Comprehensive Profiling of Triglycerides in Wild Eastern Mediterranean Echium Seed Oil Using Paternò–Büchi Modulated Lipidomics

Currently, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which have become popular as dietary supplements, are limited by a shortage in supply. Thus, finding safe, effective alternatives is crucial. Echium seed oil (ESO), rich in α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3ω-3) and stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4ω-3), surpasses many other botanical seed oils. In this study, a pseudotargeted approach was applied to characterize the lipidomic profile of two unexplored Echium species from the Mediterranean region. Our findings established Echium glomeratum as a rich source of ω-3 fatty acids (FAs), exceeding many other species in both quality and quantity. E. glomeratum possesses different FAs and triglyceride (TG) profiles compared to E. judaeum, with the ω-3:ω-6 ratio being 3.5 and 1.3, respectively. This corresponds to higher quantities of ALA (45.50%) and SDA (12.59%) in E. glomeratum. Triglycerides (TGs) comprise 93% of the total lipid content in ESO. This study also profiled the most abundant TGs (50–60 carbons) from both species through comprehensive assignment of the olefination patterns. The E. glomeratum oil profile, containing a higher ω-3 PUFA concentration, was further screened for cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. Our preliminary results demonstrated that E. glomeratum ESO may significantly suppress colon cancer cell growth.