Antioxidant Activity of Sesamin in Canola Oil

The present study presents the antioxidant activity of sesamin in canola oil compared with that of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) by monitoring the oxygen consumption and the decrease in linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid. The oxidation of canola oil was conducted at 35, 60, 90, 120 and 180 °C with addition of 50–400 ppm sesamin. Results from the oxygen consumption test showed that sesamin dose-dependently inhibited the oxidation of canola oil at concentrations of 50–200 ppm at temperatures of 60–180 °C, however, sesamin lost its antioxidant activity at a low temperature of 35 °C. The fatty acid analysis also demonstrated that sesamin at 50, 100 and 200 ppm dose-dependently prevented the oxidation of linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid in canola oil. Both the oxygen consumption and the fatty acid analysis demonstrated sesamin was less effective than BHT as an antioxidant at temperatures of 60–180 °C. It was therefore concluded that sesamin could prevent the lipid oxidation of frying fats and oil, however, its antioxidant activity was not as potent as that of BHT.