Spectroscopic evaluation of sesame and mustard oils treated with Murchana method

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in traditional medicinal practices such as Ayurveda, which emphasizes the use of natural ingredients for various therapeutic purposes. Vegetable oils are an integral part of our diet and have several applications in the cosmetics and healthcare industries. These oils have also been prescribed in ancient Ayurveda texts to treat various health problems. Ayurveda prescribes a processing technique called 'Murchana' to improve the therapeutic nature of the oils. Spectroscopic techniques have been used for quality assessment in many fields. High sensitivity and a low detection rate make spectroscopy a formidable analytical technique. This study focusses on the spectroscopic analysis of sesame and mustard oils prepared using the ayurvedic processing method 'Murchana'. Spectroscopic analysis techniques including UV-Vis absorbance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy were employed to study the oils. Origin software was used to plot graphs of the spectra. The results indicated that the murchana process may reduce the components of the oil responsible for its oxidation, thereby increasing the shelf life of the oils. However, further investigations, including other spectroscopy and chromatography techniques, will prove beneficial in ascertaining the effects of the murchana process on vegetable oils. The study's findings also suggest that spectroscopic techniques can be used to supplement chemical techniques to investigate the characteristics of vegetable oils.

Keywords: Murchana process; FTIR spectroscopy; Fluorescence; UV-Vis absorbance; Vegetable oils.

Fig. 1

Absorbance spectra of the oil samples A Before storage and B 3 months after storage

Fig. 2

Fluorescence spectra a1, a2 represents the fluorescence spectra of oils at 300 nm excitation b1, b2 represents the fluorescence spectra of oils at 320 nm excitation c1, c2 represents the fluorescence spectra of oils at 340 nm excitation d1, d2 represents the fluorescence spectra of oils at 360 nm excitation e1, e2 represents the fluorescence spectra of oils at 380 nm excitation f1, f2 represents the fluorescence spectra of oils at 420 nm excitation

Fig. 3

Fluorescence data a represents the fluorescence of oils at 300 nm excitation b represents the fluorescence of oils at 320 nm excitation c represents the fluorescence of oils at 340 nm excitation d represents the fluorescence of oils at 360 nm excitation e represents the fluorescence of oils at 380 nm excitation f represents the fluorescence of oils at 420 nm excitation

Fig. 4

FTIR spectra of the oil samples A before storage and B 3 months after storage