Inhibition of stigmasterol oxidation by antioxidants in purified sunflower oil

A study was conducted to analyze the effect of the antioxidants butylated hydroxytoluene, a-tocopherol, ethanolic extracts of rosemary, and green tea on stigmasterol resistance against degradation and formation of its oxidation products in purified triacylglycerols (TAG) from sunflower oil. The content of stigmasterol and its oxidation products 7alpha- and 7beta-hydroxy, alpha- and beta-epoxy, triol, and 7-ketostigmasterol were determined during incubation at 60degreesC for 3, 6, and 9 days. In addition, peroxide value and fatty acid composition were also determined in the samples. Correlation between the levels of the accumulated stigmasterol oxides and peroxide value of the TAG with antioxidants during incubation was significant only for rosemary extract (R = 0.6799, p < 0.05). The lack of correlation precludes the use of peroxide values to determine the level of sterol oxidation products in the used model system. Correlation between stigmasterol content and the level of stigmasterol oxides was significant for all samples (R = 0.8874, p < 0.05). The total increase of the stigmasterol oxidation products was the lowest in samples with a-tocopherol, but the content of stigmasterol-triol increased the most in this sample. In all the analyzed samples, alpha-epoxy-stigmasterol was formed in the highest amounts among the analyzed stigmasterol oxidation products.