Efeosedebame HENRY-IJIEBOR

Antioxidant capacity of edible oils is important for nutrition, shelf-life, and functional uses and plays its role in protecting biological systems against oxidative stress caused by free radicals. The antioxidant capacity varied significantly as a result of their fatty acid composition, refining procedure, inherent phytochemicals and antioxidants. This study evaluated the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of three widely consumed edible oils—soya bean oil, cotton seed oil, and palm kernel oil—at differing concentrations (50–250 µg/ml). The FRAP assay was used to determine the reducing ability of each oil, expressed as percentage FRAP activity. Results obtained showed a clear concentration-dependent increase in antioxidant activity across all samples. Cotton seed oil exhibited the highest mean FRAP value (35.20 ± 12.95%), followed by soya bean oil (24.22 ± 11.03%) and palm kernel oil (21.89 ± 11.99%). Strong positive relationships between concentration and FRAP activity as Pearson correlation analysis revealed (r > 0.98 for all oils), confirming that antioxidant potential increases proportionally with concentration. Although one-way ANOVA indicated no statistically significant difference (F = 1.75; p > 0.05) among the oils, cotton seed oil (dependent on the extensive refining it was subjected to) consistently demonstrated superior reducing power, suggesting a higher concentration of phenolic and tocopherol compounds. With this, the study establishes the potential of cotton seed oil as a rich natural source of antioxidants and provides comparative insight into the antioxidant strength of common edible oils used in food industry and nutraceutical applications.