Improvement of the oxidative stability of edible oils through enzymatic esterification with hydroxytyrosol-rich extract

Oxidative degradation is a common issue of commercial edible oils that results in rancidity, downgrading the organoleptic characteristics of food matrices. The aim of this study was the enzymatic modification of common vegetable oils (pomace olive and sunflower oil) with polyphenolic extract to prepare functional oils enriched with bioactive phenolipids. Under that scope, an agro-industrial effluent, olive mill wastewater, was used as source to recover phenolic compounds. The recovery of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol reached up to 81.2% ± 0.3% and 98.3% ± 0.2%, respectively. Further, immobilized lipase was used to catalyze the one-step acylation of these phenolic antioxidants into the oils with the aim of enhancing their stability under accelerated oxidation conditions. The optimum parameters of the bioconversion were found to be 0.1% (w/w) immobilized lipase, 24h of incubation at 50°C under orbital shaking reaching high conversion yields for both phenolic compounds (≥94%). The results also highlighted that the extract-modified oils presented notable thermooxidative stability at 60°C for 28 days compared to the control and synthetic antioxidant-enriched oils, as demonstrated by several analytical (conjugated dienes, thiobarbituric reactive substances), chromatographic (solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy), and spectroscopic (fluorescence, attenuated total reflectance) techniques, giving new insights regarding the preservation of edible oils.

Practical Application: Htyr has recently gained much attention as an active ingredient of food matrices for industrial applications due to its high antioxidant/antiradical activity. A major drawback of Htyr exploitation is the high market price and its solubility. Meanwhile, several edible oils are prone to autooxidation during transport, stock management, and household storage. The proposed one-step biocatalytic process aims to enhance the lipophilicity and bioactivity of Htyr in bulk oil systems, making the use of this potent antioxidant compound feasible. This approach shows promise in extending the shelf life of common oils and highlights the advantages of by-product management. Moreover, these functional oils can be applied for the preparation of sauces, bakery products, food supplements, and so on, as the bioactive ingredients that are present in them can delay the oxidative cascade reactions and, thus, the spoilage of the products, whereas the whole process meets the requirements of circular economy and green chemistry.