Effect of Rosemary Extracts on Stabilitiy of Sunflower Oil Used in Frying

Frying is an important operation in food processing and preparation. Frying often involve the exposure of oils and fat to heat, air and moisture and these often result to reduction in oil quality, which in turn change the structure of triglycerides present in the oil 1) . During the deep fat frying process, oils and fats in the presence of atmospheric oxygen and high temperatures are used over and over again and are subjected to the maximum oxidative and thermal effect 2) . The oxygen in deep-fat frying reacts with oil. The rate of oxidative degradation reactions increases as the concentration of oxygen and free radicals increases 3) . Oxidative degradation occurring fats and oils leads to the formation of unwanted taste and odor, the emergence of a large number of compounds harmful to human health, a decrease in nutritional value 4) .