Antioxidant Properties of Finola Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Seed Oil

Non-drug varieties of Cannabis sativa L., commonly referred to as hemp, have been an interesting source of food, fiber, and medicine for thousands of years. Hempseed oil (HSO) has been used as a food/medicine in China for at least 3000 years [1, 2]. HSO has a good taste and offers various advantages over other vegetables oils. It is considered to be one of the few seed oils that contains about 80% polyunsaturated fatty acids in a perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3, wich is suggested as optimal for human nutrition [3]. Hempseed oil, in addition to its nutritional value, has demonstrated positive health benefits [4, 5]. Edible oils rich in natural antioxidants may play a role in reducing the risk of chronic diseases. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the antioxidant properties of Finola hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) seed oil to determine its potential application in human health promotion and disease prevention. For this purpose, cold-pressed Finola non-fractionated oil was assayed for radical-scavenging activities against DPPH. and ABTS.+, oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC), ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) and total phenolic contents (TPC). The Finola seed oil had significant antioxidant activities. The ORAC value was 33.87 ± 3.01 µmol TE/g oil, FRAP was 36.91 ± 0.15 μmol TE/g of oil, whereas ABTS radical scavenging activity expressed in TEAC was 6.95 ± 0.45 µmol/g oil. Furthermore, the Finola oil exhibited a significant dose dependent inhibition of DPPH activity (IC50 24.90 mg). The content of total phenolic (TPC) was 2.67 ± 0.08 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per gramme of oil. In addition, Finola edible oil contains important amount of total tocopherol (114.04 mg/ kg oil), including α-, γ-, and δ-tocopherols. These results suggest that the cold-pressed Finola seed oil contains significant levels of natural antioxidants and may provide health benefits to the consumers in reducing the risk of chronic diseases.