Oxidation of oleic acid under pulsed electric field processing

The effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) treatment on chemical characteristics of oleic acid were studied in the present study. The oxidation parameters including acid value, peroxide value and carbonyl value were determined in oleic acid samples before, immediately after the PEF treatment and during the storage. The results showed that PEF treatment had no significant influence on the acid value of oleic acid samples. PEF processing could induce a certain extent of increase of POV of oleic acid. POV was a function of both applied electric field strength and storage time. The carbonyl value of PEF-treated oleic acid increased slowly within the first 8 days of storage, however, it then increased much more rapidly. Hydrogen radicals in oleic acid under PEF were detected by electron spin resonance spectroscopy, which may play the role of initiator in free-radical reaction.