Bioactive compounds of cold pressed spice paprika seeds oils

The aim of present study was to report the industrial production of cold pressed spice paprika seed oil and to evaluate the effect of raw material variety and growing season factors on the fatty acid profile, tocopherol, and carotenoid contents. The spice paprika seed oils were cleanly transparent with shiny deep red color, due to the presence of considerable amount of carotenoids (629.35–848.39 µg/g). The main carotenoids were the capsantin, lutein, capsorubin, β-carotene as free xanthophylls, mono- or di-esters. The fatty acid profile demonstrated the predominant concentration (70.79–74.31%) of cis-linoleic acid. Among the saturated fatty acid the most prevalent was the palmitic acid (11.08–12.20%), followed by the stearic acid (3.10–3.75%). The γ-tocopherol (57.85–83.57 mg/100 g) was the major analogue in tocopherol fraction of paprika seeds oils, while the α-tocopherol level was relatively low (4.50–16.41 mg/100 g). The oils had pleasant smell and flavor in which appeared the mild aroma of dried spice paprika.

Practical applications

The article deals with edible oil that has interesting composition from the technological and nutritional points of view. The high content of phytonutrients in the oils produced and examined in this work makes them preferred in modern nutrition programs with salads, as cooking oils, dressing and as good materials in many food industries. Owe to high antioxidant levels in paprika seed oils they can be used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries to increase bio-efficiency of many products. The supposed consumption (∼10 g as salad oil) can cover the 70–74% of the suggested minimum daily intake of linoleic acid and 3.7–13.6% of the vitamin E (α-tocopherol) NRV, and 10.3–14.2% of the vitamin A (retinol equivalent) NRV. The available medicine studies have suggested the valuable properties of the γ-tocopherol. It is worth to mention the lutein and zeaxantin levels (956.1–1332.9 µg/10 g and 106.3–207.4 µg/10 g respectively), due to their protective effect against age related macular degeneration.