Carthamus tinctorius L. (Safflower) is widely used in traditional Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabian,
and Persian herbal medicine to treat metabolic diseases. This study aimed to characterize C. tinctorius
seed oil components and estimate its inhibitory effects on free radicals, porcine pancreatic lipase,
α-amylase, and cytotoxic. To describe the phytochemical components of C. tinctorius seed oil,
the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was performed, while reference
biochemical analytical assays were utilized for biological testing. The results showed that seven fatty
acids accounting for 100% of the total oil were identified, and the major fatty acid was linoleic acid
(79.98 ± 0.79%), followed by oleic (11.20 ± 0.21%) and palmitic (5.71 ± 0.12%) acids. The biological
tests revealed that C. tinctorius seed oil has potent inhibitory effects on free radicals, porcine
pancreatic lipase, and α-amylase, with IC50 values of 13.18 ± 0.07, 43.6 ± 0.09 and 31.62 ± 0.65 μg/ml,
respectively, in comparison with positive controls commercial drugs Trolox, Orlistat, and Acarbose,
which have IC50 values of 4.1 ± 0.57, 12.88 ± 0.94, and 28.18 ± 1.22 μg/ml, respectively. C. tinctorius oil
showed potential cytotoxic effects against tested cancer cells lines with a concentration-dependent
effect on cancer cell viability. Given these findings, it is clear that C. tinctorius oil exhibits potent
DPPH free radicals, antilipase, porcine pancreatic α-amylase inhibitory, and cytotoxic properties in
comparison to the positive controls. Future in vivo research on C. tinctorius seed oil is warranted to
elucidate the oil’s mechanism of action and to decipher the molecular pathways involved in its antiobesity,
antidiabetic, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities.

Title

Scientific report

Publisher

Springer

Publisher Country

Germany

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

4.0

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

--

Year

2024

Pages

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