Desenvolvimento de bioaditivos antioxidantes para otimização da estabilidade oxidativa de óleos comestíveis

Abstract

Edible oils are important sources of energy, fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids. However, their unsaturated fatty acids nature makes them highly susceptible to oxidative processes, making necessary the use of antioxidant additives. Synthetic antioxidants are widely employed by the industry, although there are several restrictions due to their adverse effects on human health. For this reason, this study investigated the antioxidant potential of 24 plant extracts: saffron (Crocus sativus L), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), boldo (Peumus boldus Molina), white tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kutntze), mate tea (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hilaire), black tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kutntze), green tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kutntze), chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), cinnamom (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), carqueja (Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC), lemon balm (Cymbopogom citratus), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare (Mill.) Gaertn), marjoram (Origanum majorana L.), basil (Ocimum basilicum), oregano (Origanum vulgare L. ssp Virens), senna (Cassia angustifólia), barbatimão (Stryphnodendron barbatimam Mart.), chapéu-de-couro (Echinodorus grandiflorus Mitch.), juca (Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. Ex Tul.), guarana (Paullinia cupana Kunth), pau d arco (Tabebuia serratifolia (Vahl) Nich.) and cat s claw (Uncaria tomentosa), by determining total phenolic content and antioxidant activity measured through the DPPH and FRAP assays. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG), with both dynamic and isothermal (110 °C) analysis methods, was used to evaluate the thermal stability of the 24 plant extracts, as well as commercial antioxidants. Corn, soybean and sunflower oils, composed of unsaturated fatty acids, are widely used in Brazilian cuisine. Thus, antioxidant action of the extracts (rosemary, chamomile, coriander, fennel and senna) was also investigated by controlling the oxidative stability of edible vegetable oils when added to these, through the accelerated Rancimat methods, PetroOXY, PDSC and oven test. Clove extract showed the highest antioxidant capacity by FRAP assay and the best CFT. Extracts of juca and barbatimao, both from the Amazon Region, showed high TFC (133.63 ± 1.94 and 147.37 ± 1.99 mg GAE/g extract), confirming the excellent antioxidant capacity determined by the foregoing methods. The thermogravimetric profile of the extracts of cat's claw, saffron, rosemary, white tea and cinnamon stood out due to its good thermal resistance, indicating that may be used as antioxidant additives in formulations requiring heating. The rosemary extract applied to edible oils exhibited greater protective effect than other extracts tested, including the synthetic antioxidant BHT and TBHQ, when evaluated by the PDSC and PetroOXY methods. When the assessment was based on the Rancimat technique, its effect was similar to the one of BHT. Clove extract, although it is an excellent antioxidant, showed no thermal stability, with a mass loss of 81.4% in the first event (28.1 to 266.7 °C), due to the degradation of its main chemical constituent, eugenol.