Lipid oxidation is a major cause of quality deterioration in fat-containing food products. The oxidised fat can cause changes in quality characteristics of food, such as taste, texture and shelflife, which leads to undesirable off-flavours. In order to avoid deterioration, chemical-based antioxidants, such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), are commonly used. Antioxidants are compound that inhibit the oxidative process and delay lipid oxidation. Concerns about the safety of synthetic antioxidant have lead to more research on natural sources of antioxidants (Shahidi and Ying, 2004). Some natural antioxidants have been found effective against auto-oxidation and these include carotenoids, citric acid, ascorbic acid and vitamin E among others (Carelli et al., 2005). 

Researcher: Salmi Yati Shamsudin
Email: salmiy@mpob.gov.my