Plant Sources, Extraction Methods, and Uses of Squalene

Abstract

Squalene (SQ) is a natural compound, a precursor of various hormones in animals and sterols in plants. It is considered a molecule with pharmacological, cosmetic, and nutritional potential. Scientific research has shown that SQ reduces skin damage by UV radiation, LDL levels, and cholesterol in the blood, prevents the suffering of cardiovascular diseases, and has antitumor and anticancer effects against ovarian, breast, lung, and colon cancer. e inclusion of SQ in the human diet is recommended without causing health risks; however, its intake is low due to the lack of natural sources of SQ and efficient extraction methods which limit its commercialization. Biotechnological advances have developed synthetic techniques to produce SQ; nevertheless, yields achieved are not sufficient for global demand for industrial or food supplement purposes. e effect on the human body is one of the scientific issues still to be addressed; few research studies have been developed with SQ from seed or vegetable sources to use it in the food sector even though squalene was discovered more than half a century ago. e aim of this review is to provide an overview of SQ to establish research focus with special reference to plant sources, extraction methods, and uses.

GC-MS-Based Metabolomic Profiles Combined with Chemometric Tools and Cytotoxic Activities of Non-Polar Leaf Extracts of Spondias mombin L. and Spondias tuberosa Arr. Cam.

“…62 Consumption of olive oil has been correlated with lower risk of tumor development in various cancer types. 56,63,64 We found three vitamin E isoforms, α, γ and δ-tocopherol in S. tuberosa and S. mombin. Specifically, α-tocopherol was found in S. tuberosa hexanic extracts, while the other two isoforms were found only in S. mombin extracts.…”

“…55 It is considered to be a potent chemopreventative and chemotherapeutic agent, and is able to inhibit tumor growth in ovarian, lung, skin, lung, breast, and colon cancers. 56 Squalene is a lipid predecessor of (3β)-cholest-5-en-3-ol production, which allows the bio-conjugates formed naturally to be able to self-modulate as nanoparticles to become better their biological activity. 57 It has been reported that this lipid acts as a drug carrier by chemically linking with drugs to improve certain physicochemical properties.…”

Terpenoids in the Essential Oil and Concentrated Aromatic Products Obtained from Nicotiana glutinosa L. Leaves

“…An interesting finding was the identification of the triterpene squalene in the concrete and resinoid, although not as a major component (1.6% and 2.9%, respectively). Squalene is a natural linear triterpene (with six isoprene units) found in shark liver oil (2300-8400 mg/100 g oil) and in the oils of several plants, such as amaranth (6000-8000 mg/100 g), olives (150-747 mg/100 g), soybean (1.2-180 mg/100 g), grape seeds (2.7-14.1 mg/100 g), etc., and it is associated with various nutritional and medicinal benefits [48]. Squalene, being a natural constituent of human skin, has a broad use in topically applied cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, due to its expressive emollient, hydrating, antioxidant, and other skin-protective properties [48,49].…”

Integrated Soybean Biorefinery

“…SODD and sunflower oil deodorization distillate are by-products most appreciated for the high quality of squalene [45]. Bondioli et al [46] recovered squalene in high purity (90%) and with excellent yield (about 91%) from olive oil deodorization distillate, whereas Gunawan et al [47] obtained squalene with almost 96% purity and 93% recovery in the second fraction of the process using SODD, demonstrating the potential of this by-product to obtain squalene.…”