Vergleichende Untersuchungen über die Wirkung von Antioxidantien,Aminosäuren und Casein auf die Autoxidation ungesättigter Fettsäuren

Comparative Investigations of the Effect of Antioxidants, Amino Acids and Casein on the Autoxidation of Unsaturated Fatty Acids The antioxidants α-tocopherol and ascorbyl palmitate (AP), the amino acids histidine and methionine as well as casein were added to emulsions of methyl linoleate (ML) in water, and the influence of these components on autoxidation of ML was determined by measuring the rate of oxygen uptake using the Warburg method. The monohydroperoxides of ML being the primary autoxidation products were analyzed by HPLC; hexanal being their main fragmentation product which essentially contributes to rancidity of foods was determined by head space gas chromatography. α-Tocopherol on the one side acts as a radical scavenger by its hydrogen donating effect discernible by a high ratio of cis/trans- to trans/trans-isomers of the ML-hydroperoxides, on the other side it stabilizes these intermediary products thus inhibiting the formation of hexanal. In the presence of Fe(II)-ions AP has a prooxidative effect by causing a rapid decomposition of hydroperoxides, whereas in the initial oxidation phase histidine and methionine have no or only a minor antioxidative effect which increases later on, connected with an inhibitory effect on peroxide decomposition creating hexanal. During ML autoxidation the different components added to the ML emulsion including methionine bound in the casein, which has a strong antioxidative effect, were also oxidized.