Effect of endemic dietary herb extracts on mitigating acrylamide formation and sensory attributes of potato chips through repeated frying cycles

Acrylamide, a suspected carcinogen formed during high-temperature cooking, is a major safety concern in widely consumed products like potato chips. This study aimed to reduce acrylamide formation using extracts from three Ethiopian herbs: Lippia adoensis var. adoensis (kesse), Lippia adoensis var. koseret (koseret), and Thymus schimperi Ronninger (tosign). Potato slices were pretreated with herb extracts and fried; selected extracts were also added to the frying oil during repeated use. Acrylamide content and sensory qualities of the chips subsequently assessed. Blanching with kesse extract resulted in the highest acrylamide reduction, decreasing levels by 51.1% during the 5th frying cycle. After the 20th frying cycle, chips fried in kesse, koseret, and tosign-treated oils had significantly lower acrylamide levels (2.34, 2.8, and 2.48 mg/kg, respectively) compared to control sample. Correlation analysis showed a strong inverse relationship (R² = 0.9646) between total phenolic content and acrylamide level. Herb-treated oils also enhanced the taste, crispiness, and color of chips compared to butylated hydroxytoluene. These findings suggest that Ethiopian herbs can serve as natural alternatives to synthetic additives, improving both the safety and sensory quality of fried potato products.