The role of carotenes in preventing oxidation during palm oil processing: Adsorption studies

This study aims to investigate the impact of carotenes on the oxidation of palm oil under conditions resembling those encountered in industrial settings. We conducted experiments to assess the oxidation of palm oil during the adsorption of carotene (bleaching) using two commercial bleaching earths (ABE and NBE), sepiolite, and two newly synthesized adsorbents (LDH and PHC). The presence of carotenoids in the bleached oil varied depending on the adsorbents' textural properties: ABE, with the highest surface area (269 m2/g), removed up to 97% of carotenes, while LDH, with the lowest surface area (74 m2/g), removed only 2%. Subsequently, we examined oxidation in bleached oil subjected to temperatures up to 210 °C. Remarkably, only oils bleached with ABE, NBE, and PCH—adsorbents that removed more than 85% of carotenes—exhibited pronounced peaks in oxidation spectra. Thus, our findings underscore the protective role of carotenoids in preventing oil oxidation during thermal treatment, as evidenced by the observed relationship between oxidation products and carotene concentration after adsorption.