Determination of the Fatty Acid Compositions and Bioactive Properties of Argemone mexicana Seed Oil

The objective of this study was to analyze the fatty acid content, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of Argemone mexicana seed oil growing wild in north East Ethiopia. Oils of A mexicana L. were obtained by means of Screw press from seeds. Methyl esters were derived from the oily mixtures by trans-esterification process and were analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS systems. This oil was investigated for antioxidant activity using a DPPH radical-scavenging assay and was also tested against a panel of microorganisms. Linolenic acid (49.00%) and oleic acid (28.91%) were the most abundant fatty acids in leaves and stems, respectively. The oil showed moderate to highest antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Shigella dysentery, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, and Escherichia coli. The oil also demonstrated the highest antioxidant activity with the percentage of inhibition of 92.5% at a concentration of 1.5 mg/mL, and its IC50 and AAI were 22.4 µg/mL and 4.93 µg/mL, respectively. The results obtained from the present study indicated that the oil of A mexicana seed oil contained a high source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These results also showed that the extracted oil from this plant has significant antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.