LAUSR

BACKGROUND Pumpkin seed and sunflower oil are rich in bioactive compounds, but are prone to oxidation during storage. Their fatty acids, carotenoid and volatile compounds and their FTIR profiles were studied during eight months storage in order to assess the overall quality, but also to assess the impact of the oleogelation as conditioning process. RESULTS The fatty acids methyl esters were analyzed by GC-MS. The linoleic acid was the most abundant in the oils (604.6 g kg ^-1 in pumpkin and 690 g kg ^-1 in sunflower), but also in oleogels. Through HPLC, Lutein and β-carotene were determined as specific carotenoid compounds of the pumpkin seed oil and oleogel, in a total amount of 0.0072 g kg^-1. The volatile compounds profile revealed the presence of alpha.-pinene for the pumpkin seed oil and oleogels and a tentative identification of Limonene for the sunflower oil. Hexanal was also detected in the oleogels, indicating a thermal oxidation, which was further analyzed through infrared spectroscopy. CONCLUSIONS During eight months storage, the decrease of PUFA total amount was 5.72% for the pumpkin seed oil and 3.55% for the oleogel, while in the sunflower oil samples of 2.93% and 3.28% for the oleogel. It was concluded that oleogelation might protect specific carotenoid compounds, since the oleogels displayed higher content of β-carotene at each storage time. Hexanal and heptanal were detected during storage, regardless of the oil or oleogel type. FTIR analysis depicts the differences in the constituent fatty acids resulting due to thermal oxidation or due to storage. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.