Study of Chemical Composition and Photodegradation of Flaxseed Oil

Abstract

Flaxseed is a good oil source with potential nutritional and health benefits. This study discusses the chemical composition of oil using GC-MS, and the effect of light on its oxidative stability. Flaxseed oil was extraction using cold-press, oil yield was 26.3. GC-MS analysis identified 20 compounds it was found that flaxseed oil contains a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, the most important of which is a-linolenic acid(ALA)as know (omega3) (48.88%). It has also been studied the physicochemical properties like density, viscosity, acid value(AV), free fatty acid(FFA%),  peroxide value(PV), and possible changes due to photo-oxidation, Important changes are observed during oxidative processes, the most important of which is the gradual increase of acidity and peroxide values. FT-IR spectroscopy was used to evaluate oxidation due to UV radiation at (254 nm, 365 nm). Spectra recorded that there is a noticeable difference between oxidized and non-oxidized oil during photo-oxidation.