The effect of consecutive steps of refining on squalene content of vegetable oils.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of refining steps on the squalene content of some vegetable oils. A comparison has been made between the crude oils and consecutive steps of refining process (neutralization, bleaching, deodorization, winterization) in the amounts of squalene of the oil samples. Among the oils, virgin and refined olive oils contained higher amounts of squalene. A mean of 491.0 ± 15.55 mg/100 g squalene was found in virgin olive oil samples. While appreciable quantities of squalene has been reduced during refining, considerable level of squalene were still present in refined olive oils (290.0 ± 9.89 mg/100 g). The squalene content of crude seed oils varied from 13.8 ± 0.39 mg/100 g to 26.2 ± 0.08 mg/100 g as average. It has been determined that refining process reduced the level of squalene in examined oils. The highest reduction in squalene content of the oils was detected during deodorization. The effect of refining steps on the amount of squalene in vegetable oils was found to be significant (p < 0.05). Olive oil has been considered an important source of squalene, even after it has been refined, compared to seed oils.