Towards Greener Preservation of Edible Oils: A Mini-review

Abstract

Edible oils like sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, cotton seed oil and olive oil are necessary components in human diet and are extensively utilized in the food trade. Safe storage of edible oils has perpetually been a haul within the food industry since the oils can easily endure oxidative deterioration. Studies specializing on polyphenols as a supply of natural antioxidants of plant origin to delay oxidative deterioration of food products have increased worldwide. Both natural and synthetic antioxidants are widely used in protecting oils against oxidative deterioration. Natural antioxidants are greener preservatives because they are known to be safer than their synthetic counterparts. Currently there is an increased interest in sources of natural antioxidants to enrich oils towards shelf life enhancement. This review highlights some research works in which natural antioxidants from plant materials have been used to preserve edible oils. Most of the natural compounds extracted from medicinal plants were found to be able to preserve edible oils against oxidative deterioration. The potential of most of the natural antioxidants from plant materials to preserve edible oils was found to be comparable to that of synthetic antioxidants in all the reviewed researches. Use of natural antioxidants from plant materials for preservation of edible oils is a promising approach that can be adopted by edible oil manufacturers.