Antioxidant activity of minor components of tree nut oils.

The antioxidative components of tree nut oils were extracted using a solvent stripping process. Tree nut oil extracts contained phospholipids, sphingolipids, sterols and tocopherols. The chloroform/methanol extracted oils had higher amounts of phenolic compounds than their hexane extracted counterparts. The antioxidant activity of tree nut oil minor component extracts were assessed using the 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulphonate) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, β-carotene bleaching test, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and photochemiluminescence inhibition assays. Results of these studies demonstrated that extracts of chloroform/methanol extracted oils possessed higher antioxidant activities than extracts of their hexane extracted counterparts. Meanwhile the extract of chloroform/methanol extracted pecan oil possessed the highest antioxidant activity.