Influence of two lipid extraction procedures on the peroxide value in powdered infant formulas

Detection of Lipid Oxidation in Infant Formulas: Application of Infrared Spectroscopy to Complex Food Systems

 Fish- or algal oils have become a common component of infant formula products for their high docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content. DHA is widely recognized to contribute to the normal development of the infant, and the European Commission recently regulated the DHA content in infant formulas. For many manufacturers of first-age early life nutrition products, a higher inclusion level of DHA poses various challenges. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) such as DHA are very prone to oxidation, which can alter the organoleptic property and nutritional value of the final product. Traditional methods for the assessment of oxidation in complex systems require solvent extraction of the included fat, which can involve harmful reagents and may alter the oxidation status of the system. A rapid, efficient, non-toxic real-time method to monitor lipid oxidation in complex systems such as infant formula emulsions would be desirable. In this study, infrared spectroscopy was therefore chosen to monitor iron-induced oxidation in liquid infant formula, with conjugated dienes and headspace volatiles measured with GC-MS as reference methods. Infrared spectra of infant formula were recorded directly in mid- and near-infrared regions using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform (ATR-FTIR) and near-infrared (NIRS) spectrophotometers. Overall, good correlation coefficients (R2 > 0.9) were acquired between volatiles content and infrared spectroscopy. Despite the complex composition of infant formula containing proteins and sugars, infrared spectroscopy was still able to detect spectral changes unique to lipid oxidation. By comparison, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) presented better results than ATR-FTIR: prediction error ATR-FTIR 18% > prediction error NIRS 9%. Consequently, NIRS demonstrates great potential to be adopted as an in-line or on-line, non-destructive, and sustainable method for dairy and especially infant formula manufacturers.

ESR spin trapping for in situ detection of radicals involved in the early stages of lipid oxidation of dried microencapsulated oils

Different studies have shown that detection of free radicals by ESR spin trapping provides useful information on the susceptibility to oxidation of bulk oils and accordingly on the oxidative stability of different samples for comparative purposes. With the same goal, ESR spin trapping was evaluated in this work for in situ detection of radicals in dried microencapsulated oils (DMOs). By testing different oils, encapsulation matrices and oxidation conditions, results showed that ESR spin trapping can be useful to evaluate the oxidative susceptibility of DMOs, but ESR data should be interpreted cautiously, as the great complexity of the reactions involved may lead to data misinterpretations. Conditions for oxygen availability can have important impacts on the rates of both spin trapping and spin-adduct quenching affecting the levels of radicals observed. The kinetics of oxidation, spin trapping and spin-adduct decay should be known first in bulk oils for correct data interpretation in DMOs.

Fast and direct analysis of oxidation levels of oil-in-water emulsions using ATR-FTIR

Oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids is a major limitation on its enrichment in food and beverages. An efficient and simple method to monitor lipid oxidation in complex systems is essential to limit lipid oxidation during formulation and processing. Fish oil-in-water emulsions (20% v/v) were exposed to iron or free radical initiated oxidation. Conjugated dienes (CDs) were rapidly measured using a previously developed fat extraction method. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used to directly record chemical changes occurring during oxidation. Variations were noticed in different spectral regions despite the presence of broad water bands near 3400 and 1640 cm^-1. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) revealed correlations between CD values and full FTIR spectra (4000-600 cm^-1), and different spectral regions (e.g., 1800-1500 cm^-1, 1500-900 cm^-1). These correlations confirm that FTIR spectroscopy is a rapid and simple method for measuring lipid oxidation in complex foods without prior fat extraction.

Quantitative determination of major oxidation products in edible oils by direct NP-HPLC-DAD analysis

The objective of the present study was to explore the possibilities of the direct analysis of vegetable oils by normal-phase HPLC-DAD to evaluate the amounts of the main oxidation products of triacylglycerols containing linoleate, i.e. hydroperoxy-, keto- and hydroxy-dienes. A follow-up of oxidation at 40 °C of trilinolein, used as a simplified model lipid system, high-linoleic sunflower oil and high-oleic sunflower oil was performed to evaluate samples with different fatty acid compositions and different oxidation levels. The results showed that the HPLC-DAD method proposed allows for determining the concentrations of mono-hydroperoxydienes in edible oils without applying any isolation or derivatization step. The method was found to be direct, sensitive (LOQ 0.06 mmol/kg oil), precise (CV ≤ 5%) and also accurate, with 99% of analyte recovery. It also enabled the estimation of the minor amounts of ketodienes, but not those of hydroxydienes, which presented wide chromatographic bands and coeluted with a number of different minor oxidation compounds.