| Abstract: | Furan fatty acids (F‐acids) are heterocyclic lipid components with a furan moiety in the centre of the molecule. Reports on F‐acids in the literature are rather scarce, although they are considered as particularly valuable food ingredients. F‐acids occur as minor compounds in the lipids of different food samples. Despite the low concentrations, some studies produced evidence that the F‐acids are excellent radical scavengers and thus are able to protect polyunsaturated fatty acids from lipid peroxidation. Accordingly, they may play a currently underrated and largely overlooked positive role in human nutrition. The limited data available result from difficulties in the analysis of these trace compounds. F‐acids in food can hardly be determined without selective enrichment and the use of gas chromatography with mass spectrometry for their determination. The lack of reference standards is a further drawback that hampers the exact assessment of the actual relevance of F‐acids in human nutrition. |
