Polyunsaturated fatty acids oxidation

Fig. 3. The mechanism of polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidation initiated by free radicals.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids in vegetable oils, particularly finolenic esters in soybean oil, are especially sensitive to oxidation. Even a slight degree of oxidation, commonly referred to as flavor reversion, results in undesirable flavors, eg, beany, grassy, painty, or fishy. Oxidation is controlled by the exclusion of metal contaminants, eg, iron and copper addition of metal inactivators such as citric acid minimum exposure to air, protection from light, and selective hydrogenation to decrease the finolenate content to ca 3% (74). Careful quality control is essential for the production of acceptable edible soybean oil products (75). 

The prostaglandins (qv) constitute another class of fatty acids with aUcycHc structures. These are of great biological importance and are formed by i vivo oxidation of 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly arachidonic acid [27400-91-5]. Several prostaglandins, eg, PGE [745-65-3] have different degrees of unsaturation and oxidation when compared to the parent compound, prostanoic acid [25151 -18-9]. 

Lipoxygenase-Catalyzed Oxidations. Lipoxygenase-1 catalyzes the incorporation of dioxygen into polyunsaturated fatty acids possessing a l(Z),4(Z)-pentadienyi moiety to yield ( ),(Z)-conjugated hydroperoxides. A highly active preparation of the enzyme from soybean is commercially available in purified form. From a practical standpoint it is important to mention that the substrate does not need to be in solution to undergo the oxidation. Indeed, the treatment of 28 g/L of linoleic acid [60-33-3] with 2 mg of the enzyme results in (135)-hydroperoxide of linoleic acid in 80% yield... 

Polyunsaturated fatty acids pose a slightly more complicated situation for the cell. Consider, for example, the case of linoleic acid shown in Figure 24.24. As with oleic acid, /3-oxidation proceeds through three cycles, and enoyl-CoA isomerase converts the cA-A double bond to a trans-b double bond to permit one more round of /3-oxidation. What results this time, however, is a cA-A enoyl-CoA, which is converted normally by acyl-CoA dehydrogenase to a trans-b, cis-b species. This, however, is a poor substrate for the enoyl-CoA hydratase. This problem is solved by 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase, the product of which depends on the organism. The mammalian form of this enzyme produces a trans-b enoyl product, as shown in Figure 24.24, which can be converted by an enoyl-CoA isomerase to the trans-b enoyl-CoA, which can then proceed normally through the /3-oxidation pathway. Escherichia coli possesses a... 

Osmundsen, H. Hovik, R. (1988). P-Oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 16,420-422. 

Figure 45-6. Interaction and synergism between antioxidant systems operating in the lipid phase (membranes) of the cell and the aqueous phase (cytosol). (R-,free radical PUFA-00-, peroxyl free radical of polyunsaturated fatty acid in membrane phospholipid PUFA-OOH, hydroperoxy polyunsaturated fatty acid in membrane phospholipid released as hydroperoxy free fatty acid into cytosol by the action of phospholipase Aj PUFA-OH, hydroxy polyunsaturated fatty acid TocOH, vitamin E (a-tocopherol) TocO, free radical of a-tocopherol Se, selenium GSH, reduced glutathione GS-SG, oxidized glutathione, which is returned to the reduced state after reaction with NADPH catalyzed by glutathione reductase PUFA-H, polyunsaturated fatty acid.)...

Interaction of lipid oxidation products and amino compounds. Amino acids and primary amines may be involved in other reactions which could lead to the formation of compounds having the potential to undergo N-nitrosation. Malonaldehyde, produced as a result of oxidation of lipids, particularly polyunsaturated fatty acids, has been shown to react with amino acids to produce... 

Fishwick, M.J. and Swoboda, P.A.T. (1977). Measurement of oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids by spectrophoto-metric assay of conjugated derivatives. J. Sci. Food Agric. 28, 387-393. 

The accumulation of hydroperoxides and their subsequent decomposition to alkoxyl and peroxyl radicals can accelerate the chain reaction of polyunsaturated fatty-acid p>eroxidation leading to oxidative damage to cells and membranes as well as lipoproteins. It is well-recognized that transition metals or haem proteins, through their... 

It is now widely appreciated that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are highly susceptible to oxidative damage. Indeed, the process of lipid peroxidation was broadly defined as the oxidative deterioration of polyunsaturated lipids by Tappel (1979). The presence of a double... 

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