Fractionated Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Kernel Oil from Torreya fargesii

Polymethylene-interrupted polyunsaturated fatty acids (PMI-PUFAs) are emerging functional lipids with proven antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, a typical PMI-PUFA, sciadonic acid (C20:3, 5c 11c 14c), was enriched in the kernel oil of Torreya fargesii (T. fargesii) by fractionation. Fractionated kernel oil of T. fargesii (containing 25% sciadonic acid) showed equal stability and similar radical scavenging ability compared with the non-fractionated oil. In anti-inflammatory tests, fractionated kernel oil was shown to inhibit the activity of phosphodiesterase (PDE-5, efficiency 80% at 133.7 mu g/mL) and lipoxygenase-5 (LOX-5, efficiency 65% at 66.7 mu g/mL) more effectively than the non-fractionated oil. This shows that increasing the amount of sciadonic acid can enhance the anti-inflammatory effect of the kernel oil. This research also indicates that fractionation is a feasible way to obtain sciadonic acid-rich functional oil with potential pharmacological effects. Practical Applications This study proved that fractionation can effectively enrich the content of PMI in Torreya kernel oil and improve its anti-inflammatory biological activity. It is a less expensive and possible mass-produced method to obtain PMI-PUFA-enriched Torreya oil. It is helpful in reducing the addition of Torreya oil in products and providing better bioactivity. Further studies are expected on the anti-inflammatory effects of enriched PMI-PUFA oil in vivo and the possibility of enriching other PMI-PUFA oils by fractionation.