The Pros And Cons Of Lipid Oxidation In Food Products

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Lipids are a major source of energy and provide essential lipid nutrients. In many food products the lipid component plays a major role in determining the overall characteristics, such, as flavour, texture, mouthfeel and appearance (Ross & Smith, 2006). However, fats, oils and lipid-based products deteriorate during heat processing, distribution and long term storage. The chemical deterioration is as a result of lipid oxidation. In some chesses, a limited amount of lipid oxidation is desirable for the generation of a characteristic taste or smell (Sun et al., 2011). On the other hand it is undesirable in high lipid or fat containing food products. Lipid oxidation is a major concern to the food industry due to the increasing emphasis on the use of polyunsaturated vegetable and fish oils, and discontinuing the use of synthetic antioxidants. Unsaturated fats are used extensively in the formulation of many food products and these are the most susceptible to oxidation. Lipid oxidation can lead to several changes to food products which affects shelf-life and consumer acceptance. These include development of rancid flavours and aromas, changes in colour and texture, and a decline in the nutritional value of food products (Hidalgo & Zamora, 2000; Morales & Jaménez-pérez, 2001). Lipid oxidation products decompose lipid soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K, and its pro-vitamins carotenes resulting in nutritional losses in food products (Rahman, 2007). In addition, the oxidation of fats in foods can lead to the accumulation of toxic compounds such as peroxides and aldehydes. These are potentially detrimental to human health when consumed in high concentrations and have been implicated in the development of several diseases includi...

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...tion condition that generates MRPs with specific antioxidant activity could therefore be valuable for use during food processing (Kim & Lee, 2009b). Although a wide range of model systems involving sugar-amino acid reactions have been reported, few studies investigated the MRPs form ribose-lysine systems in emulsions or food systems.
Therefore the objective of this study was to determine non-specific browning indicators (browning intensity and pH reduction) and indices (DPPH, peroxyl radical scavenging activity and reducing power) of the antioxidant effect of the ribose-lysine of Maillard reaction products (MRPs), as a function of reaction temperature, time and model phase; and to determine lipid oxidation indices TBARs and Pv in a lipid-rich model system as a function of antioxidant type with the view to find a natural alternative to synthetic food antioxidants.

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