ABSTRACT
The degradation of alpha-tocopherol and the formation of alpha-tocopherol and triacylglycerol oxidation products at high temperatures (150-250 degrees C) over a heating period (0-4 h) for a model system ranging between triolein and tripalmitin were modeled by use of an experimental design. The oxidation products of alpha-tocopherol formed under these conditions were alpha-tocopherolquinone (1 .4-7.7%) and epoxy-alpha-tocopherolquinones (4.3-34.8%). The results indicate a very high susceptibility of alpha-tocopherol to capture peroxyl radicals upon oxidation, leading to the formation of polar tocopherol oxidation products. Both alpha-tocopherolquinone and epoxy-alpha-tocopherolquinones were not stable upon prolonged heating and were further degraded to other unknown oxidation products. The kinetics of alpha-tocopherol oxidation were significantly influenced by the triolein/tripalmitin ratio. By increasing the level of triacylglycerol unsaturation the rate of alpha-tocopherol recovery after heating increased significantly from 2.2 to 44.2% whereas in the meantime triacylglycerol polymerization increased from 0 to 3.7%.
Subject(s)
Hot Temperature , Triglycerides/chemistry , Triolein/chemistry , alpha-Tocopherol/chemistry , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Epoxy Compounds/chemistry , Models, Chemical , Oxidation-Reduction , Peroxides/chemistry , Quinones/chemistryABSTRACT
Five methylation procedures, including base- and acid-catalyzed methods, were tested in thermoxidized methyl linoleate and trilinolein, in order to quantitate major oxidation short-chain glycerol-bound compounds by gas chromatography. Results indicated that transmethylations using KOH in methanol or CH3ONa-CH3OH in tert.-butylmethyl ether were the most appropriate methods, given the excellent reproducibility and practically complete recovery obtained for the compounds of interest, mainly short-chain fatty acids and aldehydic acids. Also, formation of acids from aldehydes during thermoxidation as well as modifications of aldehydic functions under acidic conditions, such as conversion to acetals, were checked using dodecanal as model aldehyde.
