Volatiles and fatty oil of Cucurbita maxima

Abstract

The subjects of this study are volatile fractions from the fruit, leaf and seed of the pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), as well as the oil extracted from the seeds of the above plant, with its fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity. The isolation of volatiles was performed by the hydrodistillation process with the Clevenger type apparatus. Seed oil was extracted in a Soxhlet extractor using petroleum ether. The preparation of fatty acid methyl esters was performed according to the AOAC method. The identification of volatiles and fatty acids was carried out by GC-FID/GC-MS techniques. DPPH test was used for determination of the radical scavenging activity. Within the group of volatile compounds, the dominant component in the fruit was heneicosane (46.5%), followed by benzaldehyde, tricosane, eicosane and pentacosane. Mostly represented on the leaf were (2E)-hexenal (46.2%), nonadecane, benzaldehyde, as well as terpenes (E)-β-damascone and (E)-β-ionone. Among the volatiles of the seed, heptadecane (22.3%), tetradecane, octadecane, hexadecane, tridecane and benzaldehyde were the most abundant. Seed oil is richest in linoleic acid (46.1%), oleic acid and palmitic acid. Radical scavenging activity of this oil was 43.9%.