Abstract:Sunflower seed decolorised oil is prone to producing trans fatty acids during high-temperature deodorisation, which reduced the oxidative stability of the oil. The effect of α-tocopherol (α-T) addition on the oxidation characteristics and fatty acid composition of sunflower decolorised oil, deodorised and deactivated ingredient was investigated, and the changing law of free radical signals during the oxidation of oils and fats was detected by electron spin resonance (ESR) technique. The results showed that the optimum addition of α-T was 1 000 mg/ kg, at which time the acid value (AV), peroxide value (POV ) and anisidine value ( p-AV ) were 0. 28 mg/ g, 3. 24 mmol/ kg and 86. 79, respectively, the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content was 67. 38% , and the trans fatty acids (TFA) content was 0. 39% . However, when α-tocopherol was added at 1 500 mg/ kg, its AV, POV and p-AV was increased to 0. 43 mg/ g, 5. 02 mmol/ kg and 173. 42, respectively, PUFA content was decreased to 65. 03% and TFA content was increased to 1. 84% . By ESR assay, it was found that the total number of spins was firstly decreased to 8. 12 × 1014 and then slightly increased with the increase of α-T addition. It indicated that α-T can inhibit the oxidation of fats and oils in the deodorised and deactivated sunflower decolourised oil system in moderate amounts, while the inhibition of oxidation was weakened after exceeding a certain amount. The research results can provide theoretical support for the moderate retention of natural antioxidants and quality control of vegetable oils and fats during processing.