicochemical, extraction, methods, health benefits, and current applications of acorn oil, with the aim of promoting better utilization in the formation of different value-added products and stimulating future research
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