Study of Safflower Varieties Cultivated Under Southern Egypt Conditions for Seeds and Flowers

摘要

Background and Objective: Safflower has some valuable characteristics that have made the species throughout the centuries as a multi-purpose oilseed. Safflower is an oil crop with high fat content with a good amount of polyunsaturated fatty acid s. Safflower seed oil has gained interest as an excellent health care product and also it is a rich source of vitamin E. Safflower flower is used as source for dyes or for medicinal purposes. Materials and Methods: In this study, three safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius ) varieties (Giza1, Kharega 1 and Kharega 2) cultivated at semi-arid regions in Egypt were studied for its chemical composition , oil content, fatty acid composition, lipid composition and sterol content. Moreover, safflower seed and flower extracts obtained by solvent extraction were evaluated regarding the content of total phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity . Results: The varieties contained oil contents between 29.4 and 31.0% with considerable amounts of sterols (2326.0-2715.5 mg kg^?1 ) and high contents of unsaturated fatty acid (85-88%). In the varieties appreciable amounts of total phenolic compounds (3.17-4.89 mg gallic acid equivalents/g) were found and they showed a good DPPH scavenging activity, with IC₅₀ values ranging between 0.8-1.31 mg and a high inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation (AAC) ranging between 64.6 and 72.6. Extracts of safflower flowers also showed remarkable higher contents of total phenolic compounds (6.44-13 mg g^?1) than the seeds, with IC₅₀ values ranging between 1.68 and 3.21 mg and AAC from 106.94-201.24. Conclusion: Safflower presents comparable high amounts of total phenolic compounds showing a good antioxidant activity .