Lipidome analysis and metabolite profiling of fixed oils from selected spices.

Fixed oils are potential treasures of various bioactive compounds. Here, we extracted fixed oils from spices,
namely Cinnamomum cassia, Amomum subulatum, Punica granatum L., Papaver somniferum L., Elettaria cardamomum
L., Tamarindus indica L., and Cinnamomum tamala, and studied their fatty acid and triacylglycerol (TAG)
composition. It was observed that P. somniferum (47.09%) yielded the highest amount of fixed oil. Gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry profiling of the fixed oils showed the presence of oleic, linoleic, and palmitic
acids. Lipidome analysis via high-resolution mass spectrometry confirmed large diversity of TAG molecular
species ranging from C38:0 to C60:4. Further, the antioxidant potential and nutraceutical profile of fixed oils
were studied by determining the phenolics, tocopherols, sterols, and squalene content through high-performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC). Hydroxybenzoic acid, trans -cinnamic acid, p -coumaric, and kaempferol were
the dominant phenolic compounds present in the studied fixed oils. HPLC confirmed the highest amounts of
α-tocopherol in C. tamala (282.42 mg/100 g oil) and T. indica (251.89 mg/100 g oil) fixed oils. The β-sitosterol
was the major sterol in all the studied fixed oils. The study enhances our understanding of lipids and secondary
metabolites from fixed oils and paves way for its nutraceutical and industrial applications.