Profiling of the beneficial and potentially harmful components of Trichodesma indicum seed and seed oil obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction

The beneficial and potentially harmful bioactive components in the seeds and seed oil of Trichodesma indicum L. (Boraginaceae) were investigated in the present study. The T. indicum seeds were rich in oil (29.0%), phenolic compounds (PCs, 1881.2 mg/100 g) and pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs, 2,702,338 ng/g). Seven PCs were identified in T. indicum seeds by LC-Q-TOF-MS. Rosmarinic acid (67%) and isomers of salvianolic acid B/E/L (26%) were the main phenolics, while melitric acid A and sebestenoid C/D constituted 6% and 1%, respectively. Only a minor part of the total PCs and PAs was transferred from the seeds into the oil fraction during the extraction procedure (<0.03%). The T. indicum seed oil was predominated by the following polyunsaturated fatty acids: linoleic (23.2%), γ-linolenic (6.0%), α-linolenic (26.8%) and stearidonic (5.9%). High levels were also observed for oleic (26.7%) and palmitic (7.4%) acids. Additionally, notable amounts of γ-tocopherol (92% of total tocochromanols) and b-sitosterol (53% of total sterols) were found in T. indicum seed oil. The total content of tocochromanols, sterols and carotenoids in T. indicum seed oil was 102.7, 236.0 and 0.6 mg/100 g oil, respectively. Among ten detected hepatotoxic PAs in T. indicum seeds, intermedine/lycopsamine/indicine (90.9%), intermedine N-oxide (4.9%) and lycopsamine N-oxide (4.1%) consisted 99.9% of total PAs concentration. The T. indicum seeds should be used carefully due to the presence of PAs.