Enhancing the Stability of Polyunsaturated Sesame Oil Against Oxidation via Addition of Natural Antioxidant During Storage

Punicalagin is a natural compound that extracted from pomegranate husk and can be used as valuable by product. Antioxidant effect of punicalagin on the oxidative stability of sesame oil upon storage was assessed and compared with synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxy tolouene (BHT). Sesame oil sample was categorized into three groups, sesame oil alone, sesame oil with BHT and sesame oil with punicalagin. All samples monitored and tested throughout 60 days. Tested experiments involved peroxide value (PV) to identify the primary products of oil oxidation, Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive substances (TBARS) and P-Ansidine value (PAV) both to identify the secondary products of oxidation. Moreover, total oxidation index (TOTOX) was calculated to evaluate the overall oxidation status of sesame oil samples.The results at day 30 and 60 revealed that the presence of punicalagin with sesame oil significantly reduced PV, PAV and TOTOX while it significantly inhibited TBARS formation at day 60 only in comparison with sesame oil alone. Moreover, the results of sesame oil with BHT exhibited significant reduction in PAV and TOTOX when compared to oil with punicalagin. These findings indicated a substantial potential for using punicalagin as natural antioxidant to improve the quality of sesame oil during storage.