Kinetic Analysis of the Autoxidation of Ethyl Eicosapentaenoate at Different Oxygen Levels.

The autoxidation of such n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ethyl esters as ethyl eicosapentaenoate and ethyl docosahexaenoate was investigated at various temperatures. Extensive studies of the oxidative reaction for ethyl eicosapentaenoate were carried out at different oxygen levels. At the same oxygen level and temperature, the autocatalytic reaction rate, by which oxidation progressed in the first half period, was about 1.5-2.5 times larger than the first-order reaction rate which governed the oxidation in the second half period. The reaction rate constants for ethyl eicosapentaenoate at different oxygen levels correlated well with the Langmuir-type equation of the oxygen concentration, in which the Langmuir parameter was independent of temperature.