Oxidative stability of soybean oils with altered fatty acid compositions

The oxidative stabilities of one canola oil and six soybean oils of various fatty acid compositions were compared in terms of peroxide values, conjugated dienoic acid values and sensory evaluations. Two of the soybean oils (Hardin and BSR 101) were from common commercial varieties. The other four soybean oils were from experimental lines developed in a mutation breeding program at Iowa State University that included A17 with 1.5% linolenate and 15.2% palmitate; A16 with 2% linolenate and 10.8% palmitate; A87-191039 with 2% linolenate and 29.6% oleate; and A6 with 27.5% stearate. Seed from the soybean genotypes was cold pressed. Crude canola oil was obtained without additives. All oils were refined, bleached and deodorized under laboratory conditions with no additives and stored at 60°C for 15 days. The A17, A16, A87-191039 and A6 oils were generally more stable to oxidation than the commercial soybean varieties and canola oil as evaluated by chemical and sensory tests. Canola oil was much less stable than Hardin and BSR 101 oils by both chemical and sensory tests. The peroxide values and flavor scores of oils were highly correlated with the initial amounts of linolenate (r=0.95, P=0.001). Flavor quality and flavor intensity had negative correlations with linolenate, (r=−0.89, P=0.007) and (r=−0.86, P=0.013), respectively.