Wheat germ oil: a comprehensive review

Wheat germ is a valuable by-product of the wheat milling process, represents 10-15% lipid contents with other bioactive compounds. Various wheat germ oil (WGO) recovery methods have been adopted, including mechanical pressing, solvent extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction. Some modifications reported by different experimental studies to enhance the oil yield retain the nutritional attributes of fresh oil. However, in high enzymatic activities and unsaturated fatty acids, WGO loses its nutritional significance during storage and other processing treatments that ultimately decrease the oil's shelf life. The effectual pretreatments and storage conditions for WGO have been studied to valorize and retain healthful capability fully. WGO possesses phytogenic components with distinct potent health benefits. The association between dietary lipids and life-threatening disorders has instigated an expanding research curiosity in WGO. Diverse experimental studies have proved that the WGO embraces abundant beneficial effects besides health disorders.