Determination of fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity in vegetable oils

Abstract

Studies of the composition of vegetable oils are expedient in order to achieve quality product modelling. The goal of this research was to determine the composition of fatty acids using gas chromatography (GC) and antioxidant activity using DPPH and ABTS spectrophotometric methods. Analysed oils were castor seed, sunflower seed, sesame seed, fibrous hemp seed, black radish seed and olive oils. Different classes of fatty acids were determined: polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated; omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 acids and individual constituents. The study results showed that the dominant acids in all oils were oleic and linoleic fatty acids. The best ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 acids was found in fibrous hemp seed oil – 3:1. All analysed vegetable oils demonstrated a high antioxidant activity.