Review Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of seed oil plants of North-East India: A review Priyanka Saha1, Anupam Das Talukdar1*, Sanjoy Singh Ningthoujam1,2, Manabendra Dutta Choudhury1, Deepa Nath1,3, Lutfun Nahar4, Satyajit Dey Sarker4, Norazah Basar4,5 1Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics, Assam University, Silchar 788011, India; 2Department of Botany, Ghanapriya Women’s College, Imphal, Manipur, India; 3Department of Botany and Biotechnology, Karimganj College, Karimganj-788710. Assam India; 4Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products Research Group, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK; 5Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia ABSTRACT Apart from being used as food, seed oils have also been used traditionally as medicinal products by several communities. However, the full medicinal potential of many seed oil plants is yet to be properly reviewed, particularly for their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. North-East India has rich resources of seed oil plants. The availability of detailed information on these plants is quite limited. This review aims to explore and evaluate these seed oil plants of the North-East India with particular emphasis on their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities as well as chemical compositions. A comprehensive literature search on seed oil plants of this region has been performed. Seed oil yielding plants of this region can be categorized into two categories: plants that are used traditionally as sources of edible or medicinal oils and plants that are used for purposes other than as sources of oils. Many seed oil plants of this region have been reported to possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, and to produce various types of compounds. This review also highlights the importance of these plants in contributing to the local as well as the national economy of India. Keywords antioxidant, antimicrobial, seed oil, chemical composition, North-East India, epidemiological study INTRODUCTION significant in view of maintaining food quality and preventing many physiological problems such as oxidative stress related The beneficial uses of seed oil plants have been known since complications, liver cirrhosis, and cancer. Food deterioration time immemorial. Apart from their uses as food items, oils may occur due to the presence of oxidation-prone ingredients in extracted from seeds are also used for different purposes food items (Shukla et al., 1997). One of the current approaches ranging from medicinal to biofuels. Their chemical to prevent this oxidative degradation is addition of natural compositions, physical and chemical properties generally antioxidants in food items. It is also believed that natural determine their applications for different purposes. antioxidants can stabilize or deactivate the free-radicals. In Many microbial diseases worldwide have become a serious living cells, free-radicals may incorporate highly reactive threat to human health because of the emergence of drug- oxygen and attack healthy cells through a range of biochemical resistant or multi-drug resistant (MDR) microbial strains reactions (Aluyor and Ori-Jesu, 2008). These free-radical (Tabassum et al., 2013). Emergence of resistance to the existing initiated reactions may subsequently lead to cancer initiation drugs (Rio s and Recio, 2005) led the scientists to search for the and accelerated ageing process. Plant seed oils are reported to new alternatives including seed oil producing plants and their possess antioxidant properties that can prevent oxidative stress. oil (Aktar et al., 2014), which are known for their antimicrobial The antioxidant property of seed oil is generally attributed to properties. Several in vitro studies have been published the presence of triglycerides and various natural antioxidant confirming the effect of seed oils and their major compounds components in them. Formerly, very little or no attention was on pathogenic microbes (Burt, 2004). However, there are only given to seed oil producing plants as a source of antioxidants limited data available on the antifungal activity of these seed (Schmidt et al., 2005). However, in recent years, renewed focus oils against fungal pathogens. on seed oils as sources of novel antimicrobial and antioxidant Determination of antioxidant properties of seed oils is also compounds has been observed (Jarret et al., 2011). The region of North-East India is endowed with two biodiversity hotspots of Indo-Burma and Eastern Himalayas. *Correspondence: Das Talukdar Anupam E-mail: [email protected] This region consists of eight states of India-Arunachal Pradesh, Received May 8, 2015; Accepted August 17, 2015; Published Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and August 31, 2015 Tripura. Many oil-rich seed bearing plants grow in this region doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5667/tang.2015.0010 in wild or in cultivated conditions. People residing in this © 2015 by Association of Humanitas Medicine region are using these plants for wide-ranging purposes This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license. including consumption as food items and also for medicinal (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) TANG / www.e-tang.org 2015 / Volume 5 / Issue 3 / e17 1 Seed oil plants of North-East India Table 1. List of plants with oil yielding seeds traditionally used in North-east India with their antioxidant compound (1) Name of plant Local name Location Types of uses Main chemicals Antioxidant compound References HO OH HO OH Oleic acid, OH Lady’s finger Assam, O O Abelmoschus linoleic acid, (ENG) Manipur, Food, HO Jarret et al., 2011; esculentus (L.) palmitic acid, HO OH Bhendi (ASM), and food supplement O Robert et al., 2011 Moench. and palmitoleic OH Bhelandri (MNI) Nagaland acid HO Procyanidin CH3 Bon til (ASM), Isomeles D-Limonene, Thoiding Assam and H3C indica (L.) Medicinal D-α-thujone, and Islam, 2009 Angouba (MNI), Manipur Kuntze 1-8, cineole Uneimias(KHS) CH2 D-limonene Bennioin, 1995; p-Hydroxybenzoic, HO Hoppe et al., 1997; Leibak Hawai p-coumaric, Arachis Assam, Murakami et al., (MNI) Food syringic OH hypogaea L. Manipur O 1984; Mungphali (HIN) ferulic, and Schmidt and Pokorný, caffeic acids p-coumaric acid 2005 O Amarowicz et al., OH 1996; Kadugu, Rai Amarowicz et al., Brassica juncea (HIN), Oleic and Assam Cosmetics 2000; (L.) Czern. Indian mustard linolenic acids Fukuda et al., (ENG) CH3 1986a, b; Linolenic acid Saikia et al., 2006 Amarowicz et al., 2000; HO Chopra et al., 2002; O O Dahanukar and Thatte, Assam, Food, Sinapine, esters HO 1989; Brassica rapa L. Hanggam (MNI) Manipur biofuel of phenolic acids H Fukuda et al., 1986; Gopalakrishnamn HO OH L-ascorbic acid et al., 2003; Schmidt and Pokorný, 2005 O OH HO Dutta and Sarma, Capsella bursa- Quinic acid, Shepherds purse Assam, 2011; pastoris (L.) Medicinal palmitic acid, (ENG) Manipur OH Grosso et al., 2011; Medik. and β-sitosterol HO Finley et al., 2011 OH Quinic acid OH OH HO O Food Hydroxybenzoic, OH Arnao et al., 2001; Carthamus Kusum (BEN), Assam, O supplement, p-coumaric, and OH OH Nzaramba et al., 2009; tinctorius L. Kusumlei (MAN) Manipur O medicinal cinnamic acids Valko et al., 2007 OH OH Gallocatechin Bennion, 1995; Naariyaal (HIN), Manipur, Food, Lauric, oleic, and Oliveira et al., 2009; Cocos nucifera L. Yubi (MNI) Tripura medicinal stearic acids Schmutterer, 2003; Saikia et al., 2006 Ascorbic acid O OH Kaushik and Croton tiglium L. Croton (ENG) Assam Fish Poison Phorbol CH3 O Agnihotri, 2000 OH Vanillic acid HO CO2H Arunachal O Diploknema Applewhite, 1978; O Pradesh, Palmitic and HO butyracea Chiuri (NEP) Food Kankha et al., 2010; Sikkim, oleic acids OH (Roxb.) H.J.Lam OH Majumder et al., 1998 Tripura OH Chlorogenic acid CH Dysphania 3 Chopra et al., 2002; Arunachal Limonene, ambrosioides (L.) Tersing Pambi H3C Islam, 2009; Pradesh, Medicinal p-cymene, Mosyakin & (MNI) Sowemimo et al., Manipur and terpinene CH3 Clemants 2007 Terpinene TANG / www.e-tang.org 2015 / Volume 5 / Issue 3 / e17 2 Seed oil plants of North-East India Table 1. List of plants with oil yielding seeds traditionally used in North-east India with their antioxidant compound (2) Syringic, vanillic, HO OH Assam, ferulic, salicylic, O HO Hoppe et al., 1997; Nung Hawai Arunachal p-coumaric acids, HO O OH Glycine max L. Medicinal O Howell, 1996; (MNI) Pradesh, and esters of O Wang et al., 2002 Manipur caffeic and HO sinapic acids Genistin O OH Deorani and Assam, Sinapic, ferulic, OH HO Fennema, 1985; Gossypium Lasing (MNI), Mizoram, p-hydroxybenzoic OH Medicinal Hron et al., 1999; arboreum L. Cotton (ENG) Manipur, acids, quercetin, OH HO O Kazeem et al., Nagaland and rutin 2013 Gossypol OH Chlorogenic, HO OH caffeic, Ingale and Helianthus Manipur, Numitlei (MNI) Food p-hydroxybenzoic, Shrivastava, 2011; annuus L. Meghalaya p-coumaric, and Leung et al., 1981 cinnamic acids HO O Gallic acid OH Clara et al., 2000; β-Tocopherol, OH Walnut (ENG), Food, Joanna et al., 2003; Juglans regia L. Sikkim γ-tocopherol, and Heijuga (MNI) medicinal Li et al., 2007; δ-tocopherol OH Ozcan, 2009 Pyrogallol OH Omega-3, sinapic, OH Arunachal Food p-hydroxybenzoic, HO O Linum Alsi (HIN), Pradesh, supplement, coumaric, Amarowicz et al., 1994 usitatissimum L. flax (ENG) OH Mizoram medicinal ferulic acids, OH O and lignans Herbacetin O OH Madhuca All states of Oleic, linoleic, longifolia Biofuel, Mahua (BEN) North-east palmitic, and Marikkar et al., 2010 (J.König ex L.) medicinal India stearic acids J.F.Macbr. CH3 Linoleic acid Choudhury et al., All states of O 1998; Nag champa Palmitic, oleic, Mesua ferrea L. North-east Industrial Sayeed et al., 2004; (HIN) and stearic acids OH India Palmitic acid Sowemimo et al., 2007 H3CO O COOCH3 Manipur, Hydroxytyrosol, Food, O Paiva-Martins et al., Olea europaea L. Olive (ENG) Arunachal Secoiridoids, and OH medicinal O 2011 O Pradesh oleuropein O O HO OH HO OH HO HO Nüzhenide Ricinus Kege (MNI), Manipur, glycerides of H Amarowicz et al., Fuel H3C O communis L.