Physical, chemical and oxidative changes in raw peanuts: Effect of relative humidity

Summary Peanuts are susceptible to oxidative deterioration due to various factors during storage. This research studied the proximate composition (lipid, protein, total sugar, moisture and ash.), composition and content of amino acids and fatty acids, peroxide value (PV), carbonyl value (CV), malondialdehyde content (MDA), protein composition and structure changes in the peanuts stored for 320 days under different relative humidity (RH; 50%, 65% and 80%) conditions. Lipid oxidation was delayed at low RH (50% and 65%) storage conditions. At high RH (80%), the contents of unsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, protein and lipids decreased significantly during storage ( P < 0.05), whereas the PV, CV and MDA contents increased significantly ( P < 0.05). The CV values of YH‐9326 and YH‐22 increased by 14.46 and 17.48 times respectively. In addition, the protein structure changed throughout the whole storage period ( P < 0.05). This research provides a theoretical reference for maintaining storage quality and extending shelf life.