Search Results (16)

The influence of different lipid blends on the physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics of short dough biscuits was investigated in comparison with a conventional formulation containing palm oil. Six different lipid matrices were employed: palm oil, butter, high-oleic sunflower oil, butter/extra virgin olive oil, butter/high-oleic sunflower oil, and a coconut/sunflower oil mixture. Biscuits were analyzed for fatty acid composition, sterols, tocols, oxidative stability, texture, and sensory attributes. The results showed a variability in the lipid composition. In particular, formulations containing high-oleic sunflower oil and its blends exhibited higher monounsaturated fatty acids and α-tocopherol, while coconut-based samples displayed greater saturated fatty acids and an improved oxidative stability. Butter-containing biscuits had the highest sterol concentration, mainly cholesterol. Textural and sensory evaluations revealed how the lipid fraction significantly affected crispiness, friability, and flavour perception. Biscuits formulated with high-oleic sunflower oil or butter achieved desirable structural and sensory properties, while the coconut/sunflower oil sample obtained the highest overall acceptability. The findings demonstrate that replacing palm oil with selected lipid blends can produce biscuits with an improved lipid quality and oxidative stability and satisfactory sensory performance, contributing to healthier and more sustainable bakery products. Full article

The valorization of waste materials is essential for sustainability, with used cooking oils (UCOs) offering potential for transformation into valuable functional products. The study investigates the oxidative stability of sunflower and olive oils subjected to high temperatures (160–200 °C) and frying on their physico-chemical properties (acidity, peroxide and iodine value, total polar compounds). Significant deterioration occurred above 180 °C, with increased peroxide and polar compounds and reduced iodine values. A technological process for the purification and saponification of UCOs (sunflower, olive, and palm oils) was developed, demonstrating the potential to transform pollutant waste into a valuable and sustainable product—soap. The incorporation of oregano and thyme essential oils (EOs), identified by GC-FID as rich sources of carvacrol, thymol, p-cymene, and limonene, improved the functional properties of the soaps. The antimicrobial activity of soaps largely relates to their alkaline pH, while the incorporation of EOs contributes to additional antimicrobial effects, obtaining zones of inhibition of up to 10.8 mm against Staphylococcus aureus and up to 7.6 mm against Escherichia coli for palm oil. The study highlights a sustainable approach that transforms waste oils into functional soaps with EOs for added antimicrobial benefits. Full article

Background/Objectives: The effects of geographical origin, alongside age, diet, and drug treatments, on the gut microbiota have not been thoroughly analyzed in African countries. Furthermore, eukaryotic components, including Blastocystis, the most common intestinal protozoan worldwide, require further investigation. This study compares the gut microbiota of Italian subjects with that of two African groups to examine the influence of dietary patterns and the effects of Blastocystis presence and subtypes. Methods: Three cohorts of healthy subjects (Italians residing in Rome, Africans residing in the Côte d’Ivoire, and Africans living in Italy) were compared by sequencing the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rDNA gene. Taxa abundance and associations with typical West African and Italian foods were determined using DESeq2. Co-abundant genera were identified with a weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA). Blastocystis subtypes were determined and correlated with the microbial composition in the three groups. Results: Distinct microbial taxa were associated with specific foods, including palm oil, Cube Maggi, sunflower oil, and olive oil. A Mediterranean diet consumed for over two years did not alter the abundance of Faecalibacterium and Dorea in the Africans living in Italy compared with Africans living in Côte d’Ivoire, whereas differences were observed in the abundance of some Prevotella-9, Bacteroides, and Lachnospiraceae OTUs. Significant associations were identified between palm oil and Subdoligranulum, Cube Maggi and Dorea, sunflower oil and the Ruminococcus torques group, and olive oil and Faecalibacterium. Concerning Blastocystis, alpha and beta diversity analysis showed a significant separation between carriers and non-carriers. Conclusions: This study provides the first comparative analysis of gut microbiota composition between individuals from Côte d’Ivoire and Italians focusing on the influence of distinct dietary patterns. Full article

This review provides an overview of the main vegetable oils of different botanical origin and composition that can be used for frying worldwide (olive and extra-virgin olive oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil) and their degradation during this process. It is well known that during this culinary technique, oil’s major and minor components degrade throughout different reactions, mainly thermoxidation, polymerization and, to a lesser extent, hydrolysis. If severe high temperatures are employed, isomerization to trans fatty acyl chains and cyclization are also possible. The factors conditioning frying medium degradation are addressed, including oil composition (unsaturation degree, fatty acyl chain length and “free” fatty acid content, and presence of beneficial and detrimental minor components), together with frying conditions and food characteristics. Likewise, this review also tackles how the frying oil and other processing conditions may impact on fried food quality (oil absorption, texture, flavor and color). Finally, potential health implications of fried food consumption are briefly reviewed. Full article

This study provides insights into food inflation by investigating the dynamic interconnectedness of the prices of olive oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil. Using data from January 1990 to October 2023, averaged dynamic and extended joint connectedness analyses are conducted by employing the innovative Time-Varying Parameter Vector Autoregressive (TVP-VAR) methodology. The findings reveal that olive oil presents a low connection with substitute oils and generates net spillover effects, especially at the onset of COVID-19 but also at later stages and during the Russia–Ukraine war. Palm oil transmits effects on the system of oils before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) but renders a net receiver afterward, while sunflower oil follows the opposite way. Systemic connectedness is the highest during the GFC and remains elevated during QE-tapering. It slightly increases during COVID-19 outbursts and illustrates higher spikes when the Russia–Ukraine conflict begins. These linkages are even stronger among only the substitute oils. Full article

A variety of specific plant oils produced from plants other than sunflowers and olives has been offered on the food market, most of them obtained using cold pressing in order to preserve sensitive oil components. The objective of this study was to evaluate their fatty acid (FA) compositions by means of nutritional quality indices. FA profiles (37 FAs) of 20 commercially available specific edible plant oils were obtained using GC-FID and further evaluated by calculating lipid quality indices. FA profiles and their corresponding quality indices showed the expected variability, depending on the plant source. For the purpose of comparison, the same indices were determined for sunflower and olive oil: the polyunsaturated-to-saturated FA ratio (PUFA/SFA) was 5.1 and 0.5, the hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (HH) was 13.0 and 6.8, the index of atherogenicity (IA) was 0.08 and 0.14, the index of thrombogenicity (IT) was 0.23 and 0.24, and the unsaturation index (UI) was 146.6 and 93.5, respectively. A higher PUFA/SFA ratio is beneficial for cardiovascular health, as are a lower IA and IT. The UI indicates stability of unsaturated FAs during storage and processing. Flaxseed oil was the only one showing a PUFA/SFA ratio higher than sunflower oil (5.8). Regarding IA, flaxseed, almond, apricot, plum, hazelnut, macadamia, and sea buckthorn oils were similar to sunflower oil; sesame, black cumin, poppy, pumpkin, avocado, raspberry seed, argan, moringa, and rose seed oils resembled olive oil; and palm oil was isolated at 0.80, while coconut oil reached 23.4. Flaxseed, almond, apricot, plum, raspberry seed, macadamia, rose seed, and sea buckthorn oils showed a lower IT than sunflower and olive oils (range 0.06–0.18). Coconut and palm oils showed lower HH ratios than olive oil, whereas, in the case of flaxseed, almond, apricot, plum, hazelnut, and sea buckthorn oils, this ratio was higher than the one in sunflower oil (range 14.0–16.1). Flaxseed oil was characterized by the highest UI (208.4), while others were distributed along the 90–170 interval (except coconut and palm oils). According to their nutritional quality indices, a variety of plant oils are valuable sources of FAs in human nutrition. Full article

The aim of this study was to assess the gelling potential of chiral oxalamide derivatives in vegetable oils. Special emphasis was given to the potential applications of the examined oil gels as sustained delivery systems and as fat substitutes in food products. The applicability of oil gelators is envisaged in food, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical industry. The regulations requiring the elimination of saturated fats and rising concerns among consumers health motivated us to investigate small organic molecules capable of efficiently transforming from liquid oil to a gel state. The oxalamide organogelators showed remarkable gelation efficiency in vegetable oils, thermal and mechanical stability, self-healing properties, and a long period of stability. The physical properties of the gels were analysed by TEM microscopy, DSC calorimetry, and oscillatory rheology. The controlled release properties of acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, and hydrocortisone were analysed by the LC–MS method. The influence of the oil type (sunflower, soybean, and olive oil) on gelation efficiency of diverse oxalamide derivatives was examined by oscillatory rheology. The oxalamide gelators showed thermoreversible and thixotropic properties in vegetable oils with a minimum gelation concentration of just 0.025 wt%. The substitution of palm fats with gelled sunflower oil applied in cocoa and milk spreads at gelator concentrations lower than 0.2 wt% have shown promising viscoelastic properties compared to that of the original food products. Full article

The flavor of fried green onion oil (Allium fistulosum L.) is widely applied and popular in Chinese cuisine. This work aimed to explore the effects of different varieties of vegetable oils on the flavor profile generation of fried green onion oil. The volatile flavor components of seven different kinds of fried green onion oils, i.e., soybean oil, palm oil, olive oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, camellia oil, and colza oil, were identified and analyzed by sensory analysis, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and electronic nose. The results showed that sensory analysis and electronic nose were accepted to detect the odor diversities of different kinds of fried green onion oil sensitively. A total of 103 volatile flavor components were identified positively, and the key aromas included aldehydes and sulfur-containing compounds that correlated highly with green grass, oily, pungent and shallot scent attributes. Meanwhile, fatty acid compositions showed that there were no significant changes in the types of fatty acids before and after frying, but the relative content was not different. Accordingly, the unsaturated fatty acids (UFA, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, and C20:1) had a significant influence on the flavor of frying oil, which was peculiarly prone to oxidation and heat degradation reactions. These results provided a theoretical basis for further application of fried onion flavor in the food industry. Full article

Several polyunsaturated fatty acids are considered to have beneficial health effects, while saturated fatty acids and industrial trans fatty acids (TFAs) are linked to negative health consequences. Given the increased formation of TFAs during heating, many studies already investigated compositional changes in oils after prolonged heating or at extremely high temperatures. In contrast, our aim was to measure changes in fatty acid composition and in some health-related indices in edible oils after short-time heating that resembles the conventional household use. Potatoes were fried in palm, rapeseed, soybean, sunflower and extra virgin olive oils at 180 °C for 5 min, and samples were collected from fresh oils and after 1, 5 and 10 consecutive heating sequences. Regardless of the type of oil, the highest linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid values were measured in the fresh samples, whereas significantly lower values were detected in almost all samples following the heating sequences. In contrast, the lowest levels of TFAs were detected in the fresh oils, while their values significantly increased in almost all samples during heating. Indices of atherogenicity and thrombogenicity were also significantly higher in these oils after heating. The present data indicate that prolonged or repeated heating of vegetable oils should be avoided; however, the type of oil has a greater effect on the changes of health-related indices than the number of heating sequences. Full article

The prevalence of mycotoxins is often increased by the climatic conditions prevailing in tropical regions. Reports have revealed the contamination of mycotoxins in some types of vegetable oil. However, vegetable oil is one of the essential ingredients used in food preparation. Thus, this study determined the occurrence of multi-mycotoxins in six types of vegetable oils commercially available in Thailand to assess the consumer health risk. In total, 300 vegetable oil samples (olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and rice bran oil) collected from various markets in Thailand were analyzed for the presence of nine mycotoxins, namely, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1), aflatoxin G2 (AFG2), beauvericin (BEA), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisin B1 (FB1), and fumonisin B2 (FB2) using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS)-based procedure and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source. The incidences of mycotoxin contamination varied among the different types of oil samples. AFB1, AFB2, ZEA, FB1, and FB2 were most frequently found in contaminated samples. AFB2, BEA, ZEA, FB1, and FB2 contaminated olive oil samples, whereas AFB1, AFB2, AFG2, and OTA contaminated palm oil samples. AFB1, AFB2, and ZEA were found in soybean oils, whereas ZEA, FB1, and FB2 contaminated corn oil samples. AFB1 and AFG1 contaminated sunflower oil samples, whereas AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and OTA were detected in rice bran oil samples. However, the contamination levels of the analyzed mycotoxins were below the regulatory limits. Full article

Palm oil has been widely criticised for its high environmental impacts, leading to calls to replace it with alternative vegetable oils in food and cosmetic products. However, substituting palm oil would be environmentally beneficial only if the environmental footprint per litre oil were lower than those of alternative vegetable oils. Whether this is the case is not obvious, given the high oil yields of oil palm of up to 10 times those of alternative crops. Here, we combine global agricultural and environmental datasets to show that, among the world’s seven major vegetable oil crops (oil palm, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, groundnut, coconut, olive), oil palm has the lowest average species richness and carbon footprint associated with an annual production of one litre of vegetable oil. For each crop, these yield-adjusted footprints differ substantially between major producer countries, which we find to be largely the result of differences in crop management. Closing agricultural yield gaps of oil crops through improved management practices would significantly reduce the environmental footprints per oil yield. This would minimise the need for further land conversion to oil cropland and indeed could increase production to such an extent that a significant area of oil croplands could be ecologically restored. Full article

We developed a comprehensive composition database of 629 cereal-based gluten free (GF) products available in Spain. Information on ingredients and nutritional composition was retrieved from food package labels. GF products were primarily composed of rice and/or corn flour, and 90% of them included added rice starch. The most common added fat was sunflower oil (present in one third of the products), followed by palm fat, olive oil, and cocoa. Only 24.5% of the products had the nutrition claim “no added sugar”. Fifty-six percent of the GF products had sucrose in their formulation. Xanthan gum was the most frequently employed fiber, appearing in 34.2% of the GF products, followed by other commonly used such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (23.1%), guar gum (19.7%), and vegetable gums (19.6%). Macronutrient analysis revealed that 25.4% of the products could be labeled as a source of fiber. Many of the considered GF food products showed very high contents of energy (33.5%), fats (28.5%), saturated fatty acids (30.0%), sugars (21.6%), and salt (28.3%). There is a timid reformulation in fat composition and salt reduction, but a lesser usage of alternative flours and pseudocereals. Full article

Fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated, and their metabolites (eicosanoids) play many pivotal roles in human body, influencing various physiological and pathological processes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of supplementation with edible oils diverse in terms of fatty acid composition on fatty acid contents, activities of converting their enzymes, and on lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic and linoleic acids (eicosanoids) in rat serum. Female Sprague-Dawley rats divided into seven groups were used in the study. Animals from six groups were fed one of oils daily (carotino oil, made up by combining of red palm oil and canola oil, linseed oil, olive oil, rice oil, sesame oil, or sunflower oil). One group received a standard diet only. Fatty acids were determined using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Eicosanoids—hydroxyeicosatetraenoic (HETE) and hydroxyoctadecadienoic acids (HODE) were extracted using a solid-phase extraction method and analyzed with HPLC. Vegetable oils given daily to rats caused significant changes in serum fatty acid profile and eicosanoid concentrations. Significant differences were also found in desaturases’ activity, with the linseed and olive oil supplemented groups characterized by the highest D6D and D5D activity. These findings may play a significant role in various pathological states. Full article

The detection of adulteration in edible oils is a concern in the food industry, especially for the higher priced virgin olive oils. This article presents a low field unilateral nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method for the detection of the adulteration of virgin olive oil that can be performed through sealed bottles providing a non-destructive screening technique. Adulterations of an extra virgin olive oil with different percentages of sunflower oil and red palm oil were measured with a commercial unilateral instrument, the profile NMR-Mouse. The NMR signal was processed using a 2-dimensional Inverse Laplace transformation to analyze the transverse relaxation and self-diffusion behaviors of different oils. The obtained results demonstrated the feasibility of detecting adulterations of olive oil with percentages of at least 10% of sunflower and red palm oils. Full article

Oleum Hyperici, the oil extract of St. John’s Wort (SJW), is one of the oldest folk remedies, traditionally used in the topical treatment of wounds, bruises, ulcers, cuts, burns, hemorrhoids and also as an antiseptic. Considering the advantageous characteristics of emulsion applications, in the present study we have formulated three O/W creams containing 15% (w/v) of SJW oil extract as an active ingredient. The aim was to estimate dermatological application of the prepared creams for the abovementioned indications. The extracts were prepared according to the prescriptions from traditional medicine, however with different vegetable oils used as an extractant, namely: Olive, palm and sunflower oil. The investigated O/W creams demonstrated significant antiinflammatory effects in an in vivo double-blind randomized study, using a sodium lauryl sulphate test. Both skin parameters assessed in the study (electrical capacitance and erythema index), were restored to the baseline value after a seven-day treatment with the tested creams. Almost all investigated SJW oil extracts and corresponding creams displayed the same antimicrobial activity against the most of the investigated microorganisms with obtained minimal inhibitory concentrations values of 1,280 µg/mL, 2,560 µg/mL or >2,560 µg/mL. Full article