Use of culinary ingredients as protective components during thermal heating of pumpkin oil.

Pumpkin seeds are often discarded due to limited awareness of their benefits, yet they yield an oil rich in monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids, with notable levels of oleic acid (>30 %) and linoleic acid (>50 %). The oil also contains nutritionally valuable unsaponifiable components, qualifying it as a functional food. Culinary ingredients like merkén and clove, used in various dishes, offer additional properties. This study examines the effect of heat treatment on the fatty acid profile and oxidative stability of pumpkin seed oil, both pure (UPO) and enriched with merkén (UPOM) or clove (UPOC), using chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods. Enrichment with merkén and clove showed a protective effect, with UPOC preserving PUFAs and minimizing oxidation. UPOC displayed superior stability (>40 days) compared to UPOM and heated oil (UPOH, <40 days), suggesting its effectiveness in maintaining oil quality during thermal degradation.