Infuse Herbal Oils: A Comparative Study of Wheat Germ and Tomato Seed Oils

Abstract

The utilization of traditional herbal medicine products has seen a resurgence in recent times, with a particular emphasis on the use of herbal oils in non-invasive wound treatment. The extraction of oils from plant seeds is a crucial step in the preparation of these products, and the preservation of active and secondary metabolites is heavily dependent on the ambient temperature at which the extraction process is carried out. In this study, wheat germ oil (WGO) and tomato seed oil (TSO) were obtained from the Central Anatolia Region and the Aegean Region, respectively. Both oils were obtained via cold-pressing, and their infused forms (WGO-TSO) were also prepared. Cytotoxicity, wound healing, and antioxidant capacity tests were conducted on HaCaT (Human keratinocyte) and Vero (Monkey kidney fibroblast-like) cell lines to investigate the in vitro activities of these formulations. The results of the intracellular cytotoxicity analysis revealed that a common dose of 25 µg/mL was non-toxic for all samples, and this dose was subsequently used as the study dose. The hydrogen peroxide-based oxidant quenching studies and wound healing studies yielded positive results for all study groups, with the WGO/TSO group demonstrating statistically superior outcomes. In conclusion, the utilization of oils in infused forms may be more effective in combating oxidative stress and promoting wound healing as compared to the use of oils alone.