Plastic fats with zero trans fatty acids by interesterification of mango,mahua and palm oils

Speciality plastic fats with no trans fatty acids suitable for use in bakery and as vanaspati are prepared by interesterification of blends of palm hard fraction (PSt) with mahua and mango fats at various proportions. It was found that the interesterified samples did not show significant differences in solid fat content (SFC) after 0.5 or 1 h reaction time. The blends containing PSt/mahua (1:1) showed three distinct endotherms, indicating a heterogeneity of triacylglycerols (TG), the proportions of which altered after interesterification. The SFC also showed improved plasticity after interesterification. Similar results were observed with other blends of PSt/mahua (1:2). These changes in melting behavior are due to alterations in TG composition, as the trisaturated‐type TG were reduced and the low‐melting TG increased after interesterification. The blends containing PSt/mango (1:1) showed improvement in plasticity after interesterification, whereas those containing PSt/mango (2:1) were hard and showed high solid contents at higher temperature and hence may not be suitable for bakery or as vanaspati. The blends with palm and mahua oils were softer and may be suitable for margarine‐type products. The results showed that the blends of PSt/mahua (1:1, 1:2) and PSt/mango (1:1) after interesterification for 1 h at 80 °C showed an SFC similar to those of commercial hydrogenated bakery shortenings and vanaspati. Hence, they could be used in these applications in place of hydrogenated fats as they are free from trans acids, which are reported to be risk factors involved in coronary heart disease. For softer consistency like margarine applications, the blends containing palm oil and mahua oil are suitable.     

Enzymatic interesterification of palm and coconut stearin blends

Hard fractions of palm oil and coconut oil, blended in the ratios of 90:10, 85:15, 80:20 and 75:25, were interesterified for 8 h using Lipozyme TL IM. Major fatty acids in the blends were palmitic acid (41.7–48.4%) and oleic acid (26.2–30.8%). Medium‐chain fatty acids accounted for 4.5–13.1% of the blends. After interesterification (IE), slip melting point was found to decrease from 44.8–46.8 °C to 28.5–34.0 °C owing to reduction in solids content at all temperatures. At 37.5 °C, the blends containing 25% coconut stearins had 17.4–19% solids, which reduced to 0.4–1.5% on IE, and the slip melting point (28.6 and 28.8 °C) indicated their suitability as margarine base. The reduction in solid fat index of the interesterified fats is attributed to the decrease in high‐melting triacylglycerols in palm oil (GS₃ and GS₂U type) and increase in triolein (GU₃) content from 1 to 9.2%. Retention of tocopherols and β‐carotene during IE was 76 and 60.1%, respectively, in 75:25 palm stearin and coconut stearin blend.     

Increased potency of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors to induce inositol phosphates production correlates with the up-regulation of alpha 1d/Gh alpha/phospholipase C delta 1 signaling pathway in term rat myometrium

In the present study, we studied the potential regulation by rat myometrial alpha1-adrenergic receptors (alpha1-AR) of the newly identified Gh alpha protein/phospholipase C delta 1 (PLC delta 1) signaling pathway and compared myometrial inositol phosphates (InsP) production and activity of the uterine circular muscle in response to alpha1-AR activation between mid-pregnancy and term. For this, we quantified the level of rat myometrial alpha1-AR coupling to Gh alpha protein by photoaffinity-labeling, the cytosolic amount of PLC delta 1 enzyme by immunoblotting, and the expression level of alpha1-AR subtypes by RT-PCR. The results showed an increased level of alpha1-AR/Gh alpha protein coupling and the amount of PLC delta 1 at term (+147 and +65% respectively, versus mid-pregnancy). This was correlated with an up-regulation of alpha 1d-AR subtype (+70% versus mid-pregnancy). Incubation of myometrial strips with phenylephrine (Phe), a global alpha1-agonist, increased InsP production in a dose-dependent manner at both mid-pregnancy and term, but with an enhanced potency (tenfold decrease in EC(50) value) at term. Phe also dose-dependently induced contraction of the circular muscle at both mid-pregnancy and term. However, unlike InsP response, no amelioration of potency was observed at term. Similar results were obtained with the endogenous agonist norepinephrine. Our results show, for the first time, that rat myometrial alpha 1d-AR/Gh alpha/PLC delta 1 signaling pathway is up-regulated at term. This is associated with an increased potency of alpha1-AR to elicit InsP production but not uterine contraction at this period. It is thus hypothesized that alpha1-AR, through activation of Gh alpha/PLC delta 1 system, are not primarily involved in the initiation of labor but may rather regulate responses such as myometrial cell proliferation or hypertrophy.     

Acidity of oryzanol and its contribution to free fatty acids value in vegetable oils

Model oil systems containing physically refined rice bran oil to which oryzanol was added were examined to determine the effects of oryzanol concentration on FFA values. When oryzanol was added to the model oils at a 0.5% level and FFA was determined, increases in FFA value were 0.28% as determined with phenolphthalein, 0.58% with thymolphthalein, and 0.07% with alkali blue 6B. Oils containing added oryzanol at 0.5–1.5% showed a proportionate increase in FFA values with an average increase of 0.413% per gram of oryzanol. A direct titration of purified oryzanol showed an acidity of 42.5% expressed as FFA. In spectroscopic studies, the phenolic group in the ferulic acid moiety of oryzanol was titrated by sodium hydroxide. Based on these data, indicator correction factors for oryzanol's acidity and a formula for calculating real FFA content of vegetable oils containing oryzanol were developed.     

Deacidification of Coconut Oil by Membrane Filtration

Ultrafiltration (UF) of coconut oil was carried out using a Millipore membrane cell at different pressures (0.1–0.4 MPa) and with different molecular weight cutoff membranes, that is,YM-1 (1 kDa), YM-3 (3 kDa), YM-10 (10 kDa), YM-30 (30 kDa), and PLTK-30 (30 kDa). Reduction of free fatty acids (FFAs) was 93.6%, 92.7%, 83.5%, 82.6%, and 81.6% with ethanol, methanol, acetone, n-propanol, and isopropyl alcohol, respectively, in three-stage filtration. The effects of temperature and applied pressure on the permeate flux and oil rejection were also studied with membranes using multistage filtration. As pressure increased from 0.1 to 0.4 MPa, the permeate flux and oil rejection increased linearly. A significant reduction of FFA was observed, which is in proportional with the amount of solvent in the feed used. The oil loss was less at lower temperature (25 °C) and pressure (0.2 MPa). Using PLTK 30 membrane with three-stage filtration, reduction of FFA was achieved up to 93% and 94% with methanol and ethanol solvents, respectively.     

Constitutively active alpha-1b adrenergic receptor mutants display different phosphorylation and internalization features

The replicate lines of selectively bred FAST and SLOW mice differ in locomotor response to 2 g/kg ethanol (EtOH). FAST mice show enhanced locomotion; SLOW mice exhibit no change or locomotor depression. Little is known about the responses of FAST and SLOW mice to EtOH during development. We assessed the locomotor responses of FAST and SLOW mice at postnatal days (P) 10, 15, 30, and 60. A genetically correlated response, EtOH-induced hypothermia, was also investigated. Although all animals demonstrated their respective selection phenotypes in adulthood, developing FAST mice exhibited ethanol stimulation by P15 (replicate 1) or P30 (replicate 2). At these ages, responses of FAST mice differed from those of SLOW. The stimulant response in FAST mice was adult-like at P30. EtOH-induced hypothermia was seen in SLOW mice by P15. These data suggest that sensitivity to the locomotor stimulant effects of EtOH changes during postnatal development, and may mirror developmental profiles for certain neurotransmitter systems.     

Physicochemical Characteristics and Composition of Indian Soybean Oil Deodorizer Distillate and the Recovery of Phytosterols

The deodoriser distillate (DOD) of Indian soybean oil obtained from two industries processing soybean oil was investigated for its physicochemical characteristics, its composition of tocopherols, phytosterols, fatty acids and recovery of phytosterols for use in nutraceutical products. It was found that the two DOD samples studied were dark in color and had higher amounts of free fatty acids (22.7 and 49.9%), unsaponifiable matter (11.8 and 21.9%) (5–10 times found in soybean oil), total tocopherols (1957–2256 mg/100 g) (20 times the amount in soybean oil), and 6–10% of phytosterols (12–20 times the soybean oil). The fatty acids found were palmitic (23.2–25.5%), stearic (1.4–2.4%), oleic (23.8–26.1%), linoleic (40.4–41.1%) and linolenic (2.7–3.2%) acids. The unsaponifiable matter (21.9%) and phytosterols (8.7%) content of DOD-2 were higher than in DOD-1 and hence was more suited for isolation of phytosterols. Using hexane and water for crystallisation, the DOD-2 yielded a phytosterol fraction with lower recovery of 13.2–17.8% while treatment with alkali to remove FFA and the glycerides followed by organic solvent extraction yielded unsaponifiable matter containing phytosterols with a recovery of 74.6%. Later the unsaponifiable matter was purified by double crystallisation into a mixture of phytosterols of 87% purity containing β-sitosterol (34.3%), stigmasterol (3.1%) and campesterol (50.1%). The product may find use in foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and allied industries probably as a nutraceutical.     

Effect of refining of crude rice bran oil on the retention of oryzanol in the refined oil

The effect of different processing steps of refining on retention or the availability of oryzanol in refined oil and the oryzanol composition of Indian paddy cultivars and commercial products of the rice bran oil (RBO) industry were investigated. Degumming and dewaxing of crude RBO removed only 1.1 and 5.9% of oryzanol while the alkali treatment removed 93.0 to 94.6% of oryzanol from the original crude oil. Irrespective of the strength of alkali (12 to 20° Be studied), retention of oryzanol in the refined RBO was only 5.4–17.2% for crude oil, 5.9–15.0% for degummed oil, and 7.0 to 9.7% for degummed and dewaxed oil. The oryzanol content of oil extracted from the bran of 18 Indian paddy cultivars ranged from 1.63 to 2.72%, which is the first report of its kind in the literature on oryzanol content. The oryzanol content ranged from 1.1 to 1.74% for physically refined RBO while for alkali-refined oil it was 0.19–0.20%. The oil subjected to physical refining (commercial sample) retained the original amount of oryzanol after refining (1.60 and 1.74%), whereas the chemically refined oil showed a considerably lower amount (0.19%). Thus, the oryzanol, which is lost during the chemical refining process, has been carried into the soapstock. The content of oryzanol of the commercial RBO, soapstock, acid oil, and deodorizer distillate were in the range: 1.7–2.1, 6.3–6.9, 3.3–7.4, and 0.79%, respectively. These results showed that the processing steps—viz., degumming (1.1%), dewaxing (5.9%), physical refining (0%), bleaching and deodorization of the oil—did not affect the content of oryzanol appreciably, while 83–95% of it was lost during alkali refining. The oryzanol composition of crude oil and soapstock as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography indicated 24-methylene cycloartanyl ferulate (30–38%) and campesteryl ferulate (24.4–26.9%) as the major ferulates. The results presented here are probably the first systematic report on oryzanol availability in differently processed RBO, soapstocks, acid oils, and for oils of Indian paddy cultivars.     

Study on the composition of rice bran oil and its higher free fatty acids value

The compositions of rice bran oils (RBO) and three commercial vegetable oils were investigated. For refined groundnut oil, refined sunflower oil, and refined safflower oil, color values were 1.5–2.0 Lovibond units, unsaponifiable matter contents were 0.15–1.40%, tocopherol contents were 30–60 mg%, and FFA levels were 0.05–0.10%, whereas refined RBO samples showed higher values of 7.6–15.5 Lovibond units for color, 2.5–3.2% for unsaponifiable matter, 48–70 mg% for tocopherols content, and 0.14–0.55% for FFA levels. Of the four oils, only RBO contained oryzanol, ranging from 0.14 to 1.39%. Highoryzanol RBO also showed higher FFA values compared with the other vegetable oils studied. The analyses of FA and glyceride compositions showed higher palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acid contents than reported values in some cases and higher partial glycerides content in RBO than the commonly used vegetable oils. Consequently, the TG level was 79.9–92% in RBO whereas it was >95% in the other oils studied. Thus, refined RBO showed higher FFA values, variable oryzanol contents, and higher partial acylglycerol contents than commercial vegetable oils having lower FFA values and higher TG levels. The higher oryzanol levels in RBO may contribute to the higher FFA values in this oil.