Carvacrol methyl ether, a compound from the essential oil of Gardenia jasminoides fruits, exhibits antioxidant effects in the deep-frying of Chinese Youmotou using sunflower oil

Abstract Deep-frying using sunflower oil (SFO) requires natural antioxidants, and the preparation of flavored SFO using spices and herbs offers an important method. In the present study, in the deep-frying procedure of Chinese Youmotou at 180 °C, improvements in the levels of total polar compounds (TPC), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), conjugated dienes, conjugated trienes, polymer, viscosity and b* of SFO samples at the 30th hour were significantly inhibited by 50.2%, 43.0%, 62.6%, 37.8%, 61.9%, 24.0% and 50.4% (p