Abstract
Antioxidant properties of 5 to 500 µg/g levels of α-and γ-tocopherols, in the oxidation of rapeseed oil triacylglycerols (RO TAG), were studied at 40°C in the dark. Each tocopherol alone and in a mixture was studied for its stability in oxidizing RO TAG. Also the effects of tocopherols on the formation of primary and secondary oxidation products of RO TAG were investigated. Both tocopherols significantly retarded the oxidation of RO TAG. At low levels (≤50 µg/g), α-tocopherol was more stable and was a more effective antioxidant than γ-tocopherol. At higher α-tocopherol levels (>100 µg/g), there was a relative increase in hydroperoxide formation parallel to consumption of α-tocopherol, which was not found with γ-tocopherol. Therefore, γ-tocopherol was a more effective antioxidant than α-tocopherol at levels above 100 µg/g. As long as there were tocopherols present, the hydroperoxides were quite stable and no volatile aldehydes were formed. In a mixture, α-tocopherol protected γ-tocopherol from being oxidized at the addition levels of 5+5 and 10+10 µg/g but no synergism between the tocopherols was found. α-Tocopherol was less stable in the 500+500 µg/g mixture than when added alone to the RO TAG. No prooxidant activity of either tocopherol or their mixture was found.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Burton, G.W., and K.U.I. Ingold, Autoxidation of Biological Molecules. I. The Antioxidant Activity of Vitamin E and Related Chain-Breaking Phenolic Antioxidants in Vitro, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 103:6472–6477 (1981).
Kamal-Eldin, A., and L.Å. Appelqvist, The Chemistry and Antioxidant Properties of Tocopherols and Tocotrienols, Lipids 31:671–701 (1996).
Cillard, J., P. Cillard, and M. Cormier, Effect of Experimental Factors on the Prooxidant Behavior of α-Tocopherol, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 57:255–261 (1980).
Terao, J., and S. Matsushita, The Peroxidizing Effect of α-Tocopherol on Autoxidation of Methyl Linoleate in Bulk Phase, Lipids 21:255–260 (1986).
Frankel, E.N., Antioxidants in Lipid Foods and Their Impact on Food Quality, Food Chem. 57:51–55 (1996).
Elmadfa, I., and K.H. Wagner, Vitamin E und Haltbarkeit von Pflanzenölen, Fett/Lipid 99:234–238 (1997).
Warner, K., Measurement of Tocopherol Efficacy in Fats and Oils, in Antioxidant Methodology in vivo and in vitro Concepts, edited by O.I. Aruoma and S.L. Cuppett, AOCS Press, Champaign, 1997, pp. 223–233.
Yanishlieva, N.V., and E.M. Marinova, Inhibited Oxidation of Lipids I: Complex Estimation and Comparison of the Antioxidative Properties of Some Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants, Fat Sci. Technol. 94:374–379 (1992).
Huang, S.W., E.N. Frankel, and J.B. German, Effects of Individual Tocopherols and Tocopherol Mixtures on the Oxidative Stability of Corn Oil Triglycerides, J. Agric. Food Chem. 43:2345–2350 (1995).
Satue, M.T., S.H. Huang, and E.N. Frankel, Effect of Natural Antioxidants in Virgin Olive Oil on Oxidative Stability of Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized Olive Oil, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 72:1131–1137 (1995).
Hopia, A., S.W. Huang, and E.N. Frankel, Effect of α-Tocopherol and Trolox on the Decomposition of Methyl Linoleate Hydroperoxides, Lipids 31:357–365 (1996).
Lampi, A.M., A. Hopia, and V. Piironen, Antioxidant Activity of Minor Amounts of γ-Tocopherol in Natural Triacylglycerols, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 74:549–555 (1997).
Fuster, M.D., A.M. Lampi, A. Hopia, and A. Kamal-Eldin, Effects of α- and γ-Tocopherols on the Autoxidation of Purified Sunflower Triacylglycerols, Lipids 33:715–722 (1998).
Lampi, A.M., A. Hopia, P. Ekholm, and V. Piironen, Method for the Preparation of Triacylglycerol Fractions from Rapeseed and Other Oils for Autoxidation Studies, Food Sci. Technol. 25:386–388 (1992).
Hyvönen, L., A.M. Lampi, P. Varo, and P. Koivistoinen, Fatty Acid Analysis, TAG Equivalents as Net Fat Value, and Nutritional Attributes of Commercial Fats and Oils, J. Food Comp. Anal. 6:24–40 (1993).
Shantha, N.C., and E.A. Decker, Rapid, Sensitive, Iron-Based Spectrophotometric Methods for Determination of Peroxide Values of Food Lipids, J. AOAC Int. 77:421–424 (1994).
Official method AOCS Cd 18–90, p-Anisidine Value, in Official Methods and Recommended Practices of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, 4th edn., American Oil Chemists’ Society, Champaign, 1990.
Lampi, A.M., and V. Piironen, Dissimilarity of the Oxidations of Rapeseed and Butter Oil Triacylglycerols and Their Mixtures in the Absence of Tocopherols, J. Sci. Food Agric. 79:300–306 (1999).
Minkkinen, P., Monitoring the Precision of Routine Analyses by Using Duplicate Determinations, Anal. Chim. Acta 191:369–376 (1986).
Jung, M.Y., and D.B. Min, Effects of α-, γ-, and δ-Tocopherols on Oxidative Stability of Soybean Oil, J. Food Sci. 55:1464–1465 (1990).
Huang, S.W., E.N. Frankel, and J.B. German, Antioxidant Activity of α- or γ-Tocopherols in Bulk Oils and in Oil-in-Water Emulsions, J. Agric. Food Chem. 42:2108–2114 (1994).
Niki, E., J. Tsuchiya, Y. Yoshikawa, Y. Yamamoto, and Y. Kamiya, Oxidation of Lipids. XIII. Antioxidant Activities of α-, β-, γ-, and δ-Tocopherols, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 59:497–501 (1986).
Parkhurst, R.M., W.A. Skinner, and A. Sturm, The Effect of Various Concentrations of Tocopherols and Tocopherol Mixtures on the Oxidative Stability of a Sample of Lard, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 45:641–642 (1968).
Lampi, A.M., and V. Piironen, α- and γ-Tocopherol as Efficient Antioxidants in Butter Oil Triacylglycerols, Fett/Lipid 100:292–295 (1998).
Gottstein, T., and W. Grosch, Model Study of Different Antioxidant Properties of α- and γ-Tocopherol in Fats, Fat Sci. Technol. 92:139–144 (1990).
Pongracz, G., H. Weiser, and D. Matzinger, Tocopherole—Antioxidantien der Natur, Fat Sci. Technol. 97:90–104 (1995).
Olcott, H.S., and J. Van der Veen, Comparison of Antioxidant Activities of Tocol and Its Methyl Derivatives, Lipids 3:331–334 (1968).
Cort, W.M., Antioxidant Activity of Tocopherols, Ascorbyl Palmitate, and Ascorbic Acid and Their Mode of Action, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 51:321–325 (1974).
Yoshida, H., G. Kajimoto, and S. Emura, Antioxidant Effects of d-Tocopherols at Different Concentrations in Oils During Microwave Heating, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 70:989–995 (1993).
Park, D.K., J. Terao, and S. Matsushita, The Isomeric Composition of Hydroperoxides Formed by Autoxidation of Unsaturated Triglycerides and Vegetable Oils, Agric. Biol. Chem. 45:2071–2076 (1981).
Grosch, W., Reaction of Hydroperoxides—Products of Low Molecular Weight, in Autoxidation of Unsaturated Lipids. Food Science and Technology. A Series of Monographs, edited by H.W.S. Chan, Academic Press, London, 1978.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Lampi, AM., Kataja, L., Kamal-Eldin, A. et al. Antioxidant activities of α- and γ-tocopherols in the oxidation of rapeseed oil triacylglycerols. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 76, 749–755 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-999-0171-7
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-999-0171-7