Recent advances in the extraction, composition analysis and bioactivity of Camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) oil

Camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) oil is a multifunctional woody oil known as the "Oriental olive oil". It is rich in oleic acid, sasanquasaponin and polyphenols and many other biological active substances with health-promoting properties, and has broad application prospects in the field of food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. As the increase of population health needs, the development and utilization of the nutritional and health care value of camellia oil has gradually become a hot spot for current research. This review comprehensively summarized the recent research progress on camellia oil, including the innovative extraction methods, novel analysis advances of bioactive components, and the recent pharmacological activities. Additionally, we also summarized the current research bottlenecks and possible solutions for developing and exploiting the health value of camellia oil. Various studies have reported that the content and composition of bioactive compounds in camellia oil are mainly influenced by extraction method and cultivation region, respectively. As an excellent resource of food and medicine, camellia oil has shown promising biological activities in both in vitro and animal studies. However, there are few clinical studies on the pharmacological activities of camellia oil. In the future, based on the large number of clinical studies, the mechanism of camellia oil for its health benefits can be further investigated in conjunction with lipidomics, proteomics, metabolomics and nutrigenomics research.