Fatty acid composition, antioxidant, antifungal activities and functional group analysis of Corylus jacquemontii seeds grown in Kashmir

Corylus jacquemontii (Decne.) is an important aromatic plant possessing nutritional and various therapeutic properties. This plant has got wide abundance in the Kashmir region with very low care cost. In this study, Soxhlet extraction was used to obtain different seed extracts. The highest yield observed was 32.25% and 30.27% in petroleum ether and acetone extracts, respectively. Gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detector was used to determine the fatty acid profile of petroleum ether extract. Unsaturated fatty acids were found in the dominant amount, notably 79.33% oleic acid. The antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, A. fumigates, and Penicillium marneffei and antioxidant assays such as CAT, APx, SOD, DPPH were observed in petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, acetone, and methanol extracts. The dominant inhibition against A. niger and A. fumigates was displayed by methanol extract with 16.78 mm and 19.23 mm inhibition zone, respectively, while P. marneffei methanol (20.98 mm) acetone (20.27 mm) extracts were most effective. Moreover, all extracts displayed good antioxidant activities. These results increased the attention towards the importance of the present study.