Nutritional Characteristics Assessment of Sunflower Seeds, Oil and Cake. Perspective of Using Sunflower Oilcakes as a Functional Ingredient

Abstract

Ample amounts of by-products are generated from the oil industry. Among them, sunflower oilcakes have the potential to be used for human consumption, thus achieving the concept of sustainability and circular economy. The study assessed the nutritional composition of sunflower seeds, cold-pressed oil and the remaining press-cakes with the aim of its valorization as a food ingredient. Sunflower oil contains principally oleic (19.81%) and linoleic (64.35%) acids, which cannot be synthetized by humans and need to be assimilated through a diet. Sunflower seeds are very nutritive (33.85% proteins and 65.42% lipids and 18 mineral elements). Due to the rich content of lipids, they are principally used as a source of vegetable oil. Compared to seeds, sunflower oilcakes are richer in fibers (31.88% and 12.64% for samples in form of pellets and cake, respectively) and proteins (20.15% and 21.60%), with a balanced amino acids profile. The remaining oil (15.77% and 14.16%) is abundant in unsaturated fatty acids (95.59% and 92.12%). The comparison between the three products showed the presence of valuable components that makes them suitable for healthy diets with an adequate intake of nutrients and other bioactive compounds with benefic effects.

Co-cultures of Propionibacterium freudenreichii and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens cooperatively upgrade sunflower seed milk to high levels of vitamin B12 and multiple co-benefits

“…In this work, a genomic and metabolomic approach enabled the knowledge-based assembly of a consortium of food grade microbes for upgrading of sunflower seed milk, derived from sunflower press cakes as a waste product during sunflower oil production. This plant-based material offers the concept of sustainability and circular economy, when used for human consumption, and is therefore considered particularly eco-friendly in the strongly developing market of plant-based food [ 68 ]. As shown, the interactions between B. amyloliquefaciens NCC 156 and P. freudenreichii NCC 1177 enabled a co-operative process with remarkable benefits: (i) enriched content of vitamin B 12 , the key micronutrient for all vegans to be aware of, (ii) improved digestibility due to the removal of raffinose and stachyose, increased protein quality with increased levels of the most limiting essential amino acid l -lysine, and (iv) an improved flavor profile due the elimination of bitter notes and the generation of sweet and fruity aromas.…”

Evaluation of Plant Protein Hydrolysates as Natural Antioxidants in Fish Oil-In-Water Emulsions

“…It is worth noting that SFSM–H was more capable of retarding the secondary oxidation in contrast with WPC–H. The latter could be due to the presence of peptides with antioxidant character but also may be to the presence of other antioxidant compounds (e.g., flavonoids) [ 68 ]. In addition, a higher DH in SFSM–H (20%) could lead to the formation of lower peptide chain lengths compared with the DH of WPC–H (10%).…”

The Effects of Carbon Source and Growth Temperature on the Fatty Acid Profiles of Thermobifida fusca

“…Despite this potential for producing desirable bioproducts, the yield of fatty acids from T. fusca cultures is relatively low as compared to such oleaginous organisms, such as plant oil seed crops (e.g., sunflower, canola, safflower), yeasts (e.g., Yarrowia lipolytica and Rhodosporidium toruloides ) and microalgae (e.g., Botryococcus braunii ). These later organisms hyperaccumulate fatty acid containing neutral lipids that can account for 20–60% of the dry biomass ( Banerjee et al, 2002 ; Sharafi et al, 2015 ; Patel et al, 2019 ; Liu H. et al, 2021 ; Liu Y. et al, 2021 ; Petraru et al, 2021 ; Zemour et al, 2021 ). In contrast, T. fusca accumulates fatty acids at approximately 1 mg/g dry biomass.…”