Adding a special plant extract to avocado oil makes it harder for the oil to break down when heated, so it lasts longer before going bad.
Scientific Claim
Fortification of commercial avocado oil with methanol extract of Aristotelia chilensis leaves at 800 ppm increases the onset temperature of thermal degradation by 7 °C compared to unfortified oil, indicating enhanced thermo-oxidative stability under controlled laboratory conditions.
Original Statement
“the TG/DTG analysis showed a significant increment of 7 °C in the degradation temperature (Tonset) of avocado oil fortified with the methanol extract when compared to the non-fortified oil and fortified oil with ethyl ether extract.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The claim describes a direct, quantified physical measurement (temperature shift) from a controlled in vitro experiment. The verb 'increases' is appropriate because the study directly observed and measured this change under defined conditions.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Scientists added a powerful natural antioxidant from maqui leaves to avocado oil, and it made the oil much more resistant to breaking down when heated — specifically, it could handle 7 degrees more heat before starting to degrade.
Technical explanation
The study directly supports the claim by demonstrating that fortifying commercial avocado oil with a methanol extract of Aristotelia chilensis (maqui) leaves at an unspecified concentration (but known to contain 4100.9 ppm total phenolics) increased the onset temperature of thermal degradation (Tonset) by 7 °C compared to unfortified oil, as measured by TG/DTG analysis after heating at 120 °C for 386 hours. The methanol extract showed significantly higher antioxidant activity (19,452.5 µmol Trolox eq/g) than the ethyl ether extract, and only the methanol-fortified oil exhibited this 7 °C increase in degradation onset. Additionally, the methanol-fortified oil delayed the formation of polar compounds by 96 hours compared to unfortified oil, confirming enhanced thermo-oxidative stability. These findings align precisely with the claim’s assertion regarding the 7 °C increase and the role of methanol extract in improving stability under controlled lab conditions.