Agnieszka Rękas

The effect of microwave pretreatment of seeds on the stability and degradation kinetics of phenolic compounds in rapeseed oil during long-term storage.

Storage stability and degradation kinetics of phenolic compounds in rapeseed oil pressed from microwave treated seeds (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10min, 800W) during long-term storage (12months) at a temperature of 20°C was discussed in the current study. The dominant phenolic compound detected in rapeseed oil was canolol, followed by minor amounts of free phenolic acids and sinapine. The most pronounced effect of seeds microwaving was noted for canolol formation - after 10-min exposure the quantity of this compound was approximately 63-fold higher than in control oil. The degradation of phenolics during storage displayed pseudo first-order kinetics. Differences in the initial degradation rate (r0) demonstrated significant impact of the period of seeds microwave exposure on the degradation rates of phenolic compounds. Results of the half-life calculation (t1/2) showed that the storage stability of phenolic compounds was higher in oils produced from microwave treated rapeseeds than in control oil.

Mechanical hulling and thermal pre-treatment effects on rapeseed oil antioxidant capacity and related lipophilic and hydrophilic bioactive compounds

Abstract In this study, the effect of rapeseed mechanical hulling and thermal pre-treatment by microwaves (from 2 to 10 min with 2-min intervals, 800 W) and roasting (from 20 to 100 min with 20-min intervals, 165 °C) on the content of phytochemicals in the oil was investigated. Results showed that both pre-treatments applied differentiated the oils in terms of the content of bioactive compounds. In general, oils pressed from hulled and thermally pre-treated seeds contained higher content of tocopherols, PC-8 and phytosterols, while oils pressed from non-hulled and pre-processed seeds had significantly higher concentration of polyphenols. Both microwaving and roasting contributed to an increase of antioxidant capacity of studied oils. The increase of radical scavenging activity of oils was seen mainly in hydrophilic fraction of oil, which was highly positively correlated with the amount of canolol formed during seeds heating.