Utilizing Sweet Basil Hydrodistillation By-Products to Boost Soybean Oil Stability and Combat Induced-Hyperlipidemia

Amani Tayebi¹Youssef Rbah²Mohammadine Moumou³Abderrahmane Hadini³Hani A. Alfheeaid⁴Thamer Aljutaily⁴Raed Alayouni⁴Khadija S Radhi⁵Hassan Barakat^6*Dragan Milenkovic⁷Souliman Amrani³Hicham HARNAFI³

• ¹Laboratory of Bioresources, Biotechnologies, Ethnopharmacology and Health, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohamed I, 60 000,, Oujda, Morocco
• ²Laboratory of Agricultural Production Improvement, Biotechnology, and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed First, 60000, Oujda, Morocco
• ³Laboratory of Bioresources, Biotechnologies, Ethnopharmacology and Health, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohamed I, 60 000, Oujda, Morocco
• ⁴Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Food, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁵Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
• ⁶Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Food, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia, Qassim University College of Agriculture and Food, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁷Plants for Human Health Institute, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Kannapolis, United States

The growing interest in natural antioxidants to enhance the stability of edible oils has led to exploring plant-based com-pounds that preserve oil quality and address critical health concerns, such as managing hyperlipidemia, a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and metabolic dysfunction. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of basil (Ocimum basilicum L) hydro-distillation aqueous extract (A-Bs) on stabilizing refined soybean oil (RSO) under accelerated storage (60 °C) and frying conditions and investigate the possible hypolipidemic effect of the fortified RSO in a hyperlipidemic mouse model induced by Triton WR-1339. Total phenolic, flavonoid, and tannin contents of A-Bs were quantified, and phenolic composition was determined by HPLC-DAD. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH, FRAP, and TAC assays. Free fatty acid content, peroxide value, tocopherol content, and malondialdehyde content were measured for treated and non-treated oil. The plant extracts were applied to RSO (0.02 % and 1 %) under accelerated storage (60 °C) and frying conditions alongside synthetic BHA (0.02 %). The hypolipidemic effect was evaluated in hyperlipidemic mice treated with the fortified RSO at 125 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg. The basil extract, rich in poly-phenols and flavonoids, exhibited vigorous antioxidant activity. The A-Bs reduced the RSO oxidative degradation and preserved α-tocopherol, outperforming synthetic BHA. In vivo, the fortified RSO at 250 mg/kg body weight lowered plasma TC (76.6 %), TG (86.5 %), and glucose (44.1 %), reduced LDL-C, and elevated HDL-C. This dual functionality of A-Bs could be considered a promising natural solution to extend food shelf life and prevent lipid-related metabolic disorders.