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Thermal analysis and antioxidant activity of oil extracted from pulp of ripe
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DOI: 10.1007/s10973-017-6488-9

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Thermal analysis and antioxidant activity
of oil extracted from pulp of ripe avocados

Oscar Forero-Doria, Marcos Flores

García, Claudia E. Vergara & Luis
Guzman

Journal of Thermal Analysis and

Calorimetry
An International Forum for Thermal
Studies

ISSN 1388-6150

J Therm Anal Calorim

DOI 10.1007/s10973-017-6488-9

1 23
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1 23
 Author's personal copy
J Therm Anal Calorim
DOI 10.1007/s10973-017-6488-9

Thermal analysis and antioxidant activity of oil extracted

from pulp of ripe avocados
Oscar Forero-Doria1 • Marcos Flores Garcı́a2 • Claudia E. Vergara2 •

Luis Guzman3

Received: 20 January 2017 / Accepted: 21 May 2017

! Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2017

Abstract Avocado oil has attracted a growing interest in
human nutrition and cosmetic or pharmaceutical industry;
the lipid content composed mainly monounsaturated fatty
acids and can exert many cardiovascular benefits and also
other important functions as the prevention of cancer. Chile
is one of the leading producers of avocado oil, although its
production volume is small compared to other oils. Due to
the importance of this oil, the oxidative stability and the
relationship between the antioxidant capacity and its pro-
tection against the induced thermal oxidation were evalu-
ated, considering their different fatty acid composition and
the total phenolic content. The results showed a high
content of monounsaturated fatty acid with a percentage of
69.4%, and the amount of polyunsaturated and saturated
fatty acids was 16.6 and 14%, respectively. The TG and
DTG curves in the temperature range of 200–600 "C
showed a thermal oxidative decomposition process with
five consecutive and simultaneous steps of mass loss of
avocado oil, remaining thermally stable up to 176 "C. The
avocado oil has a lower concentration of phenolic com-
pounds than olive oil; nevertheless, the antioxidant activity
& Oscar Forero-Doria
oforero@utalca.cl
& Luis Guzman
lguzman@utalca.cl
1
Instituto de Quı́mica de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de
Talca, Talca, Maule, Chile
2
Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias,
Universidad Santo Tomás, Avda. Carlos Schorr 255, Talca,
Chile
3 [6], where its concentration reaches up to 70–85% of the
Departamento de Bioquı́mica Clı́nica e Inmunohematologı́a,
Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Talca,
Talca, Maule, Chile
was not so different, making a difference the presence of
tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol in the olive oil. This study
shows the high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and
a good thermal stability, which correlate with the antioxi-
dant capacity of the avocado oil, making this oil a good
alternative for human nutrition or for cosmetic purposes.
Keywords Avocado oil ! Thermal behavior ! Antioxidant
property ! Thermal decomposition
Introduction
Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a native fruit from
Mexico and Guatemala with high-quality oil content. Due
to the antioxidant properties of some components of the
fruit and the increasing interest in foods for healthy eating,
it has been used in human nutrition and cosmetic or
pharmaceutical industries [1, 2].
Avocado fruit has a lipid content represented mainly by
monounsaturated fatty acids, which can deliver important
health benefits such as preventing cancer and cardiovas-
cular diseases; the avocado oil has a high concentration of
components in the unsaponifiable fraction such as phytos-
terols and policosanols that can decrease the low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in blood [3, 4]. It is well
known that fatty acids profile present in the lipid fraction of
the fruit depends on the adaptation to the environment;
therefore, the origin of the fruit is an important parameter
to consider when assessing the fatty acid composition in
the oil [5]. Avocados grown in cooler climates present a
higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)
total fatty acid [7].

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 Author's personal copy
Chile is one of the leading producers of avocado oil
worldwide, next to New Zealand, Mexico, the USA and
South Africa, although its production volume is small
compared to other oils. Although the avocado oil is mar-
keted since some years, there is limited information on the
product [8]. A few studies have been conducted on the
chemical characterization of commercial avocado oil pro-
duced in Chile and marketed as extra-virgin quality [4].
The extra-virgin quality avocado oil is extracted by
pressing or cold centrifugation from the pulp of ripe avo-
cados [9], has a chemical composition very similar to olive
oil when both fatty acid profiles are compared, but has
higher levels of vitamin E, beta-sitosterol, chlorophyll and
other components of the unsaponifiable fraction with bio-
logical activity [10]. Furthermore, due to the high con-
centration of oleic acid present in the avocado oil, there is
an increased incorporation of omega-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids into the cell membranes, which decreases the
possibility that the LDL-C it oxidizes, producing beneficial
effects on health, such as reducing cardiovascular
disease [11, 12].
The previously mentioned substances have been studied
in the literature with the aim of preventing and controlling
dyslipidemias, because they may play an important func-
tion in their treatment [13–15]. De Souza Abboud et al.
[13] studied the action of avocado oil on the lipid profile of
Wistar rats subjected to prolonged androgenic stimulus,
showing that the oil had a direct regulatory effect on the
lipid profile, acting effectively in animals. Ortiz-Avila et al.
[12] demonstrated that avocado oil decreased the oxidative
stress and lipid peroxidation in mitochondria of diabetic-
induced rats, with an amelioration of the hyperlipidemia.
In the frying process, the oils are heated to high tem-
peratures, which lead to degradation and oxidation of some
of their components, producing harmful species to health.
Because of this, it is very important to study the thermo-
oxidative stability of oils to observe the deterioration that
occurs in the composition of their protective compounds
when the oil is subjected to high temperatures. The
degradation process depends on the used oil and can be
observed by the formation of primary and secondary oxi-
dation compounds under different degradation conditions.
The prevention of the thermo-oxidative degradation of the
phenolic compounds present in the oil is very important
due to their antioxidant activity. Avocado oil possesses
sterols and polyphenols, which help to higher oxidative
protection in these processes.
In this work, the oxidative stability of Chilean avocado
oil was studied and compared with extra-virgin olive oil
because it has better thermal stability than other veg-
etable oils. In addition, the relationship between the
antioxidant capacity of the oil and its protection against the
induced thermal oxidation was evaluated considering their
123
O. Forero-Doria et al.
different fatty acid composition and the total phenolic
content.
Experimental
Chemical and reagents
Methanol and hexane were obtained from Arquimed
(Santiago, Chile), whereas gallic acid, Folin–Ciocalteu
reagent, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were
purchased from Sigma–Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA).
Other reagents were of analytical grade.
Vegetable oils
Avocado oil was obtained from the pulp of ripe avocados
(Hass variety) from the Aconcagua Valley in Chile. Dried
pulps were pressed at 22 ± 2 !C, and crude oil was filtered
with filter paper (Whatman No. 1) under vacuum [16]. An
extra-virgin olive oil from de Maule Region, Chile, was
obtained from the local market and used as reference oil.
Fatty acid determination
The fatty acid composition was obtained according to
Ourrach et al. [17]. Briefly, the oil samples were analyzed
by gas chromatography fitted with FID detection, and
previous preparation of the fatty acid methyl ester deriva-
tives. A Hewlett Packard model 5890 series II gas chro-
matograph equipped with a split/splitless injector and
autosampler, and coupled to a computerized Chroncard
system for data acquisition was used. It was fitted with a
capillary column SP-2380 capillary column (30 m length,
0.25 mm i.d., 0.20 lm film thickness). The carrier gas was
hydrogen at a flow rate of 1 mL min-1. The temperatures
of the injector and detector were held at 220 and 250 !C,
respectively. The initial oven temperature was 180 !C, and
a gradient temperature from 180 to 220 !C at 3 !C min-1
was applied; the injection volume was 1 lL.
Thermal analysis
Oil analysis was performed in a thermogravimetric ana-
lyzer TGA-Q500 by TA instruments, with 5 !C min-1
constant heating rate. The heating was from room tem-
perature to 700 !C in air, as a reactive gas, with a mass
flow of 60 mL min-1. Also, 40 mL min-1 of N2 was used
as protection gas into the electronic balance; around 10 mg
of the oil was placed into a Pt crucible for each analysis.
After the TG/DTG curve analyses, the most suit-
able temperatures were selected to follow the process of oil
degradation. These temperatures were: room temperature
 Author's personal copy
Thermal analysis and antioxidant activity of oil extracted from pulp of ripe avocados
(T25 !C), an intermediate temperature between room
temperature and the start of degradation (Tint), the initial
degradation temperature (T0), the temperature corre-
sponding to 5% degradation (T5%) and the temperature
corresponding to 10% degradation (T10%) [18].
Heating of oils
The oils (2 mL 9 sample) were added in a 5-mL beaker
and then were placed in a hot plaque with a thermometer
to control the temperature. Each sample was subjected to
different heating temperatures (25, 100, 180, 222 and
290 !C) with a heating rate of 3 !C min-1 and main-
tained at each temperature of study for 15 min. The
determination of the total phenolic content and the
antioxidant activity of the oils was performed for each
selected temperature.
Total phenolic content (TPC)
The TPC of the hydro-alcoholic (1:1, v/v) fraction of the
oils was determined according to the Folin–Ciocalteu
method [19]. Briefly, 20 lL of the different oils or
standard (gallic acid) was mixed with 1.58 mL of dis-
tilled water and 100 lL of Folin–Ciocalteu reagent. The
reaction mixture was preincubated for 8 min, and then
300 lL of sodium carbonate 20% was added. Finally,
each tube was incubated for 2 h at room temperature,
and the absorbance was obtained in a spectrophotometer
(Thermo Spectronic Genesys 10 UV) at a wavelength of
765 nm. The total phenolic content was expressed as
gallic acid equivalent (GAE) in milligrams per L of oil
(mg GAE L-1 of oil).
Total flavonoid content (TFC)
The flavonoid content was spectrophotometrically
determined according to Jia et al. [20], based on the
formation of a flavonoid–aluminum complex. Briefly,
200 lL of each hydro-alcoholic (1:1, v/v) fraction of the
oils at every set temperature or standard (quercetin
diluted in the same hydro-alcoholic solution) was mixed
with 800 lL of distilled water and 60 lL of sodium
nitrate 5% (NaNO3, 5%). After 6 min of incubation,
60 lL of aluminum chloride 10% (AlCl3, 10%) was
added and incubated for 6 min. Finally, 400 lL of a
solution of sodium hydroxide 4% (NaOH, 4%) was
added. Each tube was incubated for 15 min at room
temperature, and the absorbance was obtained in a
spectrophotometer (Thermo Spectronic Genesys 10 UV)
at a wavelength of 510 nm. The total flavonoid content
was expressed as quercetin equivalent (QE) in mil-
ligrams per L of oil (mg QE L-1 of oil).
Determination of antioxidant activity
Free radical scavenging assay (DPPH)
The scavenging activity of the hydro-alcoholic (1:1, v/v)
fraction of the oils was estimated using DPPH as the free
radical model according to the method adapted from
Brand-Williams et al. [21] and Molyneux [22]. Briefly, an
aliquot of 75 lL of different oils and control (80%
methanol), respectively, were mixed with 150 lL of
DPPH. The mixture was shaken vigorously and left to
stand at room temperature for 30 min, in the absence of
light. The mixture was measured spectrophotometrically at
515 nm. The free radical scavenging activity was calcu-
lated as percentage of DPPH decoloration using the fol-
lowing equation:
%Scavenging DPPH free radical
¼ 100 " ð1 # AE=ADÞ;
where AE is the absorbance of the solution after adding the
extract or fraction and AD is the absorbance of the blank
DPPH solution. Quercetin was used as reference
compound.
Lipoperoxidation assay
The lipoperoxidation was measured by the thiobarbituric
acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay; for that, 0.5 mL
of the different oils and 2 mL of thiobarbituric acid/tri-
chloroacetic acid/hydrochloric acid (TBA/TCA/HCl) were
added to the reaction tubes and vortexed immediately after
combining. Then, the samples were centrifuged at
3500 rpm for 5 min, and the supernatant (2 mL) was
boiled at 90 !C for 15 min. The absorbance was recorded
in a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 535 nm and
compared against a concentration curve of malondialde-
hyde for quantification purposes. The results were expres-
sed as nmol of MDA per mL of oil [23].
Statistical analysis
Each measurement was taken in triplicate. All data are
expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). The statis-
tical analysis ANOVA was used with the software SPSS
15.0 (Statistical Product and Service Solutions). The sta-
tistical significance level was set at p \ 0.05.
Results and discussion
The chemical composition of fatty acids of avocado oil is
presented in Table 1; the avocado oil has a high content of
monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) of 69.4%, and it has
123
 Author's personal copy
Table 1 Percentage of fatty acid composition of oil extracted from
avocado
Fatty acid composition Amount/%
16:0/palmitic acid 13.4
16:1/palmitic acid 3.9
18:0/stearic acid 0.6
18:1/oleic acid 65.3
18:2/linoleic acid 15.2
18:4/araquidonic acid 0.1
18:3/linoleic acid 1.3
20:1/gadoleic acid 0.2
SFA 14.0
MUFA 69.4
PUFA 16.6
16.6 and 14% of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and
saturated fatty acid (SFA), respectively.
The composition of MUFA includes the presence of
oleic (65.3%) and palmitoleic (3.9%) fatty acids, whereas
the PUFA content comprises the following: linoleic
(15.2%) [ linolenic (1.3%) [ araquidonic (0.1%) fatty
acids. Moreover, the SFA content corresponds to the
presence of stearic and palmitic acids in 0.6 and 13.4%,
respectively. Similar results were reported by
Pedreschi et al. [6]; the values reported in decreasing order
were: MUFA (65.4–70.8%) [ PUFA (15.5–18.7) [ SFA
(13.7–15.7) of ‘‘Hass’’ avocados from Chile, be noted that
the content of oleic (66.3 ± 2.4), palmitoleic (3.4 ± 0.4),
linoleic (15.1 ± 1.5) and palmitic (14.0 ± 1.3) acids does
not exceed by more of 1, 0.5, 0.1 and 0.5%, respectively,
the values reported in this work (Table 1).
Additionally, Ferrari and coworkers [24] reported per-
centages of fatty acids of 23.64 ± 0.02 (SFA),
62.81 ± 0.01 (MUFA) and 13.35 ± 0.01 (PUFA), being
palmitic (23.20 ± 0.02), oleic (49.45 ± 0.03) and linoleic
(12.69 ± 0.01) the main acids in avocados from Brazil,
and it should be noted that the oil was obtained by cen-
trifugation, which is a similar process employed for olive
oil.
These reports clearly indicated that the lipid content in
avocados varies greatly with the cultivar, climate and
geographical position and the same is observed for fatty
acid composition, which depends on growth rate and
variety [15]. Differences in the composition of oleic, pal-
mitic, palmitoleic and linoleic acids may reside not only
between countries, as suggested by Landahl et al. [25]. In
this sense Shen-Wen et al. [26] reported an oleic acid
content of 20.43–20.69% and a high content of palmitic
acid with a range of 38.37–48.32% in Taiwan avocados,
belonging to different geographical points. In contrast to
these results Castañeda-Saucedo et al. [27] reported values
123
O. Forero-Doria et al.
for the composition of oleic, palmitoleic, linoleic and
palmitic of 61, 7, 11.5 and 18.8%, respectively, from
Mexico avocados.
In order to verify the influence of the structure and
composition on thermal degradation of the avocado and
olive oils, thermal analyses of the samples were performed
in an interval of 20–700 !C.
The mass loss (TG) and derived mass (DTG) curves are
presented in Fig. 1. In the temperature range between 200
and 600 !C the thermal oxidative decomposition processes
occurred in all samples as several consecutive and simul-
taneous steps of mass loss, mainly four and five steps for
olive and avocado oils with a total mass loss of 99.7 and
99.6%, respectively. It is important to note that avocado oil
remains thermally stable up to 176 !C, which is the
degradation onset temperature, while the onset temperature
of the olive oil was 222 !C (Table 2).
The onset temperature of mass loss in the avocado oil
(176 !C) was lower than that of olive oil (222 !C). The
avocado oil lost less mass than olive oil in the first thermal
decomposition step (I) (Table 2), with 35.0 and 67.9% of
mass loss. In the second step of decomposition (II), both
oils suffered considerable mass loss, being lower in the
olive oil (23.1%) in comparison with the avocado oil
(33.0%), showing that the avocado oil in the second step
lost almost the same percentage as in the decomposition
step I. The stage I is related to the onset of degradation of
polyunsaturated fatty acids, followed by the degradation of
monounsaturated fatty acids and finally saturated fatty
acids [28]. Besides the SFA, MUFA and PUFA contents
are very similar in both oils, Vecchio et al. [29] reported
contents of MUFA (58.9–80.4%) and PUFA (5.7–17.2%)
for extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) being very similar to
avocado oil in this study, which showed percentages of
69.4 and 16.6%, respectively. Since the composition of
both oils is very similar, these mass losses in stages I and II
are related to the mechanisms these oils present to protect
themselves from oxidation. In this protective mechanism
antioxidants play an important role. Arora et al. [30]
showed that sunflower oils were more stable against ther-
mal oxidation when they had alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E)
in their composition than those that did not have this nat-
ural antioxidant. In this sense, the vitamin E is a minor
compound in the olive oil; the main components of the
phenolic fraction of the olive oil are hydroxytyrosol, tyr-
osol and its derivatives (secoiridoids). Cheikhousman et al.
[31] evidenced that the hydroxytyrosol and their deriva-
tives are extensively lost, with a 50% reduction in the
extra-virgin olive oil after frying fresh potatoes for only
10 min at 180 !C. On the other hand, the oil from pulp of
ripe avocados has higher levels of vitamin E, beta-sitosterol
and chlorophyll [10] protecting thus from thermal oxida-
tion to a greater extent than olive oil.
 Author's personal copy
Thermal analysis and antioxidant activity of oil extracted from pulp of ripe avocados

Olive Avocado 0.8

403.26 298.25 323.07
100 0.7

Deriv.mass/%°C–1
378.50
0.6
80 430.64
0.5
Mass/%

400.46
60 0.4
0.3
40 492.27
0.2
20 497.96 0.1
543.53

0 0.0
–0.1
100 200 300 400 500 600 100 200 300 400 500 600

Fig. 1 TG/DTG curves of olive and avocado oils

Table 2 TG and DTG data of olive and avocado oils at heating rate of 5 !C min-1
Oil Thermal degradation Initiation temperature, Maximum mass loss temperature, Final temperature, Mass loss/%
stages Ti/!C Tm/!C Tf/!C

Olive I 222 403 421 67.9

II 421 430 478 23.1
III 478 497 520 4.3
IV 520 543 597 4.4
Avocado I 176 298 308 35.0
II 308 323 376 33.0
III 376 378 397 9.4
IV 397 400 436 9.1
V 436 492 526 13.1

For the study of thermal stability of avocado oil related of oil), and the same result was observed at 100 !C; from
to the phenolic content and antioxidant activity (Fig. 2), this temperature, a steady decline in the phenolic content
five temperatures were chosen from the TG curves of dif- was observed until 222 !C (Fig. 3a). For its part, the avo-
ferent oils. The temperatures selected were 25 (T25), 100 cado oil showed a phenolic concentration of 99.8 ± 15 mg
(Tint), 180 (T0), 222 (T5%) and 290 !C (T10%), based on a GAE L-1 of oil at 25 !C, with a continuous decline until
previously reported work [18]. 290 !C. At a temperature of 290 !C, both oils showed the
Compared with the avocado oil, the olive oil showed the minimal amount of phenols with a concentration of
highest phenolic content at 25 !C (461.3 ± 40 mg GAE L-1 82.2 ± 11.5 and 49.2 ± 11 mg GAE L-1 of oil, for the
olive and avocado oils, respectively.
When the temperature increases to 100 !C there are no
25 100 180 222
100 290
major changes in the content of phenols, but this changes
Olive
Avocado
drastically upon reaching the frying temperature (180 !C),
80 where the content of phenols for olive oil decreases by
45.8% from the initial content and for avocado oil only
60 decreases by 28.8%. This situation may be due to the
Mass/%

chemical structure of the polyphenols present in both oils.

40
It has been found that oleuropein, pinoresinol, tyrosol (b.p.
158 !C), ferulic acid and hydroxytyrosol (b.p. 174 !C) are
20
the most abundant phenolic compounds found in the olive
oils [32–34]. For its part, avocado oil present p-vanillin,
0
quercetin and hydroxyphenylacetic acid as the major phe-
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
nolic compounds, but it should be noted that the concen-
Temperature/°C tration of the phenolic compounds found in avocado oil
was much lower than in olive oil; in addition, the major
Fig. 2 TG curve comparisons for the two oils showing the selected compounds found in olive oil are not present in avocado oil
temperatures and the corresponding degradation of avocado and olive
[35]. In the temperature range of 200–290 !C the phenolic
oils

123
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O. Forero-Doria et al.

Fig. 3 Total phenolic content (a) (a) (b) 200

and flavonoid content (b) of the 600 Olive oli
Avocado oil

mg GAE L–1 of oil

oils at each studied temperature. 500 Olive oli

mg QE L–1 of oil
*** p \ 0.001 and * p \ 0.05 Avocado oil 150
compared with avocado oil 400
300 100
200
50
100

0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Temperature/°C Temperature/°C

Fig. 4 Antioxidant capacity (a) (a) (b) 60 Olive oli

and peroxides production (b) of 100
Avocado oil
the oils at each temperature Olive oli
Avocado oil 50
studied. *** p \ 0.001 80

nmol MDA mL–1

% of scavenging

compared with avocado oil 40

60
30
40
20
20
10
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Temperature/°C Temperature/°C

content for the two oils studied continues decreasing,
where 18 and 49.8% of the initial content of phenols for
olive and avocado oil were conserved.
It is important to note that although olive oil has a
greater amount of phenolic compounds than avocado oil,
the antioxidant capacity of both oils was not so different. It
is known that phenolic compounds, together with toco-
pherols, contribute to the oxidative stability of the oils [36];
nevertheless, the olive oil is low in tocopherols [37];
therefore, the presence of other phenolic constituents cap-
able of improving the antioxidant activity, such as
hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives, is of particular impor-
tance. a-Tocopherol was found to be the major fraction in
olive and avocado oil, and total tocopherol was of
192 ± 9 mg kg-1 of olive oil and 231 ± 1 mg kg-1 of
avocado oil [8].
The olive oil showed a flavonoid concentration of
186.3 ± 9 mg QE L-1 of oil, at a temperature of 25 !C,
with a constant small decrease until 222 !C
(134.9 ± 8.8 mg QE L-1 of oil), beyond which the fla-
vonoid content undergoes a drastic degradation to
unquantifiable levels. The avocado oil showed a flavonoid
content statistically lower than the olive oil with a con-
centration of 117.3 ± 8 mg QE L-1 of oil with a rapid
degradation of the flavonoids, which reach unquantifiable
levels at 290 !C (Fig. 3b).
The avocado and olive oils showed similar antioxidant
activities; nevertheless, at the frying temperature (180 !C),
the olive oil showed better antioxidant activity (p \ 0.001)
compared with the avocado oil (Fig. 4a). A similar ten-
dency was observed in the lipoperoxides production, where
both oils showed a progressive increase in the peroxides,
up to the temperature of frying, where the avocado oil
suffers a change in the slope with a greater increase in the
peroxides production (Fig. 4b). At all the temperatures, the
olive oil showed a lower peroxide concentration
(p \ 0.001) compared with the avocado oil.
Conclusions
By-products of avocado as the oil obtained from ripe
avocados are of great importance, as many benefits have
being described in it, in this study the avocado oil pre-
sented a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids,
mainly composed for oleic acid (65.3%). The TG/DTG
curves showed several steps of oxidative decomposition
(temperature range between 200 and 600 !C), remaining
thermally stable up to 176 !C, and the degradation process
started with the onset of degradation of polyunsaturated
fatty acids, followed by the degradation of monounsatu-
rated fatty acids and finally saturated fatty acids. Finally,
notwithstanding the avocado oil showed a lower concen-
tration of phenols and flavonoids the antioxidant activity
was not so different compared with the olive oil, making
this oil an good alternative for different purposes.

123
 Author's personal copy
Thermal analysis and antioxidant activity of oil extracted from pulp of ripe avocados
Acknowledgements Dr. Marcos Flores acknowledges the financial
support from Dirección de Investigación y Postgrado de Universidad
Santo Tomás (Project TAS code N0000015989). Also Luis Guzmán
thanks FONDECYT (FONDECYT Initiation No. 11150390). The
authors thank Dr. Jaime Gallego Marin of the Universidad de Anti-
oquı́a for the help in the TG/DTG analyses performed in this work.
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