Edible oils like sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, cotton seed oil and olive oil are necessary components in human diet and are extensively utilized in the food trade. Safe storage of edible oils has perpetually been a haul within the food industry since the oils can easily endure oxidative deterioration. Studies specializing on polyphenols as a supply of natural antioxidants of plant origin to delay oxidative deterioration of food products have increased worldwide. Both natural and synthetic antioxidants are widely used in protecting oils against oxidative deterioration. Natural antioxidants are greener preservatives because they are known to be safer than their synthetic counterparts. Currently there is an increased interest in sources of natural antioxidants to enrich oils towards shelf life enhancement. This review highlights some research works in which natural antioxidants from plant materials have been used to preserve edible oils. Most of the natural compounds extracted from medicinal plants were found to be able to preserve edible oils against oxidative deterioration. The potential of most of the natural antioxidants from plant materials to preserve edible oils was found to be comparable to that of synthetic antioxidants in all the reviewed researches. Use of natural antioxidants from plant materials for preservation of edible oils is a promising approach that can be adopted by edible oil manufacturers.

Modern people have embraced plants as a source of useful bioactive compounds. As such, plants with medicinal properties have become essential components in human life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phytochemical profile of the extract of Dioscorea steriscus tubers obtained from Zimbabwe. Phytochemicals were extracted from tubers of D. steriscus using aqueous acetone. UV-Visible Spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques were used to determine the phytochemical profile of the tuber extract. The yield of phytochemicals extracted from D. steriscus tubers was found to be 6.38 %. The presence of bioactive compounds possessing phenyl, organic hydroxyl, amine, carboxyl, carbonyl, acyl, alkyl and aromatic functional groups was confirmed using UVVisible and FTIR analysis. The presence of substantial amounts of vanillic acid and kaempferol in D. steriscus tubers was confirmed using HPLC analysis. In support of the ethnobotanical values of Dioscorea species, the study confirmed the presence of potent phytochemicals in the extract of D. steriscus tubers obtained from Zimbabwe.