Evaluation of Oxidation and Quality Parameters of Babassu Oil by Medium Infrared Spectroscopy with Fourier Transform (FTIR) and Multivariate Calibration

Babassu oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the babassu palm and widely used in the feeding of the population located in the regions of the babassu. Besides of the food industry this oil has great application in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. It belongs to the group of lauric oils, as well as palm oil, which gives it a greater resistance to oxidation. In the present work, Infrared Spectroscopy with Fourier Transform (ATR-FTIR) was used in the babassu oil oxidation study. The oxidative degradation of the oil at 100 degrees C was monitored through peroxide and acidity indexes. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) facilitated the visualization and interpretation of the changes that occurred during the oxidation process. Calibration models for the prediction of peroxide and acidity indexes were established using the partial least squares regression (PLS) method. The constructed models presented determination index and RMSEP for peroxide and acidity values equal to 0.94 / 7.85 (meq O-2 / kg) and 0.95 / 0.17 %, respectively. Thus, FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometric methods can serve as an important tool for determination of peroxide and acidity indexes in babassu oil.