Interaction lipid oxidation effects

The finding that water-soluble flavonoids could exert their beneficial properties at the hydrophobic portion of the membrane was also observed in in vivo studies and in cells in culture. For example, erythrocytes obtained from animals fed a flavanol- and procyanidin-rich meal showed reduced susceptibility to free-radical-mediated hemolysis [Zhu et al., 2002]. Consistently, we demonstrated that procyanidin hexamers, which interact with membranes but would not be internalized, protected Caco-2 cells from AMVN- and bile-induced oxidation [Erlejman et al., 2006]. When liposomes were preincubated with a series of flavonoids with diverse hydrophobicity, not only hydrophobic flavonoids prevented AMVN-mediated lipid oxidation but also the more hydrophilic ones [Erlejman et al., 2004]. Similarly to what was previously found in liposomes, the protective effects of flavonoids against AMVN-supported oxidation was strongly associated with their capacity to prevent membrane disruption by detergents, supporting the hypothesis of a physical protection of membranes by preventing oxidants to reach fatty acids. 

To gain insight into the effect of physical state and/or molecular organization on lipid oxidation, a variety of model systems have been used. These include dispersions, liposomes or vesicles (37,38), monolayers adsorbed on silica (39,40,41), and red blood cell ghosts (42). In most of these studies, oxidation was conducted at relatively low temperatures, i.e., 20 - 40°C. Very little information is available on the effects of physical state on high temperature oxidative reactions or interactions of lipids. 

Lipids play an important part in the development of aroma in cooked foods, such as meat, by providing a source of reactive intermediates which participate in the Maillard reaction. Phospholipids appear to be more important than triglycerides. The addition of phospholipid to aqueous amino acid + ribose mixtures leads to reductions in the concentrations of heterocyclic compounds formed in the Maillard reaction. This effect could be due to lipid oxidation products reacting with simple Maillard intermediates, such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, to give compounds not normally found in the Maillard reaction. The precise nature of the odoriferous products obtained from lipid - Maillard interactions is dictated by the lipid structure and may depend on the fatty acid composition and the nature of any polar group attached to the lipid. 

Day, E.A., Lillard, D.A., Montgomery, M.W. 1963. Auto-oxidation of milk lipids. III. Effect of flavor of the additive interactions of carbonyl compounds at sub-threshold concentrations.. / Dairy Sci. 46, 291-294. 

Water has a profound effect on interactions between lipid oxidation products... 

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