Impact of Hydrophobicity on Antioxidant Efficacy in Low-Moisture Food

The polarity and partitioning of antioxidants (AOX) in lipid dispersions and bulk oils have a large impact on efficacy, but this has not yet been studied in low-moisture foods. Using a homologous series of rosmarinic esters as AOX in crackers, we determined that efficacy increases with increasing hydrophobicity based on lipid hydroperoxide and hexanal generation. Confocal microscopy was used to determine the location of both lipids and AOX. Hydrophobic rosmarinic esters partitioned more closely with the lipid than rosmarinic acid, presumably placing the hydrophobic AOX at the site of oxidation reactions. Partitioning and efficacy of the intermediate polarity ester were affected by mode of incorporation (e.g., added to the water or to the lipid prior to dough formation). The synthetic AOXs propyl gallate, butylhydroxytoluene, and tert-butylhydroquinone gave similar results with the more hydrophobic BHT and TBHQ being more effective at reducing lipid hydroperoxide and hexanal generation than the more hydrophilic propyl gallate. These results provide important information on which AOX would be most effective in low-moisture foods.