Temperature dependence of the autoxidation and antioxidants of soybean, sunflower, and olive oil

Effects of temperature on the autoxidation and antioxidants changes of soybean, sunflower, and olive oils were studied. The oils were oxidized in the dark at 25, 40, 60, and 80 °C. The oil oxidation was determined by peroxide (POV) and p-anisidine values (PAV). Polyphenols and tocopherols in the oils were also monitored. The oxidation of oils increased with the oxidation time and temperature. Induction period decreased with the oxidation temperature; 87 and 3.6 days at 25 and 60 °C, respectively, for sunflower oil. The activation energies for the autoxidation of soybean, sunflower, and olive oils were 17.6, 19.0, and 12.5 kcal/mol, respectively. Olive oil contained polyphenols at 180.8 ppm, and tocopherols were present at 687, 290, and 104 ppm in soybean, sunflower, and olive oils, respectively. Antioxidants were degraded during the oil autoxidation and the degradation rates increased with the oxidation temperature of oils; for tocopherols, 2.1 × 10⁻³ and 8.9 × 10⁻²%/day at 25 and 60 °C, respectively, in soybean oil.