Kinetics of Squalene Quenching Singlet Oxygen and the Thermal Degradation Products Identification

Squalene has been proven to possess various bioactive functions that are widely present in vegetable oils. A more comprehensive understanding of the reaction behavior of squalene under oxidative conditions was achieved by studying its antioxidant capacity and thermal degradation products. The total singlet oxygen quenching rate constant (kr + kq) of squalene was 3.8 × 107 M–1 s–1, and both physical and chemical quenching mechanisms equally contribute to the overall singlet oxygen quenching. Fourteen degradation products of squalene were identified at 180 °C by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Combining with DFT calculations, the thermal degradation pathway of squalene was proposed: the aldehydes, ketones, and alcohols, and epoxy compounds were formed by the homolytic cleavage of squalene hydroperoxides to form alkoxy radicals, followed by β-scission of the alkoxyl radicals at adjacent C–C bonds or intramolecular cyclization.