Adding Natural Plant Extracts During Microencapsulating Process Can Reduce Lipid Oxidation

26/07/07 It has reported that the shelf life of microencapsulated high oleic sunflower oil can be boosted by combining natural plant extracts like broccoli sprout, citrus and rosemary.

Lead author Jang-Hyuk Ahn says: “By simply mixing and adding natural plant extracts at proper combinations during the microencapsulating process of high oleic sunflower oil, lipid oxidation was significantly reduced.”

The study, published in the Journal of Food Engineering, taps into a growing trend to use natural extracts as antioxidants and preservatives as alternatives to artificial additives, such as like butylhydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylhydroxytoluene (BHT).

While studies have already investigated and documented the efficacy of rosemary extracts to act as antioxidants, according to background information in the article, no studies have looked at the combined antioxidant effect of natural plant extracts (NPE) such as broccoli sprout or citrus on various seed oils.

Oxidation processes in food can lead to organoleptic deterioration in taste, colour and texture. The researchers microencapsulated high oleic sunflower oils using a dextrin-coating method in the presence of the NPE in varying concentrations. The maximum antioxidant effect was observed using a mixture of rosemary (0.05 percent), broccoli sprout extract (one percent) and citrus extract (one percent).