Phytochemical composition and antidiabetic, anti-obesity, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities of Carthamus tinctorius seed oil

Carthamus tinctorius L. (Safflower) is widely used in traditional Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabian, and Persian herbal medicine to treat metabolic diseases. This study aimed to characterize C. tinctorius seed oil components and estimate its inhibitory effects on free radicals, porcine pancreatic lipase, α-amylase, and cytotoxic. To describe the phytochemical components of C. tinctorius seed oil, the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was performed, while reference biochemical analytical assays were utilized for biological testing. The results showed that seven fatty acids accounting for 100% of the total oil were identified, and the major fatty acid was linoleic acid (79.98 ± 0.79%), followed by oleic (11.20 ± 0.21%) and palmitic (5.71 ± 0.12%) acids. The biological tests revealed that C. tinctorius seed oil has potent inhibitory effects on free radicals, porcine pancreatic lipase, and α-amylase, with IC₅₀ values of 13.18 ± 0.07, 43.6 ± 0.09 and 31.62 ± 0.65 μg/ml, respectively, in comparison with positive controls commercial drugs Trolox, Orlistat, and Acarbose, which have IC₅₀ values of 4.1 ± 0.57, 12.88 ± 0.94, and 28.18 ± 1.22 μg/ml, respectively. C. tinctorius oil showed potential cytotoxic effects against tested cancer cells lines with a concentration-dependent effect on cancer cell viability. Given these findings, it is clear that C. tinctorius oil exhibits potent DPPH free radicals, antilipase, porcine pancreatic α-amylase inhibitory, and cytotoxic properties in comparison to the positive controls. Future in vivo research on C. tinctorius seed oil is warranted to elucidate the oil's mechanism of action and to decipher the molecular pathways involved in its anti-obesity, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities.