Fate of minor free amino acids and phospholipids in crude tallow during steam splitting

Minor free amino acids and phospholipids contained in crude tallow were monitored during steam splitting of crude tallow. The bulk of the phospholipids was found in the glycerol sidestream after splitting. Phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylcholine were present in both crude tallow and the glycerol fraction. Phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine present in crude tallow were hydrolized with the glycerides. Because of this hydrolysis, high amounts of serine and ethanolamine are found in the fatty acid and glycerol fractions. In addition to constituent amino acids of proteins present in crude tallow, other biological amino acids such as taurine and ornithine were also present.     

Volatile fatty acids in flavors of potatoes deep-fried in a beef blend

The volatile free fatty acids were analyzed in commercial french- fried potatoes that had been deep- fried in beef tallow- hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening. The results showed that many of the volatile fatty acids present in beef tallow were transferred to the potatoes. Of the fatty acids derived from beef tallow, butanoic, 2-methylbutanoic, 3- methylbutanoic, heptanoic, 4-methyltanoic, and nonanoic acids were present in concentrations above their respective thresholds, and should contribute to tallow- like flavors. Several unsaturated volatile fatty acids also were identified, and they should contribute to the general deep- fried potato flavor.     

A new method for estimating solubility of fatty acids, esters, and triglycerides in supercritical carbon dioxide

A method to predict solubility of fat compounds (fatty acids, fatty acid esters, and triglycerides) in supercritical CO₂ in the absence of experimental data is presented. The method is based on the idea of group contribution, so only knowledge about the chemical structure of the substance is needed to predict its solubility in CO₂. Chrastil's equation was used to correlate the solubilities of fatty acids, fatty acid esters, and triglycerides in CO₂. The three parameters determined from fitting of the data were calculated. A nonlinear fit routine was used to determine the chemical group contributions to the three parameters. Analysis of the results shows that it is possible to correlate the parameters of Chrastil's equation to molecular groups. The average deviation from the experimental data was 8%.     

An automated gas-liquid chromatographic method of measuring free fatty acids in canola

An automated method for measuring free fatty acids (FFA) in canola seed was developed by using gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The results from the GLC method were linearly related (r²=+0.98) to those obtained with the traditional method involving Soxhlet extraction followed by a titration. In a nested experiment of over 11 different seedlots, the extraction and injection errors were 0.11 and 0.018%, respectively, of the total variation. The variation attributed to sampling within a seedlot was twice the variation attributed to extraction and injection errors combined. A seed sample size of at least 10 mL was needed to prevent the standard deviation from increasing as the FFA mean increased. The GLC method was precise and rapid, and also identified which fatty acids were being cleaved from the oil, but a linear adjustment improved accuracy.     

Lipase-catalyzed modification of phospholipids: Incorporation of n-3 fatty acids into biosurfactants

Phospholipids were successfully modified by lipase-catalyzed transesterification to incorporate n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6). The phospholipid modification was carried out in organic media with lipase fromMucor miehei (lipozyme) as biocatalyst. The parameters studied were the effect of different solvents, enzymes, acyl donor type, phospholipid class, water, enzyme and substrate concentrations. Hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to yield lysophosphatidylcholine and the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine from lysophosphatidylcholine was also carried out. The optimal conditions for the modification of phospholipids by transesterification were obtained with phosphatidylcholine and free eicosapentaenoic acid EPA 45 as acyl donor in the presence of 15% w/w nonimmobilizedMucor miehei lipase (lipozyme) in hexane with no added water. The maximum incorporation of EPA 45 was 17.7 mol%. Hydrolysis was easily achieved with phospholipase A₂ in benzene and Tris-HCl buffer. The synthesis of phosphatidylcholine was difficult, and when it was achieved, not enough phosphatidylcholine was obtained for quantitation.     

Determination of free fatty acids in crude palm oil and refined-bleached-deodorized palm olein using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

A rapid direct Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic method using a 100 μ BaF₂ transmission cell was developed for the determination of free fatty acid (FFA) in crude palm oil (CPO) and refined-bleached-deodorized (RBD) palm olein, covering an analytical range of 3.0–6.5% and 0.07–0.6% FFA, respectively. The samples were prepared by hydrolyzing oil with enzyme in an incubator. The optimal calibration models were constructed based on partial least squares (PLS) analysis using the FTIR carboxyl region (C=O) from 1722 to 1690 cm⁻¹. The resulting PLS calibrations were linear over the range tested. The standard errors of calibration (SEC) obtained were 0.08% FFA for CPO with correlation coefficient (R ²) of 0.992 and 0.01% FFA for RBD palm olein with R ² of 0.994. The standard errors of performance (SEP) were 0.04% FFA for CPO with R ² of 0.998 and 0.006% FFA for RBD palm olein with R ² of 0.998, respectively. In terms of reproducibility (r) and accuracy (a), both FTIR and chemical methods showed comparable results. Because of its simpler and more rapid analysis, which is less than 2 min per sample, as well as the minimum use of solvents and labor, FTIR has an advantage over the wet chemical method.     

Determination of trans fatty acids and fatty acid profiles in margarines marketed in spain

Two gas chromatography (GC) procedures were compared for routine analysis of trans fatty acids (TFA) of vegetable margarines, one direct with a 100-m high-polarity column and the other using argentation thin-layer chromatography and GC. There was no difference (P>0.05) in the total trans 18∶1 percentage of margarines with a medium level of TFA (∼18%) made using either of the procedures. Both methods offer good repeatability for determination of total trans 18∶1 percentage. The recoveries of total trans isomers of 18∶1 were not influenced (P>0.1) by the method used. Fatty acid composition of 12 Spanish margarines was determined by the direct GC method. The total contents of trans isomers of oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids ranged from 0.15 to 20.21, from 0.24 to 0.99, and from 0 to 0.47%, respectively, and the mean values were 8.18, 0.49, and 0.21%. The mean values for the ratios [cis-polyunsaturated/(saturated +TFA)] and [(cis-polyunsaturated + cis-monounsaturated)/(saturated +TFA)] were 1.25±0.39 and 1.92±0.43, respectively. Taking into account the annual per capita consumption of vegetable margarine, the mean fat content of the margarines (63.5%), and the mean total TFA content (8.87%), the daily per capita consumption of TFA from vegetable margarines by Spaniards was estimated at about 0.2 g/person/d.     

Determination of free fatty acids in palm oil by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

A near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy calibration was developed for the determination of free fatty acids (FFA) in crude palm oil and its fractions based on the NIR reflectance approach. A range of FFA concentrations was prepared by hydrolyzing oil with 0.15% (w/w) lipase in an incubator at 60°C (200 rpm). Sample preparation was performed in Dutch cup, and the spectra were measured in duplicate for each sample. The optimized calibration models were constructed with multiple linear regression analysis based on C=O overtone regions from 1850–2050 nm. The best wavelength combinations were 1882, 2010, and 2040 nm. Multiple correlation coefficients squared (R ²) were: 0.994 for crude palm oil, 0.961 for refined-bleached-deodorized (RBD) palm olein, and 0.971 for RBD palm oil. Calibrations were validated with an independent set of 8–10 samples. R ² of validation were 0.997, 0.943, and 0.945, respectively. The developed method was rapid, with a total analysis time of 5 min, and environmentally friendly, and its accuracy was generally good for raw-material quality control.     

Alternative extraction effects on the free fatty acids and phosph in oil from damaged and undamaged soybeans

By varying the extracting conditions, it may be possible to produce high-quality, low-phosphorus and low-free fatty acid (FFA) oil extracted from water or mechanically damaged soybeans. The variability in phospholipids and FFA was studied in oil extracted by an alternative process from undamaged, damaged and aged soybeans subjected to various changes. Forrest and Hutcheson cultivars were used, and extractions were from finely ground flour rather than from flakes. Freezing caused the maximum increase in FFA and phosphorus levels compared to other levels in damaged or undamaged soybeans, but the levels were reasonable compared to flake extraction. Phosphorus and FFA increased when storage temperatures went from 25 to 45°C, extraction temperatures from 25 to 50°C and moisture of the flour from 6 to 10%. However, the storage time of soybeans with initially high moisture (20%) did not have a marked influence on FFA and phosphorus levels. Immediately after grinding moisture of the flour elevated or lowered the phosphorus level to a great extent, although it had little influence on the FFA level. Phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylcholine were identified as the main phospholipids present when total phosphorus was low in extracted oil. The time taken for the flour to dry to 6% moisture (after grinding and before it was extracted) was critical. The alternative extraction process moderated the expected increase in FFA and phospholipids as the result of soybean damage.     

Determination of the positional distribution of fatty acids in butterfat triacylglycerols

Triacylglycerol (TAG) standards were separated by analytical high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with laser light-scattering detection (LLSD). A high sensitivity for TAGs was observed with LLSD whereas poor sensitivity was observed with ultraviolet detection. The HPLC-LLSD analytical separation of butterfat TAGs showed that the TAGs were eluted according to increasing carbon number. Preparative HPLC-LLSD was used to characterize butterfat TAGs that contained hypercholesterolemic fatty acids (laurate, myristate, palmitate) with carbon chainlengths of 12 or greater. These TAG fractions accounted for 29.2% of the total butterfat TAGs. Analysis of the positional distribution of fatty acids of selected butterfat TAGs containing hypercholesterolemic fatty acids showed the presence of positional isomers in each of these fractions. These butterfat TAGs also showed the predominant presence of hypercholesterolemic fatty acids at thesn-2 position. The characterization of the positional distribution of hypercholesterolemic fatty acids in butterfat TAGs is the first step for the determination of the metabolic role of the positional distribution in the hypercholesterolemic effects of butter.