A novel, fast and accurate chemiluminescence method for measuring lipoxidation in almonds and almond-based products during processing and storage

An analytical method for investigating lipoxidation processes based on soft extraction and chemiluminescence (CL) detection methods was developed and tested on almond and almond-derived foodstuffs. The TBARS method, which detects any carbonyls generated by lipoxidation, was used for comparative purposes. When developing the present method, the classical chloroform–methanol procedure was first used to extract the CL reacting substances initially generated, and solubilizing agents were then screened for optimal extraction. In the detection stage, cytochrome C was used as a reference substance for screening the CL signal enhancers. The method presented here was based on an extraction step with a dimethylsulfoxide/Gum Arabic mixture, and hemin was used to enhance the luminescence signal. This method accurately detects the lipoxidation processes triggered by the physical and chemical treatments of all kinds which are applied during almond processing. The simultaneous use of the present method and the TBARS method gave a broader picture of the chemical interactions involved, including the lipoxidation process.