Analysis of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) in RBD palm oil and RBD palm olein using partial least squares based on FTIR spectroscopy

A rapid method to determine butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) in refined bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm oil and RBD palm olein was developed. The two sets of 50 stripped oils of RBD palm olein and RBD palm oil were spiked with known amounts of BHA concentrations up to 300 mg/kg (ppm)for calibration samples. The "leave-one-out" cross-validation procedure was used to verify the calibration model. Partial least squares (PLS) calibration models for predicting BHA were developed by using the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy spectral regions from 3486 to 3140 cm(-1) and 1140 to 898 cm(-1). The accuracy of the method was comparable to that of the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with coefficients of determination (R-2) of 0.9939 from calibration samples of RBD palm olein and an R-2 of 0.9884 for RBD palm oil samples. The results indicate that FTIR in conjunction with PLS is a useful analytical tool for simple and rapid quantitation of BHA in RBD palm oil and RBD palm olein for routine analysis.