ASSESSMENT OF LINOLEIC ACID OXIDATION PARAMETERS USING DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETRY

Essential unsaturated fatty acids: linoleic and a-linolenic play a specific role in the proper functioning of human body. As polyunsaturated acids, they are exposed to oxidation, and, as a result, they loose their biological activity. As a consequence of their degradation, many health-destructive substances are formed, i.e. the primary and secondary oxidation products. Those compounds are responsible for the rancid smell and taste of food products. Therefore, it is so important to assess the oxidative stability since it is the main indicator of the wholesomeness and technological usefulness of fats. The scope of the paper included the determination of thermo-kinetic parameters of linoleic acid using a differential scanning calorimetry test, as well as the assessment of oxidative stability of the acid analyzed. A dynamic option of DSC apparatus was used in the analysis and the following rates of heating samples were applied: 4 K/min; 5 K/min; 7.5 K/min; 12.5 K/min; 15 K/min. The non-isothermal process of linolcic acid oxidation was measured using a differential scanning calorimeter; owing to this, it was possible to efficiently determine the activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and the reaction-rate constant.