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Biotechnological Improvement of Soybean Oil for Lubricant Applications
Published in Leslie R. Rudnick, Synthetics, Mineral Oils, and Bio-Based Lubricants, 2020
Peng Wang, Xiangjun Li, Edgar B. Cahoon
In addition to its content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, a major contributor to the oxidative stability of soybean oil is its relatively high content of vitamin E antioxidants. Plants contain two classes of vitamin E referred to as tocopherols and tocotrienols. Within each class, four forms occur, α, β, γ, and δ, that differ with regard to the degree and position of methylation of the polar head groups of tocopherols and tocotrienols [35]. These molecules are extracted along with soybean oil during commercial processing of seeds and improve the shelf life of the oil as well as food products that are fried in soybean oil. The γ and δ forms of tocopherols and tocotrienols have been shown to confer the greatest oxidative stability to vegetable oils in frying studies relative to their α and β forms [36,37]. Soybean oil contains ∼1300 mg of tocopherols/kg of the oil, primarily in the γ and δ forms [38]. Biotechnological efforts have been directed at increasing the vitamin E content of soybean oil. In research conducted by the Monsanto Company, introduction of four vitamin E-biosynthetic genes into soybean, each under control of a seed-specific promoter, resulted in up to an 11-fold increase in vitamin E levels in soybean seeds [39]. The vitamin E that accumulated in the engineered seeds was primarily γ- and δ-tocotrienols. The impact of these substantial increases in vitamin E levels on the oxidative stability of soybean oil for food or lubricant uses has yet to be determined.
Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: An Overview of the Clinical Outcomes and Evidence-Based Archive
Published in Bhaskar Mazumder, Subhabrata Ray, Paulami Pal, Yashwant Pathak, Nanotechnology, 2019
Manjir Sarma Kataki, Ananya Rajkumari, Bibhuti Bhusan Kakoti
Tocopherols and tocotrienols are lipid-soluble monophenols which exist as four homologues (alpha, beta, delta, and gamma). These homologous tocopherols and tocotrienols differ from each other by the number and location of the methyl groups in their chemical structures. They contain a phenolic-chromanol ring linked to an isoprenoid side chain which is either saturated (tocopherols) or unsaturated (tocotrienols) (Kamal‐Eldin and Appelqvist, 1996). The health benefits of tocopherols and tocotrienols are owed to the regulation of gene expression, signal transduction, and modulation of other cellular functions. The potential health benefits of tocopherols and tocotrienols incorporate the prevention of heart disease, certain types of cancer, and other chronic ailments (Shahidi and de Camargo, 2016).
Potential Use of Bioactive Compounds from Waste in the pharmaceutical Industry
Published in Quan V. Vuong, Utilisation of Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural and Food Waste, 2017
Nutraceutical molecules, such as tocopherols, tocotrienols, sterols and squalene are concentrated in the palm fatty acid distillate, collected from the physical refining of palm oil (Gapor 2000, Tan et al. 2007). They can be extracted through a process that includes treatment with alkyl alcohol and sodium methoxide to convert free fatty acids and glycerides into alkyl esters; the removal of the alkyl esters by distillation under reduced pressure, leaving tocopherols, tocotrienols, sterols and squalene in the residue; a cooling step to crystallize and separate sterols from tocopherols and tocotrienols; the passage of the filtrate containing tocopherols, tocotrienols and squalene through an ion-exchange column with anionic exchange resin to remove the squalene and produce a concentrated tocopherol and tocotrienol fraction in the solvent; the removal of the solvent and molecular distillation (Kawada et al. 1993, Gapor 1995). Since the extraction of palm oil requires the addition of water at certain stages, the resulting by-product is an aqueous solution containing phenolic compounds. These potent antioxidants can be extracted through a solvent-free process. The system includes a 3-phase decanter system which pellets the suspended solids and floats the oil; a membrane that removes residual oil; an ion-exchange membrane that removes ionic contaminants such as iron; a molecular weight cut-off membrane that removes the high-molecular-weight components. The resulting filtrate is rich in flavonoids, polyphenols and phenolic acids (Tg et al. 2013).
Variability of growth and oil characteristics of Jatropha curcas L. in North-east India
Published in Biofuels, 2021
Nilakshi Borah, Sergio Mapelli, Paola Pecchia, Kalpataru Dutta Mudoi, Bithika Chaliha, Animesh Gogoi, Anjali Doley, Rumi Kotoky, Siddhartha Proteem Saikia
Tocopherols and tocotrienols are considered a major group of antioxidants in oils. Gamma-tocopherol as the main component has been reported [42,43] in jatropha. In our study, gamma-tocopherol was the main component, accounting for at least 90%, and alfa-tocopherol constituted the remaining part. The content of tocopherol varied from 73.7 ng/mg oil (AG-21) to 907.8 ng/mg oil (AG-08) (Table 4). The accession AG-08 was the only one with very high tocopherol content. In another study, evaluating seeds of 52 J. curcas accessions, gamma-tocotrienol was reported as the main component (67.1–88.8%) of tocochromanols; the remaining part was essentially the gamma-tocopherol [44]. The same authors reported that in the first 60 days of J. curcas seed development the gamma-tocopherol was essentially the only component present. In our study the fruits were harvested at 60–70 days after pollination. At this time fruits had yellow colour and photosynthesis activity was reaching its end. At 124 days after pollination the fruits were black and the chromoplasts might be active. The functionality of chloroplast or chromoplast is the point where the biosynthesis pathways of tocopherols and tocotrienols are separated [45]. This difference can explain the different composition of tocochromanols at different stages of harvesting of J. curcas seeds.
Optimization of simultaneous carotenes and vitamin E (tocols) extraction from crude palm olein using response surface methodology
Published in Chemical Engineering Communications, 2018
Yin Leng Kua, Suyin Gan, Andrew Morris, Hoon Kiat Ng
In general, food sources with the highest concentration of vitamin E or tocols are vegetable oils, followed by nuts and seeds (Vicente et al., 2011). Crude palm oil has 600–1000 ppm of vitamin E, with 21.3% tocopherol, and 78.7% tocotrienol (Ong, 1993). Tocols protect the body against oxidative damage, skin damage, and aging by UV-radiation (Traber et al., 1997). Tocotrienol in particular has been reported to regulate cholesterol level and prevent cancers, stroke, and fats accumulation in the liver (Gopalan et al., 2014; Magosso et al., 2013; Packer et al., 2001; Theriault et al., 1999). Compared to tocopherol, tocotrienol is reportedly more effective due to its highly antioxidative property linked to its unsaturated chain, which facilitates cell penetration (Suzuki et al., 1993).