Camellia Seeds Research Articles

Analysis and structure optimization of the flow and temperature fields of the large-scale hot air drying room

Large-scale hot air drying rooms play a crucial role as efficient drying equipment across various industries. The uniform distribution of hot air is a crucial factor influencing the drying quality of large-scale hot air drying rooms. This study focuses on camellia seeds as the drying subject. Building on a porous media model and the drying kinetics of camellia seeds, a CFD model of the drying room was established. Three-dimensional simulations of the internal flow and temperature fields were performed using CFD software, and the simulated results aligned well with experimental data. To improve the uniformity, this study introduced an optimized design featuring a combination of a Type E3 air guide hood with five guiding plates and a fan, selected based on optimized angles (θ1 = 5°, θ2 = 10°). Under the condition of improving the structure without introducing a new heat source, the optimization ensured a significant improvement in flow field uniformity while making the temperature field closer to the desired ideal temperature. This offers a reference for the design and research of hot air drying equipment and hot air drying rooms.

A Multiscale Interactive Attention Network for Recognizing Camellia Seed Oil with Fuzzy Features

A Multiscale Interactive Attention Network for Recognizing Camellia Seed Oil with Fuzzy Features

Characterization of Seven Species of Camellia Oil: Oil Content, Volatile Compounds, and Oxidative Stability.

In this study, we conducted tests on the seeds from four Taiwanese native Camellia species (C. japonica, C. furfuracea, C. laufoshanensis, and C. formosensis) and three commercialized species (C. oleifera, C. brevistyla, and C. sinensis) for comparison. We examined various aspects of these species, such as seed oil content, suitability for mechanical pressing, volatile components (edible flavor), and oil stability (suitability for cooking), to assess the feasibility of using these four native Taiwanese Camellia seeds as sources of edible oil. The results from solvent extraction tests and mechanical pressing experiments confirm that the seeds from C. furfuracea, C. japonica, and C. laufoshanensis have high oil contents, and their oils are suitable for extraction via the popular mechanical pressing method, with oil yields comparable to or higher than those of the commercialized Camellia species. The volatile components of the oils were collected using MonoTrap adsorbents and analyzed with a thermal desorption system coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (ATD-GC/MS), primarily consisting of alcohols, ketones, and aldehydes. The results of oxidative stability tests reveal that the seed oils from C. japonica, C. furfuracea, and C. laufoshanensis are higher than or equally stable to those from the commercialized Camellia species. After six months of storage, the stability of these three Camellia seed oils remained relatively high, demonstrating that the seed oils from C. japonica, C. furfuracea, and C. laufoshanensis can withstand high temperatures and can be easily preserved for future applications.

Impact of Drying Processes for Camellia Seeds on the Volatile Compounds of Camellia Seed Oil

Impact of Drying Processes for Camellia Seeds on the Volatile Compounds of Camellia Seed Oil

Tea saponin-derived porous carbon bearing rich oxygen-containing groups towards high efficient CO2 fixation

The effective utilization of biomass resources can bring significantly environmental and economic benefits. In this context, tea saponin, which can be easily and extensively extracted from the oil cake as the biomass waste during the seed oil production from camellia seeds, is explored as the precursor to synthesize porous carbon bearing abundant –OH and –COOH groups via a simple carbonization process. Owing to the obtained porous structure and existence of rich oxygen-containing groups serving as Lewis acidic sites, the carbonized tea saponin (CTS) can display impressive catalytic activities for CO2 cycloaddition reaction with both high selectivity (> 99%) and high yield of target cyclic carbonate under either thermally driven (80 °C and 0.1 MPa CO2) or photo-thermally driven (UV-Vis light irradiation with the light intensity of 350 mW/cm2) conditions. In addition, benefiting from the good chemical stability, CTS can be reused for many cycles with almost no catalytic activity loss, making CTS a promising biomass-based catalyst for CO2 fixation under mild conditions.

Virgin Camellia Seed Oil Improves Glycolipid Metabolism in the Kidney of High Fat-Fed Rats through AMPK-SREBP Pathway

Camellia seed oil (CO) is used as edible oil in southern China because of its excellent fatty acid composition and abundant bioactive compounds. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common chronic degenerative diseases in China, and active compounds in vegetable oil, like virgin olive oil, have been demonstrated to be efficacious in the management of CKD. In this study, virgin CO was refined using a standard process. The refining had minimal impact on the fatty acid composition, but significantly reduced the presence of bioactive compounds like polyphenols in CO. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed with high fat diet (Group G) were treated with either virgin (Group Z) or refined CO (Group R). The oral administration of CO alleviated lipid accumulation and decreased body and kidney weight gain. Furthermore, treatment with virgin CO increased the renal ATP content. The renal expression levels of AMPK and key enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation (CPT-1 and ACOX1) and glycolysis (HK, PFK, PK and GAPDH) were up-regulated in Group Z, thereby enhancing the ATP production. Virgin CO treatment downregulated the expression level of SREBP2 and its downstream target genes, such as ACC, FAS, and HMGCR, which reduced lipid synthesis. These findings indicate that virgin CO improves glycolipid metabolism and restores energy homeostasis in the kidneys of rats fed with a high-fat diet by modulating the AMPK–SREBP-signaling pathway, suggesting the potential of active compounds in virgin CO for managing the renal failure associated with glycolipid dysmetabolism.

Research on the Supply Network of Camellia Oil in Anhui Province

Tea oil is becoming more and more popular in China. Based on a field investigation, this paper analyzes the supply network of Camellia oil in the local markets of Anhui. It is found that there are 3 network models of Camellia oil supply. The towns or counties with only one factory and sufficient Camellia seeds have the lowest risk and the best chance in oil supply. The towns or counties with just one factory and just enough Camellia seeds are at the greatest risk and have the least chance in oil supply. The towns or counties with two factories and Camellia seeds that can only supply one factory have a moderate risk and the tied best chance of oil supply. The network's primary limiting factor is the availability of Camellia seeds. The probability of the supply network can be considerably increased and the risk can be greatly decreased with more factories and sufficient Camellia seeds.

Effects of superheated steam pretreatment on phenolics and its antioxidant activity in camellia oleifera oil

Camellia oleifera oil (COO) is a high-quality woody edible oil, and the oilseed pretreatment is an important part of the oil processing in the edible oil production. This study investigated the effect of superheated steam (SHS) pretreatment on the phenolics and the corresponding antioxidant properties of COO. Results showed that SHS pretreatment time and temperature had significant impact on oil yield and the phenolic content of different forms of camellia seeds (P＜0.05). SHS pretreatment at 150 °C and 180 °C increased the free phenolics (FP) content, and the antioxidant properties of FP and conjugated phenolics (CP) in COO after SHS pretreatment under optimal condition. Then, the effect of SHS on two phenolic substances with high contents of COO, di-O-methylquercetin and 4-chloro-2-hydroxybenzoic acid was studied. SHS pretreatment had a positive effect on COO, and it may increase its biological activity and reduce its irritation. In addition, four phenolics that were significantly associated with the antioxidant properties of camellia phenolics were found. This study can provide new ideas and directions for oilseed pretreatment.

Infusing Silicone and Camellia Seed Oils into Micro-/Nanostructures for Developing Novel Anti-Icing/Frosting Surfaces for Food Freezing Applications.

Undesired ice/frost formation and accretion often occur on food freezing facility surfaces, lowering freezing efficiency. In the current study, two slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) were fabricated by spraying hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) and stearic acid (SA)-modified SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) suspensions, separately onto aluminum (Al) substrates coated with epoxy resin to obtain two superhydrophobic surfaces (SHS), and then infusing food-safe silicone and camellia seed oils into the SHS, respectively, achieving anti-frosting/icing performance. In comparison with bare Al, SLIPS not only exhibited excellent frost resistance and defrost properties but also showed ice adhesion strength much lower than that of SHS. In addition, pork and potato were frozen on SLIPS, showing an extremely low adhesion strength of <10 kPa, and after 10 icing/deicing cycles, the final ice adhesion strength of 29.07 kPa was still much lower than that of SHS (112.13 kPa). Therefore, the SLIPS showed great potential for developing into robust anti-icing/frosting materials for the freezing industry.

Quality comparison of camellia (Camellia oleifera C.Abel) seed oil with different extraction methods

The quality of camellia seed oil (CSO) varies with the oil extraction methods. In the present work, the oil yield, physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds, fatty acid composition, and Fourier transform infrared spectra of CSOs prepared by supercritical fluid, aqueous, pressing, and solvent extraction were explored systematically. Additionally, the microstructure of camellia seed cake after oil extraction was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that supercritical fluid extraction had the highest oil yield (92.42%), and the extracted oil was also superior to the other methods in the contents of polyphenol, β-sitosterol, and squalene, which were 89.34, 3173.23, and 6.20 mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, CSO extracted by supercritical fluid extraction had lower peroxide value and better colour indexes. In terms of fatty acid composition, CSOs extracted by supercritical fluid, pressing, and solvent extraction were similar, while CSO extracted by aqueous extraction had higher saturated fatty acid contents and lower unsaturated fatty acid contents than the other samples. Fourier transform infrared spectra analysis showed that the extraction methods had no significant effect on the chemical functional groups of CSOs. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that supercritical fluid extraction and solvent extraction could more effectively promote the release of oil from camellia seeds. In general, the quality of CSOs extracted by different methods had significant differences, and supercritical fluid extraction could be a promising extraction method for CSO.

Identification of a Novel ACE Inhibitory Hexapeptide from Camellia Seed Cake and Evaluation of Its Stability.

The camellia seed cake proteins (CP) used in this study were individually hydrolyzed with neutral protease, alkaline protease, papain, and trypsin. The results showed that the hydrolysate had the highest ACE inhibitory activity at 67.36 ± 0.80% after four hours of neutral protease hydrolysis. Val-Val-Val-Pro-Gln-Asn (VVVPQN) was then obtained through ultrafiltration, Sephadex G-25 gel chromatography separation, LC-MS/MS analysis, and in silico screening. VVVPQN had ACE inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 0.13 mg/mL (198.66 μmol/L), and it inhibited ACE in a non-competitive manner. The molecular docking indicated that VVVPQN can combine with ACE to form eight hydrogen bonds. The results of the stability study showed that VVVPQN maintained high ACE-inhibitory activity in weakly acidic and neutral environments and that heat treatment (20-80 °C) and Na+, Mg2+, as well as Fe3+ metal ions had little effect on the activity of VVVPQN. Moreover, it remained relatively stable after in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion. These results revealed that VVVPQN identified in camellia seed cake has the potential to be applied in functional food or antihypertensive drugs.

Optimization and Molecular Mechanism of Novel α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Peptides Derived from Camellia Seed Cake through Enzymatic Hydrolysis.

In recent years, food-derived hypoglycemic peptides have received a lot of attention in the study of active peptides, but their anti-diabetic mechanism of action is not yet clear. In this study, camellia seed cake protein (CSCP) was used to prepare active peptides with α-glucosidase inhibition. The optimization of the preparation of camellia seed cake protein hydrolyzed peptides (CSCPH) was conducted via response surface methodology (RSM) using a protamex with α-glucosidase inhibition as an indicator. The optimal hydrolysis conditions were pH 7.11, 4300 U/g enzyme concentration, 50 °C hydrolysis temperature, and 3.95 h hydrolysis time. Under these conditions, the α-glucosidase inhibition rate of CSCPH was 58.70% (IC50 8.442 ± 0.33 mg/mL). The peptides with high α-glucosidase inhibitory activity were isolated from CSCPH by ultrafiltration and Sephadex G25. Leu-Leu-Val-Leu-Tyr-Tyr-Glu-Tyr (LLVLYYEY) and Leu-Leu-Leu-Leu-Pro-Ser-Tyr-Ser-Glu-Phe (LLLLPSYSEF) were identified and synthesized for the first time by Liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) analysis and virtual screening with IC50 values of 0.33 and 1.11 mM, respectively. Lineweaver-Burk analysis and molecular docking demonstrated that LLVLYYEY was a non-competitive inhibitor of α-glucosidase, whereas LLLLPSYSEF inhibited α-glucosidase, which displayed a mixed inhibition mechanism. The study suggests the possibility of using peptides from Camellia seed cake as hypoglycaemic compounds for the prevention and treatment of diabetes.

A Facile Strategy for Compatibilization of PLA/PBS Blends by Incorporating Camellia Seed Powder

AbstractUsing biodegradable blending materials is one of the most effective ways to address plastic pollution but it is hindered by its poor interfacial interaction along with high costs. Herein, an envirionmentally friendly filler, camellia seed powder (CSP)−a byproduct of camellia seed after defatting, is reported, which is first served as a compatibilizer in polylactic acid (PLA)/polybutylene succinate (PBS) blends without any other aids or complicated pretreatment, effectively toughening the PLA/PBS blends due to a better interfacial interaction. The results show that the toughness of composites increases with CSP content. With the addition of 30 phr CSP, its impact strength and elongation at break increase by 44.31% and 148.42%, respectively, as compared with the blend without CSP. The combined effects of improved interfacial bonding, reduced particle size of PBS and efficient stress transfer are responsible for the toughness enhancement. The compatibilization mechanism is proposed that ─COOH groups in PLA and PBS react with ─NH2in CSP. The above finding of CSP as a compatibilizer provides a facile and inexpensive strategy in the fabrication of high‐performance biodegradable materials.

Effect of pretreatments of camellia seeds on the quality, phenolic profile, and antioxidant capacity of camellia oil.

Camellia oil is one of the four major woody oils in the world and has high nutritional value due to its richness in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and bioactive substances. In order to compare the effects of pretreatments of camellia seeds on the quality, phenolic profile, and antioxidant capacity of camellia oil, three different pretreatment methods, i.e., hot air (HA), steam (ST) and puffing (PU), were used to treat the seed powder in the present study. All three pretreatments changed the internal structure of the camellia seeds. The oil yield was increased after all three pretreatments, with the highest oil yield increased by PU pretreatment (Based on the oil yield, we screened out the best conditions of the three pretreatments, HA pretreatment is 60°C for 40 min, ST pretreatment is 100°C for 15 min, PU pretreatment is 800 rpm). The fatty acids (FAs) of the oil were relatively stable, with no significant changes after three pretreatments. However, all three pretreatments had a significant effect on the acid value (AV), peroxide value (PV), and benzo(a)pyrene (Ba P) of the camellia oil. The PU and HA pretreatments could increase the tocopherol content and the total sterols content in the camellia oil. The ST and PU pretreatments significantly increased the free phenolics (FP) content, all three pretreatments reduced the contents of conjugated phenolics (CP) and insoluble-bound phenolics (IBP) in the camellia oil. The IBP made the most significant contribution to the antioxidant capacities of camellia oil. ST and PU prtreatments increased the antioxidant capacities of the total phenolics in the camellia oil. Eight phenolics in FP, CP, and IBP were significantly correlated with the antioxidant capacities of camellia oil. The results of the present study could provide some theoretical guidance for the pretreatment of camellia seeds for higher oil yield, phenolic content and enhanced antioxidant capacities of camellia oil.

Camellia Seed Cake Extract Supports Hair Growth by Abrogating the Effect of Dihydrotestosterone in Cultured Human Dermal Papilla Cells.

Autocrine and paracrine factors play key roles in the process of Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), which are secreted by balding dermal papilla cells (DPCs) after dihydrotestosterone (DHT) induction. Camellia seed cake is an oriental oil extraction byproduct, and its extract has been traditionally used to wash hair in China. This study elucidated the hair growth-promoting effects of Camellia seed cake extract (CSCE) in DHT-treated cultured DPCs and its underlying mechanisms. The effect of CSCE on cell viability and release of inflammatory factors IL-6 and IL-1α was performed on human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) incubated with DHT. Relative expression of bax, bcl-2, p53, androgen receptor (AR) and 5α- reductase type II (SRD5A2) was determined by PCR. Senescence-associated was examined by β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) assays. CSCE restored DHT-induced cell damage in a dose-dependent manner, and effectively reduced the production of IL-6 and IL-1α in DHT-treated DPCs. CSCE exhibited an anti-apoptotic effect, which increased the expression of bcl-2, and decreased the expressions of bax and p53 in DHT-incubated DPCs. CSCE also showed an anti-androgenic effect reversing the increase in AR and SRD5A2 expressions in DPCs driven by DHT incubation. In addition, CSCE inhibited the β-galactosidase enzyme activity and slowed down the cell senescence of DPCs which is crucial for AGA progression. In this study, we found that CSCE may have the potential to prevent and alleviate AGA by abrogating the effect of DHT in cultured DPCs.

Extraction of Oils and Phytochemicals from Camellia oleifera Seeds: Trends, Challenges, and Innovations

Camellia seed oil, extracted from the seeds of Camellia oleifera Abel., is popular in South China because of its high nutritive value and unique flavor. Nowadays, the traditional extraction methods of hot pressing extraction (HPE) and solvent extraction (SE) are contentious due to low product quality and high environmental impact. Innovative methods such as supercritical fluid extraction (SCFE) and aqueous extraction (AE) are proposed to overcome the pitfalls of the traditional methods. However, they are often limited to the laboratory or pilot scale due to economic or technical bottlenecks. Optimization of extraction processes indicates the challenges in finding the optimal balance between the yield and quality of oils and phytochemicals, as well as the environmental and economic impacts. This article aims to explore recent advances and innovations related to the extraction of oils and phytochemicals from camellia seeds, and it focuses on the pretreatment and extraction processes, as well as their complex effects on nutritional and sensory qualities. We hope this review will help readers to better understand the trends, challenges, and innovations associated with the camellia industry.

Applications of Chinese Camellia oleifera and its By-Products: A Review.

Camellia oleifera is a woody oil tree species unique to China that has been cultivated and used in China for more than 2,300 years. Most biological research on C. oleifera in recent years has focused on the development of new varieties and breeding. Novel genomic information has been generated for C. oleifera, including a high-quality reference genome at the chromosome level. Camellia seeds are used to process high-quality edible oil; they are also often used in medicine, health foods, and daily chemical products and have shown promise for the treatment and prevention of diseases. C. oleifera by-products, such as camellia seed cake, saponin, and fruit shell are widely used in the daily chemical, dyeing, papermaking, chemical fibre, textile, and pesticide industries. C. oleifera shell can also be used to prepare activated carbon electrodes, which have high electrochemical performance when used as the negative electrode of lithium-ion batteries. C. oleifera is an economically valuable plant with diverse uses, and accelerating the utilization of its by-products will greatly enhance its industrial value.

Pyrolysis characteristics of tea oil camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) shells and their chemically pre-treated residues: Kinetics, mechanisms, product evaluation and joint optimization

Tea oil camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) is a widely distributed oilseed plant in China that yielded around 3.14 million tons of camellia seeds in 2020. Consequently, millions of tons of tea oil camellia shells (TOCS) are produced as processing residues. They are mainly discarded or burned due to the lack of effective large-scale utilization strategies. In this study, the pyrolysis characteristics of raw/extracted/alkali-treated tea oil camellia shells (RTOCS/EXTOCS/ALTOCS) were elucidated via thermogravimetry-infrared spectroscopy, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy and artificial neural network (ANN) to demonstrate the application of TOCS in mass pyrolysis. The Coats–Redfern method was used for thermokinetic and thermodynamic analyses under different models. The 1.5-order reaction (F1.5) mechanism could best describe the main pyrolysis stages of RTOCS, EXTOCS and ALTOCS, with an activation energy of 40.14, 66.54 and 76.73 kJ/mol, respectively. Moreover, the pyrolysis gases were mainly released at 200–400 °C. EXTOCS pyrolysis produced more compounds containing CO and C-O functional groups, while ALTOCS produced more CH4. Nine types of organic compounds were identified. Multi-objective optimization based on ANN simulations indicated that ALTOCS pyrolysis at 800 °C was the optimal condition as it provided the highest pyrolysis efficiency. This study suggests that RTOCS, EXTOCS, and ALTOCS were suitable as biomass pyrolysis feedstocks. Therefore, this million-ton-level biomass is expected to serve full-component and high-value industrial utilization.

Detection Method of Damaged Camellia Oleifera Seeds Based on YOLOv5-CB

To solve the problems that the existing sorting equipment cannot effectively identify and sort damaged Camellia oleifera seeds and traditional manual sorting of damaged Camellia oleifera seeds is inefficient and slow, in this paper, a damaged Camellia oleifera seeds detection method based on YOLOv5, coordinate attention, and weighted bidirectional feature pyramid network was designed. In this study, according to the actual requirements, firstly, the Coordinate Attention module (CA) was added to the YOLOv5 algorithm to improve the detection precision of damaged Camellia oleifera seeds in stacked Camellia oleifera seeds. Secondly, the network structure was optimized and the weighted bi-directional feature pyramid network (BiFPN) was added. The module integrates multi-scale features from top to bottom to reduce the missed detection of slightly damaged Camellia seeds. The final experimental results show that compared with the original YOLOv5 model, the detection precision of the improved model YOLOV5-CB is improved by 6.1%, reaching 92.4%, and the mean Average Precision (mAP) is also improved from 87.7% to 93.4%, the average detection time of a single Camellia seeds image is 6.4ms, which meet the requirements of precision and real-time in practical application.

Characteristics and Prediction Model of Co-Pyrolysis of Sewage Sludge and Camellia Seed Shell

Characteristics and Prediction Model of Co-Pyrolysis of Sewage Sludge and Camellia Seed Shell