Inhibition of lipid oxidation in fish muscle by antioxidant incorporated polyethylene film

To prepare BHT-incorporated packaging films, both butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and polyethylene (PE) were dissolved in hot toluene. After the solvent was removed under vacuum, the residue was hot-pressed to form BHT-incorporated PE films. The IR spectra of the resulting films confirmed the success of incorporation. The BHT recovery was between 30 and 50% from resulting films. Fish fillets were wrapped by BHT-incorporated film and stored at different temperatures for various time periods. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were used as the indicator of lipid peroxidation in fish muscle. When the concentration of BHT in the original preparation was 40 mg/g, BHT-incorporated film wrapped fish muscle produced approximately 50% less TEARS than the control group at -20C. Peroxide value of fish oil covered by BHT-incorporated film was 66% less than fish oil covered by PE film when samples were stored at 30C for 24 days. The BHT-incorporated PE film was able to inhibit lipid oxidation in both fish muscle and oil.