Influence of Antioxidant Concentration, Temperature, and Saturated Lipid Content on α-Tocopherol Stability in Oil Blends

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 4, 1300 - 1308, 26.12.2025

Ipek Bayram

https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.4.30

Abstract

Oxidative stability remains a critical challenge in lipid-based food systems, where tocopherols serve as key natural antioxidants. The effectiveness of α-tocopherol, however, is strongly influenced by its concentration, storage temperature, and lipid matrix composition. This study systematically investigated the stability and antioxidant efficacy of α-tocopherol in stripped soybean oil (SSO) and SSO–medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) blends under accelerated oxidation conditions. It was hypothesized that α-tocopherol exhibits a concentration-dependent protective effect, further modulated by temperature and saturated lipid content. Oxidation kinetics were evaluated across a wide range of α-tocopherol concentrations (25–500 µM), temperatures (45 °C and 55 °C), and MCT proportions (0–75%) using lipid hydroperoxide value and headspace hexanal analysis. A clear dose-dependent antioxidant response was observed, with increasing α-tocopherol concentrations significantly extending the lag phase period, although antioxidant efficacy plateaued above approximately 300 µM. Arrhenius-based kinetic modeling demonstrated that the presence of α-tocopherol increased the activation energy of oxidation and extended the predicted shelf-life at 25 °C to approximately 165 days in SSO samples containing 500 µM α-tocopherol. In addition, increasing saturated lipid content synergistically enhanced α-tocopherol performance, with the lag phase increasing from 6 to 32 days as MCT content rose from 0% to 75% in the presence of 100 µM α-tocopherol. These findings provide mechanistic and quantitative insight into how antioxidant concentration and lipid matrix composition interact to control lipid oxidation and offer a practical framework for optimizing antioxidant strategies and predicting shelf-life in lipid-based food formulations.

Keywords

Antioxidant , Arrhenius Kinetics , Lipids , Oxidation , Saturated Fatty Acids , Tocopherol

References

• Alamed, J., Chaiyasit, W., McClements, D. J., & Decker, E. A. (2009). Relationships between free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity in foods. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 57(7), 2969–2976. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf803436c
• Bayram, I., & Decker, E. A (2023). Underlying mechanisms of synergistic antioxidant interactions during lipid oxidation. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 133, 219−230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2023.02.003
• Bayram, I., Laze, A., & Decker, E. A. (2023). Synergistic mechanisms of interactions between myricetin or taxifolin with α-tocopherol in oil-in-water emulsions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 71, 9490–9500. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.3c01226
• Boon, C. S., Xu, Z., Yue, X., McClements, D. J., Weiss, J., Decker, E. A. (2008). Factors affecting lycopene oxidation in oil-in-water emulsions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56, 1408–1414. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf072929+
• Chaiyasit, W., Elias, R. J., McClements, D. J., & Decker, E. A. (2007). Role of physical structures in bulk oils on lipid oxidation. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 47(3), 299–317. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408390600754248
• Chaiyasit, W., McClements, D. J., & Decker, E. A. (2005). The relationship between the physicochemical properties of antioxidants and their ability to inhibit lipid oxidation in bulk oil and oil-in-water emulsions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53, 4982–4988. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf0501239
• Chen, B., McClements, D. J., & Decker, E. A. (2011). Minor components in food oils: A critical review of their roles on lipid oxidation chemistry in bulk oils and emulsions. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 51, 901–916. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2011.606379
• Culler, M. D., Inchingolo, R., McClements, D. J., & Decker, E. A. (2021). Impact of polyunsaturated fatty acid dilution and antioxidant addition on lipid oxidation kinetics in oil/water emulsions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 69(2), 750–755. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c06209
• Ebrahimi, P., Bayram, I., Mihaylova, D., & Lante, A. (2024). A strategy to minimize the chlorophyll content in the phenolic extract of sugar beet leaves: Can this extract work as a natural antioxidant in vegetable oils? Food and Bioprocess Technology, 18, 2493–2506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-024-03601-y
• Frankel, E. N., Huang, S.-W., Kanner, J., & German, J. B. (1994). Interfacial phenomena in the evaluation of antioxidants: bulk oils vs emulsions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 42(5), 1054–1059. https://doi.org/10.1021/JF00041A001
• Huang, S.-W., Frankel, E. N., & German, J. B. (1994). Antioxidant activity of α- and γ-tocopherols in bulk oils and in oil-in-water emulsions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 42(10), 2108–2114. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf00046a007
• Jin, G., He, L., Zhang, J., Yu, X., Wang, J., & Huang, F. (2012). Effects of temperature and NaCl percentage on lipid oxidation in pork muscle and exploration of the controlling method using response surface methodology (RSM). Food Chemistry, 131(3), 817–825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.09.050
• Kamal-Eldin, A., & Appelqvist, L. Å. (1996). The chemistry and antioxidant properties of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Lipids, 31(7), 671–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02522884
• Kaur, M., Bhatia, S., Bayram, I., Decker, E. A., & Phutela, U. G. (2023). Oxidative stability of emulsions made with self-extracted oil from euryhaline microalgae Spirulina and Scenedesmus. Algal Research, 75, 103280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2023.103280
• Labuza, T. P. (1982). Shelf-life dating of foods. Food & Nutrition Press, Inc., Westport, 387-420.
• Nelson, K. A., & Labuza, T. P. (1994). Water activity and food polymer science: Implications of state on Arrhenius and WLF models in predicting shelf life. Journal of Food Engineering, 22(1-4), 271–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/0260-8774(94)90035-3
• Niki, E. (2015). Evidence for beneficial effects of vitamin E. The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine, 30(5), 571–579. https://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2015.30.5.571
• Parra-Escudero, C., Bayram, I., Decker, E. A., Singh, S., Corvalan, C. M., & Lu, J. (2025). A machine learning-guided modeling approach to the kinetics of α-tocopherol and myricetin synergism in bulk oil oxidation. Food Chemistry, 463, 141451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.141451
• Peleg, M., Normand, M. D., & Corradini, M. G. (2012). The Arrhenius equation revisited. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 52(9), 830–851. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2012.667460
• Peña-Ramos, E. A., & Xiong, Y. L. (2002). Antioxidant activity of soy protein hydrolysates in a liposomal system. Journal of Food Science, 67(8), 2952–2956. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2002.tb08844.x
• Shantha, N. C., & Decker, E. A. (1994). Rapid, sensitive, iron-based spectrophotometric methods for determination of peroxide values of food lipids. Journal of AOAC International, 77, 421–424. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaoac/77.2.421
• Vaidya, B., & Eun, J.-B. (2013). Effect of temperature on oxidation kinetics of walnut and grape seed oil. Food Science and Biotechnology, 22(1), 273–279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-013-0077-x
• Wagner, K.-H., Kamal-Eldin, A., & Elmadfa, I. (2004). Gamma-tocopherol--an underestimated vitamin? Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 48(3), 169–188. https://doi.org/10.1159/000079555