Evaluation of antioxidant activity of Artemisia sieberi essential oil on oxidative stability of frying oil

Todays, essential oils from aromatic plants have been qualified as natural antioxidants and proposed as potential substitutes of synthetic antioxidants in food products. In this research chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of artimisia essential oil on oxidative stability of frying oil were analyzed.
Essential oil was extracted by hydro distillation and its chemical composition was determined by the GC-MS. Folin-Ciocalteu reagent was used to estimate total phenolic content. The antiradical activity of essential oil was assessed by using ABTS (2, 2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline -6-sulphonic acid) and DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) methods and compared with TBHQ as a synthetic antioxidant. The antioxidant activity of essential oil was evaluated against TBHQ in deep oil frying by peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid index under accelerated condition.
Alpha thujone (53.50%) and beta thojone (14.66%) were the main components of artimisia essential oil. Total phenol content of essential oil was determined to be 7.5 mg gallic acid equivalent in 1 gr of dried sample and EC5 was 1 mg/ml in DPPH. ABTS test showed that 2 mg/ml of essential oil had the highest antiradical activity (0.08 mg/ml ascorbic acid equivalent). In oven test, 1000 ppm of essential oil had the higher activity than in 200 ppm of TBHQ. All concentrations of artimisia essential oil showed antioxidant activities and various concentrations were able to slow down the oxidation process. This essential oil could be used as natural antioxidant in foodstuffs, especially those containing lipid, due to its reaction with oxidative radicals and can increase shelf-life of those food.