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International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research 2025, Vol 9(4) 338-353

Green Onion (Allium Cepa L.) Leaves As Natural Additive For Improving Vegetable Oil Quality In Canned Tuna

Marwa Medini • Leila Ben Haj Said • Imen Abcha • Sihem Bellagha
Cite this article
Article Type
Research article
Publication Date
December 17, 2025
Pages
338-353
DOI
10.29329/ijiaar.2025.1375.6

Abstract

Soybean oil is among the most popular vegetable oils, and is widely used in the food industry, in particular in canned tuna (CT). During processing, soybean oil oxidation induces changes that result in a lower quality. Thus, in this study, we aimed to enrich soybean oil (CT covering oil) using onion leaf powder (OLP) as source of natural antioxidants with potential health promoting effects. The OLP was dried under optimized conditions and added to soybean oil at four different doses (0%; 0.5%; 1%; 1.5% and 2%). All unenriched and enriched soybean oils were used as covering oil in CT which were sterilized at 115 °C and 1.3 bar for 75 min. Quality indices including color, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity (TEAC), fatty acid composition, and peroxide value (PV) of CT covering oil were carried out on different doses of added OLP as well as on the control sample. The obtained results showed that the addition of OLP in CT allowed the enhancement of the oil covering color that became close to that of extra virgin olive oil. In addition, our outcomes revealed that the addition of OLP improved soybean oil functional properties by significantly increasing of TPC, TFC and TEAC (P<0.05) of enriched soybean oil as compared to unenriched soybean oil. High values of TPC (0.65 mg GA/ g oil), TFC (2.07 mg GA/g oil) and TEAC (0.74 mg Trolox/ g oil) were recorded in oil enriched with 2% of OLP. Furthermore, the oils enriched with different doses of OLP had PV values in the range of Codex Standards. Remarkably, the addition of OLP in the CT covering oil led to an increase of polyunsaturated fatty acids contents, indicating the preventive effects of OLP against lipid oxidation of oil after heat treatment. The use of OLP, as a valuable by-product, seems to be an efficient nutraceutical food supplement for the improvement of nutritional quality and functional properties of CT.

Keywords: Covering oil Canned tuna Onion leaves Natural antioxidants Quality Lipid oxidation
Cite this article
Medini, M., Ben Haj Said, L., Abcha, I., & Bellagha, S. (2025). Green Onion (<em>Allium Cepa L</em>.) Leaves As Natural Additive For Improving Vegetable Oil Quality In Canned Tuna. International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research, 9(4), 338-353. https://doi.org/10.29329/ijiaar.2025.1375.6

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