ABSTRACT
The tocopherols affect many stages of the autoxidation process in fish oils, including the formation of hydroperoxides, the decomposition of hydroperoxides, the formation of nonvolatile secondary oxidation products, as well as the composition of the volatile secondary oxidation products formed. The number of methyl groups on the chroman ring of the tocopherols has a remarkable effect on their antioxidant properties in fish oil. The results obtained in oxidation tests addressing these different aspects of lipid autoxidation can be related to the relative hydrogen-donating ability of the tocopherols, which decreases in the order of α-TOH > γ-TOH > δTOH.
