Effects of Lycopene on Oxidative Stability of Soybean Oil

Effects of lycopene on the oxidative stability of soybean oils were studied by adding different concentrations of lycopene [0.01, 0.02 and 0.04% (w/w)] in soybean oils, at the same time, BHT and TBHQ at 0.02% (w/w) were used for comparison. The antioxidant activity is measured by using three different methods. Induction time for the samples of the Rancimat method was determined by measuring the elapsed time from the beginning to the moment when conductivity changed suddenly, whereas the other samples were oven storage at 60 degrees C in the dark and accelerated photo-oxidation at 7500 lx light intensity at 30 degrees C. Degree of oxidation was measured by the indicators of both peroxide value and acid value. These results reveal that lycopene exhibits appreciable activity, which exceeded the activity of BHT, but slightly lower than that of TBHQ.