Characterization of some vegetable oils in order to use them in the treatment of the varicose veins

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to conduct a study regarding the composition of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids for a series of vegetable oils in order to correlate it with their antioxidant activity. The oils were then used in the development of hydrogels based on nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) with therapeutic effect on varicose veins. Several vegetable oils (pumpkin seed oil, wheat germ oil, evening primrose seed oil, castor seed oil, grape seed and jojoba oil) were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), establishing the profile of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Antioxidant activities were determined by the FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) method and were correlated with the composition ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. It has been established that pumpkin seed oil and wheat germ oil are most indicated in the development of NLC-based hydrogels.