Inca Omega3 Thailand
Plukenetia Volubilis or Inca peanut is a promising plant with high economic value. Its seeds can be pressed for oil production or roasted and served as a snack, while the dried leaves can be used to make a kind of tea. Although the oil from the cold‐pressed seeds has been proven to be safe for human consumption, little information is known about the other parts of the plant regarding safety. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the naturally occurring phytotoxins, including saponins, total alkaloids, and lectins in fresh and roasted Inca peanut seeds and leaves. In addition, cytotoxicity on several normal cell types including human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, human embryonic kidney cells, human hepatic stellate cells, and mouse fibroblasts as well as in vivo mutagenic properties were studied. This study showed that fresh Inca peanut seeds and leaves contain saponins, alkaloids, and lectins. However, roasting enables the reduction in alkaloids, saponins, and possibly lectins, suggesting that these phytotoxins become unstable under heat. Furthermore, Inca peanut seeds and leaves, especially after roasting, are safe to a variety of normal cell lines and do not induce DNA mutations in Drosophila expressing a high biotransformation system. In conclusion, the data in this study indicated that high and chronic consumption of fresh seeds and leaves should be avoided. Heat processing should be applied before the consumption of Inca peanut seeds and leaves in order to reduce phytotoxins and potential health risks.
The determination of alkaloid compounds that contained nitrogen as part of the ring form was developed by Shamsa, Monsef, Ghamooshi, & Verdian‐riz, 2008. Samples were heated with 30 mL of 100% methanol for 1 h and filtered with filter paper. The samples were evaporated in a rotary evaporator under a vacuum at a temperature of 45°C until dried. After, the samples were redissolved by 2 N of HCl and filtered with a filter paper. One milliliter of samples was filled into a conical flask. Subsequently, cleaning was performed using 10 mL of chloroform (in triplicate) and adjusted to neutral pH with 0.1 N sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Five milliliters of phosphate buffer (pH 4.7) and 5 mL of bromocresol green were added. The aliquot was collected in a volumetric flask bottle, adjusted to 10 mL with chloroform, and measured for absorbance at 470 nm.
WS and PT received a grant from Thai Rubber Land and Plantation Co., Ltd., Chiang Rai, Thailand. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation of the data, the decision to publish, and manuscript preparation. All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Lectins are able to induce the cross‐linking of red blood cells. Common foods that contain lectins are wheat germ, beans, peas, spices, and nuts (Vasconcelos & Oliveira, 2004). A type of lectin that is lectin–galactose binding was selected for this study due to a previous study showing that the Areca nut also contains this type of lectin (Dolan et al., 2010). In addition, the hemagglutination test was not employed because the presence of agglutinating substances of nonlectin nature may lead to the misinterpretation of the agglutination results. The data showed that all parts of Inca peanuts contained very low lectins, varying from 0.15 to 0.22 ng/kg DW (Table 1). In addition, heat processing seemed to reduce lectin content in processed samples, although it was not statistically significant.
Bibliography
Safety assessment of Plukenetia volubilis (Inca peanut) seeds .... (1970). Retrieved on May 21, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6021735/.
