Storage Quality and Tocopherol Content of Crude Glandless Cottonseed Oil Under Accelerated Oxidation Conditions in Comparison with Commercial Cottonseed Oil

Cottonseed oil (CSO) is regarded as a nutritionally balanced oil, and is routinely used for food and cosmetics products. Autooxidation degrades oil storage quality and shortens the shelf life of oil products. In this research, crude CSO (c-CSO) from recently developed glandless cotton and commercially available refined CSO (r-CSO) from conventional glanded cotton were subjected to accelerated oxidation under storage at 60 °C in a convection oven for 45 days. Selective parameters (e.g., acid, peroxide, and anisidine values) and spectroscopic features (ultraviolet–visible absorptivity and Fourier transform infrared band intensity) were used to monitor the changes in the storage quality behaviors during the storage. The resulting data indicated that the specific values and the change trends of these parameters were not exactly the same between c-CSO and r-CSO. Generally, the c-CSO sample tended to show lower autooxidation degrees than r-CSO during storage. The content of tocopherol (a specific fat-soluble type of antioxidant compounds with a methylated phenolic ring) was 1016 and 23 mg kg−1, in the two oil samples, respectively. The decreasing trend of tocopherol content in c-CSO samples implied that the tocopherols played roles in slowing down c-CSO’s autoxidation process, thus increasing its shelf life. Information derived from this work would be helpful in the application of the new c-CSO as an effective antioxidant component in addition to conventional CSO’s nutrient values.