Abstract
Tert‐butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) has been widely used in oils and oleaginous foods as powerful antioxidants, and TBHQ can be easily converted to tert‐butylquinone (TQ) at room temperature. In this work, the changes in TBHQ and TQ contents in lard and soybean oil during storage are investigated in detail. Results show TBHQ content decreases gradually during storage as the TQ content increases in both lard and soybean oil at room temperature. Moreover, the decrement in TBHQ is much larger than the increment in TQ, and the difference increase over storage time. This suggests that TBHQ is transformed into other compounds in addition to TQ. To identify these compounds, lard containing 200 mg kg−1 of TBHQ stored for 150 days is extracted by methanol. Prep‐LC is used to purify the transformation products of TBHQ during storage. The products are identified as 2‐methylallyl‐hydroquinon and 2‐(2‐methoxy‐2‐methylpropyl)‐hydroquinone by LC/MS and NMR. The transformation mechanism of these products is also proposed.Practical Applications: TBHQ is very prone to transformation due to its strong antioxidant activity. However, the transformation products of TBHQ in fats and oils may have an adverse effect on the shelf‐life and safety of lipid rich products. Moreover, the accuracy of TBHQ quantitative detection is also affected. The contents change of TBHQ, TQ, and other transformation products in lard and soybean oil containing 200 mg kg−1 TBHQ are investigated at room temperature. Apart from TQ, other transformation products of TBHQ are purified and identified. This work enriches the research on the transformation mechanism and products of TBHQ in lipid systems at room temperature. It provides better understanding on the safety and detection accuracy of TBHQ as well.Lard and soybean oil containing 200 mg kg−1 tert‐butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) are stored for 150 days at room temperature. TBHQ and the transformation products of TBHQ are extracted by methanol and detected by NP‐HPLC. To identify the transformation products of TBHQ, Prep‐LC is used to isolate and purify the transformation products of TBHQ during storage. The products are identified as 2‐methylallyl‐hydroquinon and 2‐(2‐methoxy‐2‐methylpropyl)‐hydroquinone by LC‐MS and NMR. The transformation mechanism of these products is also proposed.
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