Oxidation of Aldehydes Used as Food Additives by Peroxynitrite

 Antioxidants 2023, 12(3), 743

Benzaldehyde and its derivatives are used as food supplements. These substances can be used mainly as flavorings or as antioxidants. Besides, peroxynitrite, an oxidizing agent, could be formed in canned food. Both species could react between them. The present article has focused on the kinetic study of the oxidation of aldehydes by peroxynitrite. A reaction mechanism that justifies all the experimental results is proposed. This mechanism, in acidic media, passes through three competitive pathways: (a) a radical attack that produces benzoic acid. (b) peracid oxidation, and (c) a nucleophilic attack of peroxynitrous acid over aldehyde to form an intermediate, X, that produces benzoic acid, or, through a Cannizzaro-type reaction, benzoic acid and benzyl alcohol. All rate constants involved in the third pathway (c) have been calculated. These results have never been described in the literature in acid media. A pH effect was analyzed.

Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveals the Difference of Aortic Atherosclerosis Response to Phytosterols and Oxidation Products of Sterols

 Mol. Nut. Food Res. 2023, 2200811

Scope

Phytosterols (PS) and sterol oxidation products are key dietary factors influencing atherosclerosis besides cholesterol, although the mechanisms remain elusive. Recently, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has revealed the heterogeneity of multiple cell types associated with complex pathogenesis in atherosclerosis development.

Methods and results

Here, we performed scRNA-seq to investigate the alterations in the aortic cells from ApoE−/− mice induced by diet-derived PS or two sterol oxidation products, phytosterols oxidation products (POPs) and cholesterol oxidation products (COPs). We identified four fibroblast subpopulations with different functions, and immunofluorescence demonstrated their spatial heterogeneity, providing evidence that suggested the transformation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and fibroblasts in atherosclerosis. The composition and gene expression profiles of aortic cells changed broadly in response to PS/COPs/POPs exposure. Notably, PS exhibited an atheroprotective effect where different gene expressions were mainly found in B cells. Exposure to COPs accelerated atherosclerosis and resulted in marked alternations in myofibroblast subpopulations and T cells, while POPs only altered fibroblast subpopulations and B cells.

Conclusion

Our data elucidates the effects of dietary PS/COPs/POPs on aortic cells during atherosclerosis development, especially on the newly identified fibroblast subpopulations.

Advantages of techniques to fortify food products with the benefits of fish oil

 Food Research International, 2020, 137, 109353

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109353

Fish oil has been widely applied in fortified food products because of its special health benefits especially containing high unsaturated fatty acids mainly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Nowadays, there are various foods fortify with fish oil available in the market. The main challenge of fortification of food products with fish oil is its highly susceptible to oxidation and its influence on sensory attributes during storage. The fortification methods such as direct addition through bulk fish oil, emulsion or microencapsulation could effectively improve the oxidative stability of fish oil and mask unpleasant fishy flavour in fortified products. Therefore, this article provides a review of techniques, their advantages and limitations, together with the effects of incorporating fish oil in foods products.

Antioxidant ability of potato (Solanum tuberosum) peel extracts to inhibit soybean oil oxidation

Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. (2016)

doi:10.1002/ejlt.201500419

Potato peels are an agro industrial waste of one of the major crops worldwide. However, the potential of potato peels as source of antioxidants in the food industry is not yet sufficiently known. In this work, the antioxidant effect of potato peel extract (PPE) on oxidative stability of soybean oil was evaluated. We found that the addition of low PPE concentrations to soybean oil at four different levels, expressed as chlorogenic acid concentrations (14.01, 20.37, and 31.94 ppm), affected lipid oxidation indices (peroxide, anisidine, and conjugated dienes values), fatty acid composition, and volatile compounds. Antioxidant effect increased with increasing dose extract. Inhibition percentages of hexanal production increased with the PPE concentration. In addition, low concentrations of PPE showed higher oxidation stability than control untreated samples. Overall, our study shows that low concentrations of PPE exhibited promising antioxidant activity to be applied over a wider range of products in the food industry.

Practical applications: The prevention of lipid oxidation during processing and storage of food products is of great concern in order to obtain products of high quality and health. Together with the fact that synthetic antioxidants may constitute a potential health hazard for consumers, interest in natural antioxidants and search on naturally occurring compounds with antioxidant activity has increased dramatically. The study of the antioxidant capacity of potato peel extracts to inhibit soybean oil oxidation provides information about an alternative antioxidant further are by-products of agro-industries and their use could represent a significant step toward maintaining an environmental balance.