Kinetics of lipid oxidation in omega fatty acids rich blends of sunflower and sesame oils using Rancimat

Blended sunflower (SO) (50-80%) and sesame oils (SEO) (20-50%) were evaluated for thermo-oxidative stability (induction period, IP), oxidation kinetics (rate constant, k), synergy and shelf-life (25 °C) (IP25) using Rancimat (100, 110, 120, and 130 °C). The Arrhenius equation (ln k vs. 1/T) and activated complex theory (ln k/T vs. 1/T) were used to estimate activation energies, activation enthalpies and entropies, which varied from 92.05 to 99.17 kJ/mol, 88.83 to 95.94 kJ/mol, −35.58 to −4.81 J/mol K, respectively (R2 > 0.90, p < 0.05). Oil blend (OB) with 1:1 SO to SEO exhibited greatest synergy (115%), highest IP (100 °C) (13.2 vs. 6.1 h) and most extended IP25 (193 vs. 110 days) with a nutritionally stable composition of ω-fatty acids (ω9, 34.5 vs. 28.7%; ω6, 49 vs. 52%) compared with SO. Better retention of lignans (6205 vs. 3951 mg/kg) and tocopherols (332 vs. 189 mg/kg) were also noted in OB compared with SO alone.