Enhancing sunflower oil by the addition of commercial thyme and rosemary essential oils: The effect on lipid quality of Mediterranean horse mackerel and anchovy during traditional pan-frying

The effect of sunflower oil treated with varying proportions of rosemary and thyme essential oils (0.3%, 0.6%, 0.9%, and 1.2%) on the lipid quality of Mediterranean horse mackerel and anchovy during traditional pan-frying was assessed in this research. Concentrations of rosemary and thyme essential oils greater than 0.9% applied to sunflower oil tend to reduce the lipid content of horse mackerel, while anchovies fried in sunflower oil with only a few concentrations of rosemary essential oil seemed to avoid a rise in lipid content that leads to frying. The addition of thyme and rosemary essential oils with the different percentages in frying oil significantly caused a reduction in the peroxide and thiobarbituric acid values of all fish samples after pan-frying (p 0.05). However, the free fatty acid contents of all fried fish samples did not change significantly by the addition of EOs to sunflower oil (p 0.05). According to our results, the amount of EPA and DHA in Mediterranean horse mackerel during traditional pan-frying was affected by the type of essential oils and their concentration in sunflower oil. Using EOs at different concentrations, on the other hand, has no noticeable impact on the retention of highly unsaturated fatty acids in anchovies. It shows that all of the essential oils used significantly reduce lipid oxidation and protect against EPA and DHA reduction as a result of frying in Mediterranean horse mackerel.