Sea buckthorn berries contain lipids rich in palmitoleic acid, carotenoids, tocols and sterols, but their composition varies greatly depending on the cultivar and region of cultivation. Therefore, the current study presents the chemical composition of fruit flesh oils of cultivars grown in Poland and compares them with plants grown worldwide. Among tested cultivars, the highest shares of palmitoleic acid were determined in Golden Rain and Luczystaja cvs. Ten grams of sea buckthorn flesh oil provides at least 28% of vitamin A, 50% of vitamin E and 5% of sterols of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) values for adults. The final part of this study is dedicated to a preliminary study of the optimization of the oleosome yield by the centrifugation method. The maximum oleosome yield can be obtained at a relatively low centrifugal force (below 8000×g), while optimal temperature and time should be laboratory determined for each cultivar.

This study was conducted to show impact of supercritical fluid extraction using pure SC-CO₂ or SC-CO₂ enriched by 2, 6, and 10% of acetone, simultaneously varied by the extraction time (1 vs. 5 h), on the quality of chia seed oils. Obtained oils were relatively similar in the fatty acid composition, but they differed in total content of phytochemicals (from 4956 to 6391 mg/kg of oil). Among them, three oils were the most different: oil extracted 1 h with pure SC-CO₂ (the most abundant in squalene, sterols, and tocopherols), oil extracted 5 h with pure SC-CO₂ (the poorest in squalene, polyphenols, and carotenoids, with medium level of sterols and tocopherols) and oil extracted 1 h with SC-CO₂ enriched by 10% acetone (the most abundant in polyphenols and carotenoids). Such unique chia oils can be valuable for special market needs, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, functional food or diet supplement production.

(1) Background: Interest in plant analogues for food of animal origin is increasing. There are some pro-healthy food ingredients, such as odd-chain, cyclic, and branched fatty acids, that are perceived to be characteristic for food of animal origin or fermented. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether commercial plant drinks can be valuable nutrient mediums for the multiplication of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. The goal was also to determine their potential for the production of the above-mentioned groups of fatty acids; (2) Methods: Commercial almond and oat beverages were used to produce 16 new variants of fermented beverages using 3 strains of lactic acid bacteria and 5 strains of yeasts. The apparent viscosity, volatile compounds (e-nose), and fatty acids composition (GC-MS) were analyzed; (3) Results: After 48 h of fermentation, acidity increased in both types of drinks. The gelation of proteins in the majority of the almond beverages increased the apparent viscosity. The highest content of minor fatty acids was determined in oat beverages fermented by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum PK 1.1 and Kluyveromyces marxianus KF 0001 and in the almond beverage fermented by Candida lipolytica CLP 0001. Among the used strains, Yarrowia lipolytica YLP 0001 was found to be a major producer of aromas in both beverages.

This study was conducted to characterize the lipid fraction of 15 chia seed samples originating from five countries (Argentina, Paraguay, Uganda, Bolivia, and Peru). On average, chia seeds contained 34.5 g oil per 100 g dry-solids, in which the average contents of sterols, tocopherols, squalene, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds were 7,061, 600, 17.7, 2.2, and 9.7 mg/kg of oil, respectively. Alpha-linolenic acid share varied from 54.35% to 60.48%, and was accompanied by declining shares of linoleic, palmitic, oleic, and stearic acid, respectively. Principal component analysis showed that chia oil induction time was positively correlated with tocopherols and phenols, while negatively with quality indices and squalene content.

Nigella sativa L. (black cumin) is one of the most investigated medicinal plants in recent years. Volatile compounds like thymoquinone and unsaponifiable lipid compounds are crucial functional components of this oil. Unfortunately, the composition of oils and their quality indicators are ambiguous both in terms of identified compounds and value ranges. Thirteen oils were extracted with hexane from black cumin seeds grown in India, Syria, Egypt, and Poland and analyzed for their fatty acid composition, unsaponifiable compound content and volatile compounds. Oils were also subjected to quality tests according to standard methods. The fatty acid composition and sterol content/composition were relatively stable among the tested oils. Tocol content varied in the range of 140–631 mg/kg, and among them, β-tocotrienol and γ-tocopherol prevailed. Oils’ volatile compounds were dominated by seven terpenes (p-cymene, α-thujene, α-pinene, β-pinene, thymoquinone, γ-terpinene, and sabinene). The highest contents of these volatiles were determined in samples from Poland and in two of six samples from India. High acid and peroxide values were typical features of N. sativa L. oils. To sum up, future research on the medicinal properties of black cumin oil should always be combined with the analysis of its chemical composition.