ARTICLE IN PRESS

JOURNAL OF
FOOD COMPOSITION
AND ANALYSIS
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211
www.elsevier.com/locate/jfca

Original Article

Physicochemical and quality characteristics of cold-pressed flaxseed oils

Wee-Sim Choo, John Birch, Jean-Pierre Dufour
Department of Food Science, University of Otago, New Zealand, Dunedin 9015, New Zealand
Received 24 March 2006; received in revised form 1 December 2006; accepted 15 December 2006

Abstract

Flaxseed oils currently sold on the worldwide market are not governed by specific standards or specifications. In this study, the
physicochemical and quality characteristics of seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils sold in New Zealand have been analyzed. General
regulations and specification for edible vegetable oils and cold-pressed oils were used as a guide. Fatty acid composition, tocopherol
composition, moisture and volatile matter content, free fatty acids, chlorophyll pigments, total phenolic acids, total flavanoids, acid
value, unsaponifiable matter, peroxide value, conjugated dienoic acids, p-anisidine value and specific extinction in the ultraviolet
spectrum of the flaxseed oils were measured. Color and dielectric measurement of the flaxseed oils were also estimated using a
spectrocolorimeter and a food oil sensor, respectively. The physicochemical characteristics of the flaxseed oils were found to be quite
similar with only a few significant variations. Four out of the seven flaxseed oils passed all the quality tests conducted in this study.
r 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Flaxseed oil; Omega-3 fatty acid; Alpha-linolenic acid; Oil quality; Food safety; Food quality

1. Introduction dietary recommendations, Deckere et al. (1998) reported

Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is an economically important
oilseed crop (Oomah, 2001; Lei et al., 2003) containing
about 40% oil in the seed. Flaxseed (also known as linseed)
is regaining its popularity from its traditional usage as a
raw material in oil production because of the reported
health benefits of n-3 fatty acids and its exceptionally high
content of the n-3 fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid (ALA).
According to Daun et al. (2003), flaxseed oil usually
contains greater than 50% of ALA. Supplements contain-
ing flaxseed oil, mostly in gelatin capsules, are being sold in
health food stores and marketed over the Internet. Cold-
pressed flaxseed oil is also commercially available in low-
and high-lignan forms in the North American market
(Morris and Vaisey-Genser, 2003). Consuming flaxseed oil
is one good way to increase the n-3 fatty acids in the diet as
most societies nowadays are known to generally consume
plenty of n-6 fatty acids in processed foods, margarine and
vegetable oils and the absolute amounts of n-3 fatty acids
in the diet are too low. With regard to n-3 fatty acids
Corresponding author. Tel.: +64 3 4797566; fax: +64 3 4797567.
E-mail address: john.birch@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (J. Birch).
that an intake of 2 g/day or 1% of energy of ALA appears
prudent whereas Simopoulos et al. (2000) reported
0.65 g/day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plus eicosa-
pentaenoic acid (EPA), and 2.22 g/day of ALA as the
adequate intake (AI) for adults. The AI is a value based on
experimentally derived intake levels or approximations of
observed mean nutrient intakes by a group (or groups) of
healthy people and this reference intake is used instead of
recommended dietary allowance if sufficient scientific
evidence is not available to calculate an estimated average
requirement (Simopoulos et al., 2000).
The high content of ALA in flaxseed oil is, however,
highly susceptible to oxidation, leading to rapid deteriora-
tion of quality. Lukaszewicz et al. (2004) reported that even
after cold extraction, to avoid rapid appearance of
rancidity, flaxseed oil is often supplemented with vitamin
E, stored in dark glass jars and may not be used for frying.
There is one standard that applies to conventional linseed
oil, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D
234-82 (1998), which covers the properties of raw linseed oil
and the applicable test method (Kolodziejczyk and Fedec,
1995). The International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) 5513-1982 ‘‘Linseed for the Manufacture of Oil’’

0889-1575/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2006.12.002
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211 203

Specification, which specifies flaxseed requirements for the
manufacture of oil for industrial use including foodstuffs
was withdrawn on 18 November 1994. As there is no specific
standard or specification available for the use of flaxseed oil
in the food sector, standard qualities and compositions of
other unrefined, edible vegetable oils were used as a guide.
Among the standards used were Codex Alimentarius
Commission (1999) standard for virgin oils and cold-pressed
fats and oils, New Zealand Food Regulation (1984)
specification for edible and virgin fats and oils, and
Australia New Zealand Food Authority (2000) for edible
oils. The objective of this research was to analyze the
physicochemical and quality characteristics of cold-pressed
flaxseed oils sold in New Zealand. Seven cold-pressed
flaxseed oils were available at the market at the time of
study and therefore were analyzed.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Details of the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils used are
given in Table 1. Basic quality parameters of the seeds used
in preparing the oils are to be free from pests, ergot,
poisonous seeds, mycotoxins, mould, mites and any
bacterial-related diseases, The minimum oil content of
the seed is 36%. Desirable moisture content and acid value
of the seed are below 8% and 2%, respectively. All the
chemicals and solvents used were of analytical or HPLC
grade.
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Fatty acid composition
Fatty acid composition was determined using gas
chromatography of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME).
FAME were prepared according to the method of van-
Wijngaarden (1967) with some modifications. Approxi-
mately, 20 mg of sample was weighed into a glass tube
(15.0 cm  1.3 cm with Teflon-lined screw cap) and 2 mL of
0.5 N methanolic sodium hydroxide was added. The
mixture was boiled for 20 min and then cooled to room
temperature. About 2 mL of diethyl ether and 5 mL of
water were added and mixed well by tilting the capped tube
with no shaking of the tube. The ether layer was then
discarded and the aqueous layer was acidified with

Table 1
The names of the flaxseed oils, together with their source, bottle volume, relative cost and remarks on their bottle labels

Flaxseed oil Abbreviated Source Bottle Cost/mL Organic Remarks on Storage instruction
name volume (cents)a certification label

Waihi Bush organic WB South 250 mL 5 Yes Not for cooking Once opened, keep
farm flaxseed oil Canterbury refrigerated. Once
opened use within 5
weeks. Can be frozen.
500 mL
Melrose organic MEL Bottled in 250 mL 8 Yes Do not heat Store under
flaxseed oil Australia from refrigeration. Use
imported within 8 weeks of
flaxseed oil opening. May be
frozen with confidence.
500 mL
b
Oil seed extractions OSELC Canterbury — None — If stored in unopened
limited flaxseed oil Plains containers at under 20
1C, this product can be
expected to have a
shelf life of 12 months.
b
Oil seed extractions OSELO Canterbury — Yes —
limited organic Plains
flaxseed Oil
Good health FO Canterbury 250 mL 6 Yes Not suitable for Keep refrigerated and
FlaxOmegaTM extra Plains heating use within 3 months of
virgin high lignan flax opening. Can be
oil frozen.
Essential body EBN Canterbury 250 mL 4 None Not suitable for Best kept refrigerated.
nutrition flaxseed oil Plains cooking
500 mL
Healtheries flaxseed oil HEA Packed in New 500 mL 4 None Not suitable for Store below 30 1C.
Zealand from heating
imported
flaxseed oil
a
Cost was calculated based on 500-mL price.
b
Oil seed extractions limited supply flaxseed oil in bulk.
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204 W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211
concentrated HCl. Acidity was checked using Litmus
paper. The aqueous layer was backwashed with a further
2 mL of diethyl ether and then transferred to a new Kimax
tube. About 1 mL of BF3-methanol reagent (BDH
Laboratory Supplies, Poole, England) was added and the
mixture was boiled for 20 min. About 5 mL of saturated
sodium chloride solution was then added. About 1 mL of
the upper (diethyl ether) layer was pipetted into a 2-mL
sample vial. This solution (FAME) was quantified on an
Agilent 6890N gas chromatograph, equipped with an
Agilent 7683 series autosampler (Agilent Technologies
Inc., Wilmington, DE, USA) and a flame ionization
detector. The FAME in diethyl ether (1 mL) was injected
into the column with a split ratio of 40:1. The injector and
detector temperature were set at 250 1C. Hydrogen was
used as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 2 mL/min.
Separation was carried out on a BPX70 capillary column
(50 m  330 mm, SGE International Pvt. Ltd., Victoria,
Australia) with a film thickness of 0.25 mm. The column
temperature was programmed from 35 to 205 1C at
2.5 1C/min and then to 230 1C at 10.0 1C/min and was held
at 230 1C for 20 min. The resultant data were processed by
a computer using HP Chemstation software (Hewlett
Packard, Agilent Technologies Inc., Wilmington, DE,
USA). Identification of fatty acids was carried out using
a reference standard mixture FAME Q005 (Nu-Check
Prep, Inc., Elysian, MN, USA) analyzed under the same
operating conditions as those employed for FAME of the
samples.
2.2.2. Moisture and volatile matter content
Moisture and volatile matter content of flaxseed oils
were determined according to A.O.C.S. Recommended
Practice Ca 2d-25 (AOCS, 1998).
2.2.3. Unsaponifiable matter
Unsaponifiable matter of the flaxseed oils was deter-
mined according to A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Ca
6a-40 (AOCS, 1998).
2.2.4. Free fatty acids
Free fatty acids of flaxseed oils were determined
according to A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Ca 5a-40
(AOCS, 1998).
2.2.5. Chlorophyll pigments
Chlorophyll pigments of flaxseed oils were determined
according to A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Cc 13i-96
(AOCS, 1998).
2.2.6. Total phenolic acids and flavanoids
Extraction of phenolic acids and flavanoids was carried
out according to the method of Vazquez Roncero et al.
(1973, cited in Gutfinger, 1981). Ten grams of oil was
dissolved in 50 mL hexane and the solution was extracted
successively with three 20-mL portions of 60% aqueous
methanol. The combined extracts were brought to dryness
in a vacuum rotary evaporator at 40 1C. The residue was
dissolved in 1 mL methanol and stored at 20 1C prior to
analysis. The spectrophotometric determination of flava-
noid content was carried out according to the method of
Oomah et al. (1996). About 1 mL of the methanolic extract
was diluted 3  with distilled water and absorption was
measured at 404 nm using an Ultraspec 3300 pro spectro-
photometer (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Uppsala,
Sweden) after the addition of 100 mL of 1% 2-amino-
ethyl-diphenylborate (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO,
USA) solution. Luteolin (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis,
MO, USA) served as a standard for preparing the
calibration curve ranging from 0 to 42 mg luteolin/3 mL
assay solution in 80% methanol. The concentration of total
phenolic acids was determined according to the method of
Gutfinger (1981). The procedure consisted of dilution of
0.1 mL of the methanolic extract with water to 5 mL in a
10-mL volumetric flask, and addition of 0.5 mL Folin-
Ciocalteau’s phenol reagent (2 N; Sigma Chemical Co.,
St. Louis, MO, USA). After 3 min, 1 mL of saturated
(ca. 35%) Na2CO3 solution was added. The contents were
mixed and diluted to volume with water. The extinction
was measured after 1 h at 725 nm against a reagent blank.
Ferulic acid (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO, USA)
served as a standard for preparing the calibration curve
ranging from 0 to 400 mg/mL assay solution.
2.2.7. Tocopherol composition
Tocopherol composition of the flaxseed oils was
determined using high performance liquid chromatography
according to A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Ce 8-89
(1998). Samples (10 mL) were analyzed by an HPLC system
consisting of a Varian 9010 solvent delivery system (Varian
Associates, Inc., Walnut Creek, CA, USA) with an injector
of 10 mL loop size, an SPD-M10AV diode array detector
(Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) set at 298 nm, and analyzing
software, Shimadzu Class-M10A. An analytical prepacked
column (4.6  250 mm2), SphereClone 5 mm Silica (Phe-
nomenex, Torrance, CA, USA) was used with propan-2-ol
in hexane (0.5:99.5, v/v) as the mobile phase. The system
was operated isocratically at a flow rate of 1 mL/min.
Typically, a 10-min equilibration period was used between
samples, requiring about 40 min/sample. Quantification
was based on an external standard method. Mixed
tocopherol standards in hexane solution (2 mg/mL), were
prepared from standard compounds: a-, g-, d-tocopherol
(Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) and rac-b-
tocopherol (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA). Qualitative
and quantitative determination of plastochromanol-8 was
carried out according to the method of Balz et al. (1992).
2.2.8. Color
Color of the flaxseed oils was determined using CIELab
color scales with a MiniScan XE spectrocolorimeter
(Hunterlab, Reston, VA, USA).
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W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211 205

2.2.9. Peroxide value 3. Results and discussion

Peroxide values of the flaxseed oils were determined
according to A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Cd 8-53
(AOCS, 1998).
2.2.10. Conjugated dienoic acids
Spectrophotometric determination of conjugated dienoic
acid of the flaxseed oils was determined according to
A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Ti 1a-64 (AOCS, 1998).
2.2.11. p-Anisidine value
p-Anisidine values of the flaxseed oils were determined
according to A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Cd 18-90
(AOCS, 1998).
2.2.12. Acid value
Acid values of flaxseed oils were determined according to
A.O.C.S. Recommended Practice Cd 3d-63 (AOCS, 1998).
2.2.13. Specific extinction in ultraviolet spectrum
Specific extinction of flaxseed oils at the wavelengths of
230 and 270 nm were determined according to IUPAC
method II.D.23 (IUPAC, 1979).
2.2.14. Dielectric measurement
Dielectric measurement of the flaxseed oils was carried
out with a food oil sensor (Northern Instruments
Corporation, Lino Lakes, MN, USA).
2.3. Statistical analysis
Data were interpreted by analysis of variance (ANOVA)
with Duncan’s multiple-range test using SAS software
package (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). The
statistical significance was evaluated at po0.05 level.
Table 2 shows a summary of the fatty acid composition,
percent of unsaturated fatty acids and ratios of n-3 to n-6
fatty acids of the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils. Fatty
acid analysis of 11 cultivars of flaxseed grown in North
Dakota, USA gave 45–52% ALA whereas the mean value
of ALA content of Western Canadian flaxseed based on
analysis of 495 samples was 59% (Bhatty, 1995). The ALA
content of New Zealand-grown flaxseed oils were quite
similar to that of oils from Canadian-grown flaxseed but
were higher than that of oils of US-grown flaxseed.
OSELC, FO and EBN had the highest levels of ALA
(58.87–60.42%) and lowest levels of oleic acid
(13.44–14.65%). These results agree with Bhatty (1995)
who reported that with an increase in ALA in flaxseed oil,
there was a corresponding decrease in oleic acid. HEA had
the lowest ALA and highest oleic contents at 51.80% and
22.21%, respectively, and these amounts were significantly
different (po0.05) from the other oils. This may be due to
a different flaxseed variety, origin and its corresponding
environmental variation.
Table 3 shows selected physicochemical characteristics of
the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils. Waxes, sterols and
hydrocarbons in oils are generally determined as unsapo-
nifiable matter (Stauffer, 1996). Water contributes to the
hydrolysis of oil during various handling and processing
steps, which generates free fatty acids and glycerol
products. Thus, it is desirable to have low moisture content
in oils. According to the Australia New Zealand Food
Authority (2000), edible oils may contain incidental
amounts of free fatty acids, unsaponifiable constituents
and other lipids.
Lipid oxidation is the main process leading to the
deterioration of edible oils, e.g. during production,
transportation and mainly storage (Hrncirik and Fritsche,

Table 2
Summary of fatty acid composition (% fatty acid), % unsaturated fatty acids and ratio of omega 3–6 fatty acids

Fatty acid WB MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA

C16:0 6.4770.06a 5.6770.07d 5.8170.24bc 5.9370.20b 5.7370.06cd 5.5270.14e 5.4870.09e

C16:1 0.0770.01cd 0.0970.01ab 0.0870.02cd 0.0970.02ab 0.0570.03d 0.0870.02ab 0.1070.01a
C17:0 0.0770.01ab 0.0770.00ab 0.0870.02ab 0.0770.02ab 0.0770.00ab 0.0670.00b 0.0670.00b
C18:0 2.8570.04c 3.8470.33a 3.2170.21b 4.0970.26a 2.2470.01d 3.3170.47b 3.9270.28a
C18:1 17.2270.16d 21.6670.14b 14.6570.13e 18.3270.08c 13.4470.09f 14.5470.21e 22.2170.89a
C18:2 15.4570.05d 15.3170.30de 15.9370.12b 15.1770.31e 17.4470.05a 15.6970.23c 15.7770.09bc
C18:3 57.2570.29b 54.1173.03c 59.6070.48a 56.4571.30b 60.4270.25a 58.8772.59a 51.8071.38d
C20:0 0.1570.01a 0.1670.04a 0.1670.01a 0.1770.03a 0.1370.01b 0.1570.02a 0.1670.01a
C20:1 0.1670.01b 0.1570.00c 0.1570.00c 0.1370.01e 0.1470.00d 0.1670.01bc 0.2070.02a
C20:2 0.0270.02bc 0.0470.02ab 0.0270.02bc 0.0170.02c 0.0270.02a 0.0670.02a 0.0570.04ab
C20:3 0.0670.00c 0.0570.01cd 0.0870.00ab 0.0670.01c 0.0970.00a 0.0770.03bc 0.0470.02d
C22:0 0.1470.00a 0.1470.01a 0.1370.01ab 0.1470.01a 0.1170.00b 0.1270.02ab 0.1370.02ab
C24:0 0.1070.01a 0.1070.01a 0.1070.01a 0.1070.01a 0.0870.01c 0.0870.02bc 0.0970.01ab

% Unsaturated fatty acids 90.2370.08cd 89.8470.11de 90.5070.49c 89.4670.06e 91.6170.11a 91.0070.31b 90.1470.42cd
Omega-3: omega 6 fatty acids 3.7070.03a 3.4770.02b 3.7470.03a 3.7270.01a 3.4770.02b 3.7270.14a 3.2870.10c

Values are means7standard deviations of five (n ¼ 5) measurements.

abcde
Values with different superscript letters within a row are significantly different at po0.05.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
206 W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211
Table 3
Physicochemical characteristics of flaxseed oils
WB MEL OSELC
Moisture and volatile 0.6570.03b 0.5170.04cd
matter content (%)
Unsaponifiable 0.3970.17b 0.7170.07a
matter (%)
Free fatty acids, as 0.2570.04e 0.4270.03d
oleic (%)
Chlorophyll 1.2670.01e 1.3770.01d
pigments content, as
mg of pheophytin a/
kg of oil
Total flavanoid, as 15.170.8de 25.670.4a
luteolin equivalents
(mg/100 g)
Total phenolic acids, 121.7719.9cd 87.2715.0d 218.1732.3b
as ferulic acid
equivalents (mg/
100 g)
Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.
abcdef
Values with different superscript letters within a row are significantly different at po0.05.
2005). The oxidation of oils and particularly polyunsatu-
rated vegetable oil such as flaxseed oil may be accelerated
by exposure to light. Photooxidation provides an impor-
tant way to produce hydroperoxides from unsaturated
fatty acids and esters in the presence of oxygen, light
energy and a photosensitizer. Chlorophyll pigments in oil
can initiate photosensitized oxidation (Frankel, 2005). FO,
a high lignan cold-pressed flaxseed oil has the highest
chlorophyll pigment content among all oils. This may be
due to the addition of 2% lignan particulates within the
flaxseed back into the cold-pressed oil. According to
Wiesenborn et al. (2003), lignan occurs mainly in the hull
of flaxseed. However, the chlorophyll pigment contents of
the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils were much higher than
those in fully refined soybean and canola oils but lower
than that found in crude pressed canola oils as reported by
Usuki et al. (1984) and Endo et al. (1992).
Flavanoids are a group of natural benzo-g-pyrane
derivatives ubiquitous in the plant kingdom, and exert
multiple biological effects including antioxidative activity
(Pekkarinen et al., 1999). Flavanoids have been reported by
Nieto et al. (1993) and Hudson and Lewis (1983) to have
the potential to function as antioxidants in food lipid
systems. The total flavanoid contents in the seven cold-
pressed flaxseed oils are lower than those found in whole
flaxseeds. This is due to the hydrophilic nature of
flavanoids, they are not effectively extracted with the oil.
Total flavanoid content of flaxseeds as reported by Oomah
et al. (1996) ranged from 30.2 to 83.5 mg/100 g. MEL and
OSELC had the highest flavanoid contents among the
flaxseed oils.
The phenolic acid family is composed of the cinnamic
(C6–C3) and the benzoic (C6–C1) acid derivatives, char-
acterized by containing a benzene ring substituted with one
or more hydroxyl or methoxy groups and a carboxylic
OSELO FO EBN HEA
1.0370.06a 0.7170.02b 0.4570.04d 0.5470.03c 1.0870.04a
0.5770.18ab 0.4470.14ab 0.4170.05ab 0.3970.12ab 0.5870.15ab
0.8170.05b 0.3070.07e 0.6070.08c 0.4470.05d 0.9870.06a
0.8070.02g 1.9570.02c 5.7670.02a 0.8770.01f 3.7270.01b
22.272.7ab 12.771.8e 14.172.0de 19.873.2bc 16.971.8cd
76.8711.2d 148.4725.0c 140.9713.4c 307.3741.5a
group (Larson, 1997). Phenolic acids are natural hydrophilic
antioxidants, which occur ubiquitously in fruits, vegetables,
spices and aromatic herbs (Silva et al., 2000). The total
phenolic acids content of flaxseed meal on a dry-weight
basis, as reported by Wanasundara and Shahidi (1994)
ranges from about 130 to 220 mg/100 g, as ferulic acid
equivalents. Both MEL and OSELO were at the lower end
of total phenolic acids content (76.8–87.2 mg/100 g) whereas
HEA showed the highest total phenolic acids content at
307.3 mg/100 g of oil, being almost four times higher than
MEL and OSELO.
Table 4 shows the tocopherol and plastochromanol-8
content of the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils. Tocopherols
and plastochromanol-8 are natural lipophilic antioxidants
found in vegetable oils. OSELO has the highest total
tocopherol plus plastochromanol-8 content among all the
oils. Both HEA and MEL were at the lower end of the total
tocopherol plus plastochromanol-8 content. a-tocopherol
was found at relatively low concentrations in most of the
cold-pressed flaxseed oils, which varied between 0.00 and
0.55 mg/100 g of oil, except for OSELO which showed
an exceptionally high concentration of a-tocopherol
(9.11 mg/100 g of oil) compared to the other oils. The
major tocopherol in the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils
was in the g form. g-Tocopherol was the only tocopherol
found in WB and EBN and constituted 95.39–95.93% of
the total tocopherols in the other flaxseed oils with the
exception of OSELO (55.15% of the total tocopherols).
The b- and d-tocopherol were not detected in the seven
cold-pressed flaxseed oils. As far as the authors are aware,
there is no report available on the occurrence of b-
tocopherol in flaxseed or flaxseed oil. Oomah et al. (1997)
reported the presence of d-tocopherol in flaxseed but
at very low levels (0.17–0.30 mg/100 g of seed) and
Velasco and Goffman (2000) reported the occurrence of
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W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211 207

Table 4
Tocopherol and plastochromanol-8 content of flaxseed oils (mg/100 g of oil)

a-Tocopherol g-Tocopherol Plastochromanol-8 Total tocopherols+plastochromanol-8

WB 0.00c 15.0070.17a 3.4870.14c 18.4870.31b

MEL 0.5170.19b 10.5670.83e 4.2870.49b 15.3571.51c
OSELC 0.5470.17b 12.8570.42bc 4.6770.26b 18.0770.85b
OSELO 9.1170.30a 11.2170.79de 4.1570.15b 24.4771.24b
FO 0.5570.14b 12.0771.01bcd 5.5370.26a 18.1571.41b
EBN 0.0070.00c 13.2970.60b 3.4270.64c 16.7171.25bc
HEA 0.5070.16b 11.9470.54cd 3.3770.37c 15.8171.07c

Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.

abc
Values with different superscript letters within a column indicate significant difference at po0.05.

Table 5
CIELAB L* a* b* value# of flaxseed oils

L* a* b*

WB 63.2470.01c 6.2370.02d 99.6870.27a

MEL 63.3970.01b 3.2870.01g 91.0870.22e
OSELC 63.7170.01a 4.5570.02f 94.8070.15d
OSELO 62.4870.01d 6.1370.02e 97.9970.15b
FO 60.8570.02f 7.6370.03b 96.8070.08c
EBN 62.3670.04e 7.5470.04c 99.8070.18a
HEA 60.0570.01g 9.5670.02a 97.7470.15b
#
L* designates the lightness of the sample, 100 ¼ white, 0 ¼ black; a* indicates redness when positive, greenness when negative; b* indicates yellowness
when positive, blueness when negative.
Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.
abcdefg
Values with different superscript letters within a column indicate significant difference at po0.05.

d-tocopherol at 0.0–0.3 mg/100 g of seed in 288 accessions
of the genus Linum. The plastochromanol-8 content found
in the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils was in accordance
with the reported values (1.7–5.4 mg/100 g of seed) of
Velasco and Goffman (2000) but lower than that (22.3 mg/
100 g) of linseed oil reported by Olejnik et al. (1997). These
differences may be due to the differences in the variety and
origin of the investigated samples. Olejnik et al. (1997) also
investigated the antioxidative properties of plastochroma-
nol-8 and found that it was a better natural antioxidant
than a-tocopherol in inhibiting the autoxidation of a model
system in which lard was the substrate. Table 5 shows the
CIELAB L* a* b* color values of the seven cold-pressed
flaxseed oils. Significant differences were found between
the L*, a* and b* values of the oils (po0.05). There are
no color standards for cold-pressed flaxseed oils and the
L* a* b* measurements could thus be used for color
classification.
Figs. 1–7 show the quality characteristics of the seven
cold-pressed flaxseed oils. Although the age of the oil is an
important factor for monitoring the quality of the oil, it is
not known here and could not be used for comparison. The
peroxide values of all the cold-pressed flaxseed oils were
well within the limit of up to 10 milliequivalents peroxide/
kg of oil and 15 milliequivalents peroxide/kg of oil under
the New Zealand Food Regulations (1984) for edible fats
and oils, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (1999)
standard for virgin oils and cold-pressed fats and oils,
respectively (Fig. 1). The peroxide value of oil is an
empirical measure of oxidation that is useful for samples
that are oxidized to relatively low levels (peroxide values of
less than 50), and under conditions sufficiently mild so that
hydroperoxides are not markedly decomposed. During
autoxidation, the peroxide value of oil reaches a maximum
followed by a decrease at more advanced stages varying
according to the fatty acid composition of the oil and the
conditions of oxidation (Frankel, 2005).
The p-anisidine test provides useful information on non-
volatile carbonyl compounds formed in oils during
processing and is often used to detect secondary oxidation
products. Good quality oil should have a p-anisidine value
of less than two (Subramanian et al., 2000). The p-anisidine
values of the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils varied
between 0.36 and 0.74 with MEL, OSELO and FO at the
higher end (Fig. 2). The Totox value (anisidine value+2 
peroxide value) is used as an empirical measure of the
precursor non-volatile carbonyls present in processed oils
plus any further oxidation products developed after
storage. Good-quality oil should have a Totox value of
less than four (Frankel, 2005). Fig. 3 shows that MEL, FO
and HEA have exceeded the Totox value for good-quality
oil. All the other flaxseed oils, however, have Totox values
less than three. These Totox value results were largely
derived from the peroxide values and suggest that MEL,
FO and HEA might undergo further oxidative degradation
upon storage.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
208 W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211

18.00

15.00

Peroxide value (milliequivalent

12.00

peroxide/kg sample)
9.00

6.00

3.00

0.00
WB MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA
Flaxseed oils
New Zealand Food Regulations (1984)
Codex Alimentarius Commission (1999)
maximum thresholds

Fig. 1. Peroxide values of flaxseed oils. Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.

2.00

1.60
p-anisidine value (unit)

1.20

0.80

0.40

0.00
WB MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA
Flaxseed oils
Maximum threshold for p-anisidine
value by Subramanian et al. (2000)

Fig. 2. p-Anisidine values of flaxseed oils. Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.

7.00

6.00

5.00
Totox value (unit)

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
WB MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA
Flaxseed oils
Maximum threshold for Totox value
by Frankel (2005)

Fig. 3. Totox values of flaxseed oils. Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.
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W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211 209

0.18

0.15

% conjugated dienoic acid

0.12

0.09

0.06

0.03

0.00
WB MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA
Flaxseed oils

Fig. 4. Conjugated dienoic acids of flaxseed oils. Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements. Note: Standard deviation of
percent conjugated dienoic acid of FO is zero.

2.8

2.4
Specific extinction (unit)

2.0

1.6

1.2

0.8

0.4

0.0
WB MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA
Flaxseed oils
232nm 270nm

Fig. 5. Specific extinction at 232 and 270 nm of flaxseed oils. Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements. Note: Standard
deviation of specific extinction at 232nm of HEA is zero.

4.50
Acid value (mg KOH / g of sample)

4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
WB MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA
Flaxseed oils

New Zealand Food Regulation (1984) & Codex

Alimentarius Commission (1999) maximum thresholds

Fig. 6. Acid values of flaxseed oils. Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.

210 W.-S. Choo et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 (2007) 202–211
5.00
Food oil sensor readings (unit)
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
WB
Fig. 7. Food oil sensor readings of flaxseed oils. Values are means7standard deviations of three (n ¼ 3) measurements.
The conjugated diene hydroperoxides produced from
polyunsaturated lipids can be determined quantitatively by
their strong absorption maximum at 234 nm and their
measurement is a sensitive method to follow the early
stages of lipid oxidation under conditions in which
hydroperoxides undergo little or no decomposition
(Frankel, 2005). Fig. 4 shows the percent of conjugated
dienoic acids of the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils. These
results were in accordance with the percent of conjugated
dienes (0.08–0.16%) found by Zheng et al. (2003) for
organic oil obtained from screw pressing of whole and
dehulled flaxseed.
The specific extinction at 232 and 270 nm of the seven
cold-pressed flaxseed oils is shown in Fig. 5. The results of
this test compare well with the peroxide values and percent
of conjugated dienoic acid. These were also in accordance
with Reed et al. (2001) who reported that peroxide values
were more likely to be under the threshold value than UV
absorbances. Fig. 6 shows that the acid values of the seven
cold-pressed flaxseed oils were well within the limit of
4.0 mg KOH/g of oil under the New Zealand Food
Regulation (1984) for virgin fats and oils, and Codex
Alimentarius Commission (1999) for virgin oils and cold-
pressed fats and oils. These acid value measurements
correlated well with the free fatty acid measurements
shown in Table 3.
Dielectric measurements were undertaken with a food oil
sensor which was calibrated with a reference oil 0.00 from
the manufacturer. The dielectric measurement changes
along with the quantity of polar components in each oil.
Increasing quantity of polar components indicates the
decreasing quality of the oil. According to Melton et al.
(1994), total polar components in fresh unused oil includes
sterols, tocopherols, mono-and diglycerides, free fatty acids
and other oil-soluble components that are more polar than
triglycerides. The limit to discard oil using the food oil
sensor is 4.30 (Gertz, 2000). Fig. 7 shows that the FOS
readings of the seven cold-pressed flaxseed oils did not
exceed this limit. Based on the fact that the seven cold-
ARTICLE IN PRESS
MEL OSELC OSELO FO EBN HEA
Flaxseed oils
Limit to discard the oil by
Gertz (2000)
pressed flaxseed oils were oils that have not undergone any
heat treatment, the FOS readings obtained were considered
relatively high and this was due to calibration of the food
oil sensor using the reference oil given by the manufacturer.
Gertz (2000) reported that FOS readings are strongly
influenced by the type of oil and traces of salts, water and
minerals in the oil. Middle- and long-chain fats and oils
were found to have higher FOS readings.
4. Conclusions
The results of this study showed that the seven cold-
pressed flaxseed oils sold in New Zealand were quite similar
in their physicochemical characteristics, with only a few
significant variations. WB, OSELC, OSELO and EBN
passed all the quality tests according to the limit or
maximum threshold of the above-mentioned regulations
and literature. The characteristics of each flaxseed oil in
terms of its fatty acid composition, chlorophyll pigments,
tocopherol and plastochromanol-8 contents may play
significant and/or synergistic roles in the quality of the
oil. Total phenolic acids and flavanoids of the flaxseed oils
appear not to have much influence on the quality of the
oils, probably due to their hydrophilic nature. It should be
noted that the influence of processing, packaging and age
of the oils were not able to be taken into considerations on
the quality of the oils. Noting the increasingly popularity of
flaxseed oil as a source on n-3 fatty acids, this study present
a view of the characteristic and quality of cold-pressed
flaxseed oils in New Zealand and could also serve as a
starting point for developing quality standards since there
are no specifications available for flaxseed oil.
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