Potential Health Benefits Derived from Components in Seeds

In recent years, the exploration of natural products for discovery of health promoting components that may prevent chronic diseases has taken a giant leap. The various sources for natural products include stems, leaves, roots, fruits, flowers and seeds. Among these, seeds are a good source of bioactive components such as polyphenols, anthocyanin’s, tannins, triterpenoids, and flavonoids and as well as rich in vitamins and minerals. These components have been demonstrated to have antioxidant, anticancer, antiproliferative, antibacterial and antifungal activities. They contribute significantly towards nutrition, health and well-being of populations worldwide. Due to their proven health benefits several seed extracts containing these bioactive components are currently commercially marketed. Although certain seed extracts  have been evaluated for their bioactivities, a mechanistic approach is required to understand and determine potential active components. Among several species of citrus, fruits of Ichang pomelo are used as a traditional medicine. To identify the active components, we conducted a systematic study on extraction and chromatographic separation of the seeds. The ground seed powder was sequentially extracted using a Soxhlet apparatus using a wide range of solvents with increasing polarity. The extract obtained from ethyl acetate was further subjected to flash chromatographic separation using a silica gel column with a gradient mobile phase of hexane and acetone.  The separation resulted in isolation of three limonoids which were identified by spectral analysis as deacetyl nomilin, nomilin, and limonin. Further studies are required to understand and elucidate the mechanistic mode of action in animal models. Results from this study suggest that seeds are a good source of bioactive components.