A number of studies have investigated the potential application of electrochemical techniques towards the detection and analysis of antioxidant compounds.  Much of this pioneering work focused on characterizing well-known systems such as Vitamin E (tocopherol).  Recent work in our lab aimed at applying electrochemistry, specifically voltammetric techniques towards more routine analyses.  Current research efforts center on characterizing and monitoring more novel antioxidant systems such as rosemary extract and sesamol.  These efforts are primarily in response to an increased consumer interest in natural products, thus requiring a better understanding regarding the properties of these novel species.  An established synthetic antioxidant, butylated hydroxytoluene, alongside rosemary extract and sesamol were investigated by supplementing them into an omega-3 rich substrate.  Square-wave voltammetry was used to monitor oxidation current of all antioxidant species while gas chromatography-flame ionization detection was used to monitor the change in fatty acid composition of the substrate.  The aim of this study is to determine the ability of electrochemical techniques to provide information into how antioxidant degradation correlates to alterations in fatty acid composition for various antioxidant species.  Voltammograms for omega-3 fatty acids treated with each antioxidant will be presented with chromatograms detailing the changes in two specific omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid.  Preliminary data suggest that electrochemical techniques provide both quantitative data regarding the amount of antioxidant remaining in a treated sample along with qualitative data regarding the decomposition of fatty acids which correlate well with chromatographic data.<br/>

Correlating fatty acid composition of omega-3 fatty acids to antioxidant protection using a combination of gas chromatography-flame ionization detection and square wave voltammetry

255th National Meeting (2018)

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