Abstract
The treatment of α-tocopherol-rosemary mixture (0.05%+ 0.02%) had the strongest antioxidant activity among the antioxidants tested in sardine oil model system and frozen-crushed fish meat. In sardine oil, it delayed the onset of oxidation 5 days longer than either α-tocopherol or rosemary extract alone, and its antioxidant activity was comparable to that of BHA. It was found that the α-tocopherol in sample of mixture treatment remained 5 days longer than in sample of α-tocopherol. In frozen-crushed bonito meat, the thiobarbituric acid value (TBA) in sample of mixture treatment was the lowest among antioxidant treatments. the analysis of the ratio of EPA + DHA/16:0 during the storage also showed that the ratio in sample of mixture treatment was about 10% higher than that in sample of α-tocopherol. This suggested that oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acid was inhibited. the treatment of α-tocopherol-rosemary mixture also caused less triglyceride hydrolysis than either a-tocopherol or rosemary extract alone. A synergistic effect between α-tocopherol and rosemary extract was observed.