Antioxidant addition to dough or frying oil: effects on the oxidative stability of deep-fat fried noodles

This study evaluated the oxidative stability of deep-fat fried noodles and frying oils when antioxidants were added either to the dough or to the frying oil. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic antioxidants, including α-tocopherol, ascorbyl palmitate, trolox, and ascorbic acid, were tested over 100 continuous frying cycles. Trolox showed the highest antioxidant activity when added to frying oil, while ascorbyl palmitate was more effective when added to dough. Ascorbic acid consistently exhibited low antioxidant performance regardless of application site and showed prooxidant effects, particularly when applied to frying oil. During storage at 60 °C, fried noodles containing ascorbyl palmitate in dough and trolox in oil showed the highest oxidative stability, while those containing ascorbic acid were more susceptible to lipid oxidation. These results suggest that antioxidant efficacy is influenced by both compound polarity and application site, as well as by their thermal stability, migration behavior, and interactions with the food matrix.