Development of spicy flavored virgin coconut oil by incorporating a mixture of spices oleoresins

Abstract

Lipid oxidation is a major cause of deterioration in the quality of cooking oils. Degradation of unsaturated fatty acids in oils directly leads to changes in nutritional value, flavor, and storage properties. Oleoresins of ginger, garlic, nutmeg, pepper, cloves, and cinnamon were extracted and incorporated into virgin coconut oil (VCO) to overcome adverse effects of lipid oxidation and changes occurrence on physicochemical properties, thermal stability, shelf life, antioxidant activity, total phenolics and sensory evaluation were conducted against same properties of VCO. Lipid oxidation was assessed in terms of free fatty acid (FFA) value and peroxide value (PV). For the comparison purpose, another oil sample was prepared by incorporating vitamin E too. Results revealed that both PV and FFA of VCO and spicy flavored oil (SFO) samples after one-week storage period were 1.93 ± 0.01 and 1.62 ± 0.02 mEq/kg and 0.36 ± 0.01 and 0.24 ± 0.01 (%) respectively. Saponification value (SV), iodine value (IV), smoke point, flashpoint, viscosity, and the specific gravity of SFO were increased and there was no significant difference in moisture content and insoluble impurities in SFO and VCO. The highest phenolic content and DPPH free radical scavenging activity were found in SFO. The thermal stability of SFO was better than VCO. Both oleoresins and vitamin E incorporated samples showed the same pattern of increment of FFA and PV during storage; however, those increments were slower than VCO. SFO was highly accepted by the sensory panelists in terms of color, aroma, taste, texture, and overall acceptability.