Sameera AR and Shamim AM
Effect of Purification on the Antioxidant Activity of Ajowan Extract in Refined Sunflower Oil
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are integral part of regular diet owing to their vital role to perform normal physiological functions. Unfortunately, they have the tendency to undergo autoxidation decreasing the nutritive value and producing off-flavours during storage. Antioxidants are necessary to be added to the foods containing EFAs. Considering the consumers’ demand to utilize natural ingredients, the research has been now fostered on natural antioxidants. These natural antioxidants can be the most trusted substitutes to unsafe synthetic antioxidants. Moreover, with the medicinal properties of the natural antioxidants, the consumers can avail the benefits of them as therapeutic agents. In our study, we have used ajowan as a source of natural antioxidant to stabilize EFAs in sunflower oil. The extraction of ajowan seeds was carried out by ethanol. The crude extract was purified to isolate thymol rich fraction using column chromatography. The crude ajowan extract was found to be more effective as an antioxidant than the purified extract, i.e., thymol rich fraction. Thus, the other constituents present in the extract besides main constituent (i.e., thymol) have remarkable influence on the antioxidant activity of the main constituent.
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