Antioxidant potential of cinnamon, ajowan and zataria essential oils in grape seed oil

In order to inhibit the oxidation of lipids, improve the oxidative stability of foods and to minimize the hazard risk to human health, antioxidants are added to food materials in industrial processing. In this work, the antioxidant potential of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), ajowan (Carum copticum) and zataria (Zataria multiflora Boiss.) essential oils (EOs) at different concentrations (0, 1 and 1.5%) on free fatty acid content (FFA), peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) of grape seed oil stored at 60ºC was evaluated. Ajowan treated samples (1.5%) showed the lowest (1.02%) and zataria treated samples (1%) expressed the highest (1.19%) FFA value among EO-treated samples. Samples treated with 1.5% cinnamon showed the lowest PV (69.5 meq O2/ kg) at the end of the storage period. Following control, the highest PV was seen in samples treated with zataria (1%). Grape seed oil samples treated with 1 and 1.5% cinnamon showed the lowest TBARS values during the whole storage period (one month). TBARS of zataria treated samples increased slightly toward the end of storage and a similar trend in TBARS was observed for samples treated with ajowan. The antioxidant activity of EOs in grape seed oil followed in descending order was cinnamon, ajowan, and zataria.