Tertiary Butyl Hydroquinone (TBHQ) is the synthetic food
grade antioxidant, which was developed to be used in stabilizing
various vegetable oils, fats and food against oxidative
deterioration, thus retrading development of rancidity in these
products and extending their storage life.
Tocopherol, a natural antioxidant present in vegetable oils
is often inadequate for oxidative stability. Even external
addition of Tocopherol provides little or no increase in the
stability and hence needs synthetic antioxidant. Among the various synthetic anti-oxidant, TBHQ and
Propyl Gallate are the most effective. However, unlike Propyl
Gallate, TBHQ is not prone to discolouration in presence of
Iorn.
TBHQ exhibits an outstanding stabilizing effect in
unsaturated fats, particularly in Polyunsaturated vegetable oils,
and inedible animal fats. TBHQ can also be advantageous in essential oils,
nuts, buffer fat and food packaging material.
Thus, Tertiary Butyl Hydroquinone (TBHQ) provides a
healthier and most favoured option for preserving food
products.
