Tocopherols content in edible oils sold in Mysore city

On surveying the market of Mysore city, 11
different types of edible oils were available for sale
which included crude oils, refined oils and blended
oils. Nineteen samples of oil produced from
groundnuts, soybeans, sunflower seed, palm fruit,
mustard, olive, coconuts, rice bran, sesame
(gingelley) and safflower seed along with 5 blended
oils (2 commercial and 3 laboratory preparations)
were analyzed for their physico-chemical properties
like colour, free fatty acids value (FFA) peroxide
value(PV) and tocopherols content. Colour, FFA and
PV were found to be higher in crude oils than the
refined oils. Among the oils analyzed, crude palm oil
was found to be the richest (260 mg %) and coconut
oil was found to be the poorest source (10 mg%) of
tocopherols. However, on blending coconut oil with
sesame oil, the tocopherol content could be increased
appreciably in the blend. Thus, blending can be used
as a means for the enrichment of tocopherol content.