Oxidation Stability of Peppermint Oil

Introduction

This Application Report describes the determination of the oxidation stability of peppermint oil with and without added antioxidant. The samples were tested with the RapidOxy 100 at different test temperatures: 100 °C, 120 °C and 140 °C. To have correlation data for comparing the results, the same samples were tested according to the well-established Rancimat method, EN 14112.

The rapid small scale oxidation tester, RapidOxy 100, is a fast, safe and user-friendly alternative to traditional stability test methods. The instrument measures the induction period, which can be used as an indication of the oxidation and storage stability. Compared to other oxidation and storage stability test methods, the RapidOxy 100 procedure requires only a small sample quantity to give exact test results in a short period of time.

The RapidOxy 100 artificially accelerates the oxidation process by using increased temperature and oxygen pressure. It is a rapid test method to determine oxidation stability without preliminary sample preparation. Until now peppermint oil samples were evaluated only by taste or smell. The RapidOxy 100 method is not dependent on sensory evaluation of a sample and gives reliable and unbiased results because the induction period is a well-defined value.