Linoleic acid was isolated effectively from Sambucus williamsii (SW) seed oil which was extracted by high-pressure fluid and its biological activities were investigated. Linoleic acid was isolated from the oil by urea inclusion, the yield was 65.81% and the purity was 92.12%. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay was used to determine the antioxidant activity of linoleic acid. IC ₅₀ of DPPH radical scavenging activity of linoleic acid was 61.92 mg/mL. The antiglycemic activity of linoleic acid was evaluated by determining its inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase. The results showed that α-glucosidase was inhibited to a certain extent by linoleic acid (1.56–25 mg/mL). In addition, the hypolipidemic activity of linoleic acid was investigated in vivo using hyperlipidemia mice models fed with the linoleic acid at doses of 1, 2, 4 g/kg BW (body weight). The results showed that serum lipid levels were highly significantly ( p <0.01) improved, which indicated the hypolipidemic activity of linoleic acid. The linoleic acid extracted from SW seed oil was proved to possess good antioxidant, antiglycemic and hypolipidemic activity in human diets, which may have industrial use.

Although Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim) is widely distributed in northeast China, very few studies had been reported on its diversity among different populations. We surveyed 12 J. mandshurica populations in their native habitats across the northeast region of China and profiled 13 fruit morphological traits. We found a large degree of variations for these traits, especially for fruit weight (coefficient of variation, or CV of 22.00%), nut weight (CV of 19.42%), and kernel weight (CV of 19.89%). Statistical analysis showed that a large portion of the total variation can be attributed to within-population variation (66.64%), followed by random error (20.96%). We also comprehensively quantified the nutritional composition including fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, and micronutrients. Similar to fruit morphological traits, we found large variation for most kernel components, which mostly can be explained by within-population variation. Further correlation analysis revealed the dependence of some morphological and nutritional traits on key geographical and ecological factors such as latitude, accumulated temperature, and day length. For instance, a significant positive correlation was found between fruit dimensions and equivalent latitude and precipitation, indicating that such factors should be considered for breeding. Taken together, our data provided a rich dataset for characterizing the variation among J. mandshurica populations and a foundation for selective breeding.

Natural edible oil derived from wild non-cultivated oil crops contributed to human daily nutritional diversity and disease prevention. It was important to investigate the nutritional value of these oils and the feasibility of crop cultivation. The present study focused on the assessment of seed oil quality of Sambucus williamsii Hance (SWH) and its molecular breeding. Wild SWH seed oil was extracted by supercritical CO₂ technology and the composition of the oil was determined by using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The oil content of SWH seeds reaches around 40%. Its seed oil was found to be rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as 24.24% of linolenic acid and 50.56% of linoleic acid, and vitamin E (25.92 mg kg⁻¹). The cytotoxicity and heavy metal analysis showed SWH seed oil was safe for consumption. In addition, the SWH strains with excellent characteristics were screened out for cultivation according to genetic diversity and morphological analysis. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity of 28 accessions of wild SWH seeds and 5 accessions were selected to cultivate. Among them, two strains of SWH (sample 3 and 6) with high yielding (275.7 and 266.8 area yield kg⁻¹) were suitable for dense planting and could be used to establish the raw material forest of SWH seed oil. The results of this study indicated the potential of development of selected SWH as novel oil crops and their wide cultivation.