ABSTRACT
The antioxidant interactions between α-tocopherol and myricetin in stripped soybean oil-in-water emulsions at pH 4.0 and pH 7.0 were analyzed. At pH 7.0, α-tocopherol (α-TOC):myricetin (MYR) ratios of 2:1 and 1:1 yielded interaction indices of 3.00 and 3.63 for lipid hydroperoxides and 2.44 and 3.00 for hexanal formation, indicating synergism. Myricetin's ability to regenerate oxidized α-tocopherol and slow its degradation was identified as the synergism mechanism. Antagonism was observed at pH 4.0 due to high ferric-reducing activity of myricetin in acidic environment. The interaction between α-tocopherol and taxifolin (TAX) was also investigated due to structural similarities of myricetin and taxifolin. α-Tocopherol and taxifolin combinations exhibited antagonism at both pH 4.0 and pH 7.0. This was associated with taxifolin's inability to recycle α-tocopherol while still increasing the prooxidant activity of iron. The combination of α-tocopherol and myricetin was found to be an excellent antioxidant strategy for oil-in-water emulsions at pH values near neutrality.