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Effect of defatting and extracting solvent on the antioxidant activities in seed extracts of two species of Syrian pumpkin

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to extract and compare two species of Syrian pumpkin (Cucurbita Maxima, Cucurbita Moschata) seeds, as defatted and as full-fat seeds. The extraction of the seeds was performed by ultrasonic using three different solvents (methanol 80%, ethanol 80% or water). Total phenol content (TPC) was determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method, total flavonoids content (TFC) by the aluminium chloride colorimetric method, the radical scavenging activity by the chromatic change of DPPH, ABTS and reducing power assay by the reduction of FeIII to FeII in the solution (FRAP). The results showed that the highest yield of extraction were in aqueous extracts for both species at both fat level. While methanol 80% or ethanol 80% was better than water for TPC and TFC in extraction. The highest TPC was found in the methanolic extracts of both C. Maxima and C. Moschata full-fat seeds (16.22 ± 0.03 and 18.66 ± 0.13 mg GaE/g extract, respectively). DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assay results showed that C. Moschata full-fat seed methanolic extracts exhibited a free radical scavenging activity, expressed as IC50, and a reducing power greater than that of C. Maxima full-fat seed methanolic extracts. This may refer to a significant antioxidant capacity of C. Moschata full-fat seeds. Defatting process had significant effect on TPC and radical scavenging activity of DPPH, ABTS and FRAP of the two studied pumpkin species seed. While no significant effect on TFC using ethanol as solvent. Thus, full-fat extract increases the antioxidant capacity of the seeds.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available, because results and discussion are based on results of calculations, thus adding the data will lose the aim, the article lengthen without justification and the reader probably bored but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Research Affairs team of Damascus University for the financial support. They thank Dr. Fadi Kheder for his fruitful discussion of the manuscript. They also thank Dr. Maysoon AlHafez for her help with Statistical analysis.

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No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria

    Haylana Mostafa Al-Turky, Ghassan Abo Chameh & Basel Ibrahim

  2. Al Sham Private University, Damascus, Syria

    Ghassan Abo Chameh

  3. Ittihad Private University, Damascus, Syria

    Basel Ibrahim

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  1. Haylana Mostafa Al-Turky
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Correspondence to Haylana Mostafa Al-Turky.

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Al-Turky, H.M., Abo Chameh, G. & Ibrahim, B. Effect of defatting and extracting solvent on the antioxidant activities in seed extracts of two species of Syrian pumpkin. Food Measure 16, 4813–4821 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-022-01572-2

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