Changes of Total Tocopherol and Tocopherol Species During Sunflower Oil Processing

Abstract The changes of total and individual tocopherols were investigated during different sunflower oil processing stages by reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. The results revealed that the levels of total and individual tocopherol content were decreased during the neutralization, bleaching, and deodorization processes. The overall loss of total tocopherols during these stages was found to be 37.9%, although the general reduction trend of delta (δ), gamma (γ), and alpha (α) tocopherols is very similar during neutralization (35.3%), bleaching (38.3%), and deodorization (37.8%). However, in contrast to the neutralizing and deodorizing stages, the bleaching process caused relatively less reduction for individual tocopherol contents. Deodorizer distillates were also analyzed and were found to be rich with tocopherols content (29,348.24 μg/ml). The results of the study indicated that most parts of the tocopherols are wasted during processing. Therefore, the proper concentration of nutritionists, industrialists, and manufacturers is needed for the necessary improvements in processing technology to avoid the major loss of tocopherols and to increase the shelf life, as well as the nutritive value of processed oil.