Antioxidants in lipid foods and their impact on food quality

This paper reviews the antioxidant properties of tocopherols and ascorbic acid in edible oils, and the impact of interfacial phenomena on their activities in emulsions and the effects of edible oil processing. Tocopherols are the most important natural antioxidants found in vegetable oil-derived foods. These antioxidants can interrupt lipid autoxidation by interfering with either the chain propagation or the decomposition processes. α-Tocopherol at high concentrations inhibits hydroperoxide decomposition but promotes hydroperoxide formation. The effect of antioxidants in inhibiting hydroperoxide decomposition may thus be critical in preserving food quality by reducing rancidity due to aldehyde formation. Ascorbic acid can regenerate α-tocopherol, inactivate metal initiators and reduce hydroperoxides. The activity of natural antioxidants is greatly affected by complex interfacial phenomena in emulsions and multi-component foods. In an oil-in-water emulsion system, the lipophilic antioxidants α-tocopherol and ascorbyl palmitate are more effective than in bulk oil, while the opposite trend is found for the hydrophilic antioxidants Trolox and ascorbic acid. The methodology to evaluate natural antioxidants must be carefully interpreted depending on whether oxidation is carried out in bulk oils or in emulsions, and what method is used to measure lipid oxidation.