A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON ANNONA SQUAMOSA SEED OIL: CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL, AND APPLICATIONS
Veda Varshan M.P*, Asha Jyothi P, Purushothaman M
KLR Pharmacy College, Paloncha, Telangana, India-507 115.
Annona squamosa L. (Annonaceae), the sugar or custard apple, is an economically important tropical fruit whose seeds are a large, lipid-rich by-product of pulp processing. The fixed oil expressed or solvent-extracted from these seeds has attracted growing scientific attention because it combines a conventional long-chain fattyacid matrix—dominated by oleic and linoleic acids—with a residual load of bioactive annonaceousacetogenins and minor unsaponifiable constituents. This review synthesises the available peer-reviewed evidence on the chemical composition, extraction technology, pharmacological activity, formulation science, and prospective applications of A. squamosa seed oil. Reported activities include potent antitumor effects against multidrugresistant cell lines and xenografts, anti-inflammatory and antipsoriatic action, antioxidant and radioprotective capacity, and well-documented insecticidal, pediculicidal and molluscicidal properties that underpin its traditional agrarian uses. Nanotechnology-enabled delivery systems have recently been deployed to overcome the oil’s poor aqueous solubility and to amplify its therapeutic index. At the same time, the co-occurrence of neurotoxic acetogenins raises legitimate safety questions that constrain internal use and demand rigorous toxicological characterisation. We critically appraise the strength of the evidence, distinguish established findings from cautious extrapolation, and identify defensible, context-specific research gaps—most notably the absence of standardised compositional reference data, validated quality-control markers, and any human clinical evaluation. A. squamosa seed oil emerges as a credible candidate for valorisation as a topical pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and nutraceutical feedstock, provided that compositional standardisation and safety benchmarking are prioritised.
16 , 2 , 2026
41 - 50