Author(s)

Lizette Auezova, Chawki Saliba, Elie Hajj-Moussa, Leina El Hosry, Said Yammine, Ramez Chahine

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences II, Lebanese University, Fanar, Jdaidet el Matn, Lebanon.
Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Lebanese University, Dekwaneh, Beirut, Lebanon.
Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath Campus, Beirut, Lebanon.
Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadath Campus, Beirut, Lebanon.

The objectives of the present study were to identify a suitable parameter to assess the oil oxidation and to study the possibilities of delaying the oxidation of moderately oxidized unrefined almond oil by adding supplementary amounts of α-tocopherol. Three oil samples, with initial peroxide values of 13.3, 19.5 (moderately oxidized oils), and 28.9 (oxidized oil), were supplemented with 100, 250 and 500 ppm of α-tocopherol and subjected to the oxidation at 50°C for 9 days. The level of oxidation was determined by measuring peroxide value (PV), conjugated dienes (CD) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Chemometric analysis indicated that, under the conditions of the present study, PV was the most suitable indicator of oil oxidation. The results have shown that the α-tocopherol could have an anti- oxidant or pro-oxidant effects, depending on its concentration and initial level of oil oxidation. Results also show that α-tocopherol addition at all the concentrations tested resulted in pro-oxidation of the moderately oxidized oils; hence additional supplementation with α-tocopherol could not be recommended to delay oxidation of unrefined almond oil.

Almond Oil; Oxidative Stability; α-Tocopherol; PV; CD; TBARS; Chemometrics

L. Auezova, C. Saliba, E. Hajj-Moussa, L. Hosry, S. Yammine and R. Chahine, "A Methodological Approach to Study Almond Oil Stability in Relation to α-Tocopherol Supplementation," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 12, 2012, pp. 1710-1715. doi: 10.4236/fns.2012.312224.