Changes in PAH and 3-MCPDE contents at the various stages of Camellia oleifera seed oil refining

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol ester (3-MCPDE) were studied in camellia oil. It is important to study the changes in the content of PAHs and 3-MCPDE at different refining stages (from crude oil to the final refined oil product) to elucidate the influence of the refining procedures on their change. Materials and methods The PAHs and 3-MCPDE in camellia oil from different refining stages (from crude oil to the product) of a plant were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and calculated by the internal standard method. Results The overall PAH content was (79.64±2.43) µg/kg in crude camellia oil. After refining treatment, the PAH content decreased to (18.75±0.55) µg/kg. The 3-MCPDE content increased during the refining process from 0 mg/kg in the crude oil to 4.62 mg/kg in the refined oil product. Conclusions This is the first study to simultaneously monitor changes in both PAH and 3-MCPDE contents during the production of camellia oil. These results confirmed the effectiveness of the refining method on PAH removal and the increase in 3-MCPDE at high temperature. It is suggested that novel processing methods or refining parameters need further optimization to decrease the overall concentrations of PAHs and 3-MCPDE in camellia oil.