Antioxidant activity assessment of Yingjisha sweet almond oil

Summary Sweet almond is one of the main cash crops in Yingjisha, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China. The composition of sweet almond oil (SAO) was analysed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). SAO’s antioxidant activities were investigated by measuring its scavenging ability with 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′‐Azino‐bis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS), hydroxyl radical scavenging assay and 6‐hydroxy‐2,5,7,8‐tetramethylchroman‐2‐carboxylic acid (Trolox) equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay. Furthermore, in vivo antioxidant capacity was assessed using S accharomyces cerevisiae model stimulated by hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ). The results showed that SAO was mainly composed of methyl oleate (21.28%), methyl stearate (18.55%) and methyl palmitate (14.1%). In vitro antioxidant test results showed that compared with the scavenging three free radicals capacity of 1 mmol L −1 Trolox, the SAO needed to reach 5 mg mL −1 , 20 mg mL −1 and less than 20 mg mL −1 , respectively. In vivo experiments showed that SAO rescued the survival and inhibited intracellular oxidation and lipid peroxidation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae exposed to H 2 O 2 and CCl 4 . Additionally, our results showed that the catalase encoded by the Gsh1 gene may be involved in the mechanism of action of SAO against intracellular oxidation. These findings suggest that SAO possesses antioxidant capacities, and it is recommended to develop dietary antioxidants based on SAO.