Correlation between physicochemical analysis and radical-scavenging activity of vegetable oil blends as affected by frying of French fries

The main goal of the present work was to compare and correlate the results of physicochemical parameters and antiradical performance of some oil blends during deep-frying, which will be an initial indicator for applying antiradical tests for monitoring deep-frying oils. Two oil blends were prepared. The first blend was a mixture (1 : 1, wt/wt) of sunflower seed oil and palm olein (SO/PO) and the second was a mixture (1 : 1, wt/wt) of cottonseed oil and palm olein (CO/PO). The oil blends were evaluated during intermittent frying of French fries on two consecutive days for 16 h, with oil replenishing after 8h. Changes in the fatty acid profile and some physicochemical parameters (peroxide value, color index, viscosity, total polar compounds and UV absorbance at 232 and 270 nm) were used to evaluate the alterations during frying. A quick spectrophotometric method was developed to assess deep-frying oil quality. With the 2,2diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, the neutralization of the stable radical DPPH by antioxidants present in the oil during frying was measured. Radical-scavenging activity (RSA) of both oil blends was recorded during frying, wherein the results showed that the SO/PO blend had the highest RSA. It was evident from the results that a proportional correlation and positive relationship existed between the levels of fatty acids and the physicochemical characteristics of the vegetable oil blends and their RSA. The initial results obtained allow us to suggest that antiradical measurements could be used to quantify the oxidative and hydrolytic deterioration of vegetable oils upon frying.