Total Phospholipids in Edible Oils by In-Vial Solvent Extraction Coupled with FTIR Analysis

Design and Properties of Natural Rosin-Based Phosphoester Functional Surfactants

As an important forestry biomass resource, rosin has a wide range of applications in medicine, adhesives, surfactants and other fields. Using natural dehydroabietic acid as a raw material, dehydroabietic acid-based phosphorus monoester (DPM) and diester (DPD) surfactants were designed and synthesized. The chemical structures and self-assembly properties were characterized by FT-IR, NMR and TEM, and the effects of pH on critical micelle concentration, γCMC, emulsifying properties, foam properties and micelle morphology were studied. The results showed that the CMC, γCMC value and aggregate morphology had certain pH responsiveness. The γCMC value under acidic conditions was smaller than γCMC under alkaline conditions, and the foaming performance and foam stability under acidic conditions were better than those under alkaline conditions. TEM micelle morphology studies have shown that DPM and DPD surfactants can self-assemble into rod-shaped and spherical micelle morphologies with a pH change in an aqueous solution. At the same pH, the foaming and emulsification properties of DPD were better than those of DPM. The best foaming and emulsification ability of DPD were 11.8 mL and 175 s, respectively. At the same time, the foaming ability of DPD is also affected by pH. DPD has excellent foaming properties in acidic conditions, but these disappeared in neutral conditions.

A Comprehensive Review of Health-Benefiting Components in Rapeseed Oil

Rapeseed oil is the third most consumed culinary oil in the world. It is well-known for its high content of unsaturated fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids, which make it of great nutritional value. There is increasing evidence that a diet rich in unsaturated fatty acids offers health benefits. Although the consumption of rapeseed oil cuts across many areas around the world, the nutritional elements of rapeseed oil and the exact efficacy of the nutrients remain unclear. In this review, we systematically summarized the latest studies on functional rapeseed components to ascertain which component of canola oil contributes to its function. Apart from unsaturated fatty acids, there are nine functional components in rapeseed oil that contribute to its anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective, among others. These nine functional components are vitamin E, flavonoids, squalene, carotenoids, glucoraphanin, indole-3-Carbinol, sterols, phospholipids, and ferulic acid, which themselves or their derivatives have health-benefiting properties. This review sheds light on the health-benefiting effects of rapeseed oil in the hope of further development of functional foods from rapeseed.

Effect of Four Extraction Processes with Acetone-Ethanol Protocols on the Properties of Egg Yolk Phosphatidylcholine and the Structure of Residual Protein

In this study, four acetone-ethanol protocols were employed to investigate the effect of extraction processes on the yield and purity of phosphatidylcholine (PC) from dried egg yolk powder and fresh liquid egg yolk, as well as the cholesterol distribution between the oil and PC fraction. Furthermore, the physicochemical (thermo-stability, fatty acid composition, and molecular structure) and emulsifying (zeta potential, particle size, EAI, ESI, and creaming index) properties of the final PC product were also examined. In addition, the structural characteristics of the egg yolk residual protein were highlighted to promote its application in food industries. The results showed that de-oiling with acetone prior to ethanol extraction can achieve high yield (19.92%) and purity (68.62%) of the PC product with low cholesterol content (< 0.12%). The extraction processes exhibited a significant impact on the emulsifying properties of the PC product. The creaming index of PC emulsions was higher than that of egg yolk powder emulsions with high protein concentration, suggesting that PC plays a critical role in the emulsifying stability of egg yolk protein dispersion. The structural characteristics of residual protein, including free sulfhydryl groups and primary, secondary, and ternary structures, showed considerable differentiation related to extraction processes. These findings provide a powerful tool for the dietary utilization of egg yolk PC and protein in future.

A dual-readout sandwich immunoassay based on biocatalytic perovskite nanocrystals for detection of prostate specific antigen

Nanozymes have been regarded as an excellent alternative for natural enzymes because of their high stability, low cost, and high activity. However, their use in disease diagnosis is still challenging, since the complex biological samples foul the nanozymes' surface and generate interference signals, thereby compromising the performance of nanozyme-based assays. Here, we report a dual-readout, CsPbBr₃ NCs-based sandwich immunoassay for the detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA). Thanks to their excellent fluorescence and intrinsic peroxidase-like catalytic activity, the designed phospholipid-coated CsPbBr₃ NCs (PL-CsPbBr₃ NCs) served as an attractive dual signal generator (fluorescent and colorimetric), which is hardly achieved by other nanozymes. The Michaelis-Menten constant (K_M) values of PL-CsPbBr₃ NCs for H₂O₂ and tetramethylbenzidine are 2.85 mM and 1.42 mM, respectively. Meanwhile, the lipid shell around CsPbBr₃ NCs not only greatly improves their aqueous stability, but also helps them resist the unspecific adsorption of biological impurities. Thus, the proposed dual-readout immunoassay enables precise, cost-effective, and anti-jamming detection of PSA in real serum samples with a low detection limit of 0.29 ng mL^-1 (colorimetric) and 0.081 ng mL^-1 (fluorescence). This enhanced immunoassay opens new insights for the application of perovskites in bioanalysis, especially for protein assay, holding great potential for disease diagnosis.

Physicochemical, Antioxidant, and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Rapeseed Lecithin Liposomes Loading a Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) Seed Extract

Vegetal waste materials were used to produce liposomes with both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Differences in the chemical composition of rapeseed lecithin (LEC) and a partially purified phospholipid fraction (PPL) were studied in terms of fatty acids (neutral lipids, free fatty acids, and phospholipids), sterols, tocopherols, and amino acid composition. Neutral lipids, campesterol, β-sitosterol, and γ-tocopherol were the most depleted compounds in PPL. Qualitative differences between LEC and PPL were revealed by infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. An ethanol/water antioxidant extract from chia seeds (ChE), with a high content in rosmarinic acid and rosmarinic acid 3-O-glucoside, along with other minor phenolic acids determined by HPLC-MS, was encapsulated in liposomes made of LEC (L-LEC) and PPL (L-PPL) with an entrapment efficiency of 61.3% and 69.3%, respectively. L-PPL suspensions showed smaller particle size and lower ζ potential than their L-LEC counterparts, along with noticeable particle destabilization after 7 days of storage. Antioxidant properties were greater in L-LEC than in L-PPL suspensions. L-LEC, ChE, and lecithin empty liposomes (L-E) showed no cytotoxic effect in either Caco-2 or THP-1 cells and induced downregulation of the inflammation response.

Chemical composition and health benefits of coconut oil: an overview

Coconut oil is an integral part of Sri Lankan and many South Asian diets. Initially, coconut oil was classified along with saturated fatty acid food items and criticized for its negative impact on health. However, research studies have shown that coconut oil is a rich source of medium-chain fatty acids. Thus, this has opened new prospects for its use in many fields. Beyond its usage in cooking, coconut oil has attracted attention due to its hypocholesterolemic, anticancer, antihepatosteatotic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and skin moisturizing properties. Despite all the health benefits, consumption of coconut oil is still underrated due to a lack of supportive scientific evidence. Even though studies done in Asian countries claim a favorable impact on cardiac health and serum lipid profile, the limitations in the number of studies conducted among Western countries impede the endorsement of the real value of coconut oil. Hence, long-term extensive studies with proper methodologies are suggested to clear all the controversies and misconceptions of coconut oil consumption. This review discusses the composition and functional properties of coconut oils extracted using various processing methods. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Deacidification of Microalgal Oil with Alkaline Microcrystalline Cellulose

Microalgal oil is considered a promising candidate for edible oils. However, investigation of the refining processes of microalgal oil has been limited, especially deacidification. In this work, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was pretreated using different methods and utilized for the first time in the deacidification of microalgal oil. Detection results from FTIR and XRD indicated alkali pretreatment had a significant effect on the structure of MCC. Some inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds in AMCC (alkali-pretreated MCC) were destroyed, and crystallinity index of cellulose decreased, which increased its adsorption capacity and the reaction of OH groups with free fatty acids. Some NaOH was adsorbed into AMCC through cellulose swelling, which also contributed to deacidification. The interaction with oil was also improved with many cracks and voids on the surface of AMCC. AMCC could reduce the acid value to about 2 mg KOH/g. Comparatively, original MCC and MCC pretreated with microwave or ultrasound did not exhibit the ability to deacidify. Furthermore, the conditions of alkali treatment were optimized. Treatment with 20% NaOH for 20 min was optimal. Compared with other adsorbents, such as sodium silicate and chitosan treated with alkali and resin, only AMCC could effectively reduce acid value while maintaining high lipid recovery. Therefore, AMCC was considered a better adsorbent for the deacidification of microalgal oil.

Effects of lecithin-based nanoemulsions on skin: Short-time cytotoxicity MTT and BrdU studies, skin penetration of surfactants and additives and the delivery of curcumin

Surfactants are important ingredients in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations, as in creams, shampoos or shower gels. As conventional emulsifiers such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) have fallen into disrepute due to their skin irritation potential, the naturally occurring lecithins are being investigated as a potential alternative. Thus, lecithin-based nanoemulsions with and without the drug curcumin, known for its wound healing properties, were produced and characterised in terms of their particle size, polydispersity index (PDI) and zeta potential and compared to SDS-based formulations. In vitro toxicity of the produced blank nanoemulsions was assessed with primary human keratinocytes and fibroblasts using two different cell viability assays (BrdU and EZ4U). Further, we investigated the penetration profiles of the deployed surfactants and oil components using combined ATR-FTIR/tape stripping experiments and confirmed the ability of the lecithin-based nanoemulsions to deliver curcumin into the stratum corneum in tape stripping-UV/Vis experiments. All manufactured nanoemulsions showed droplet sizes under 250 nm with satisfying PDI and zeta potential values. Viability assays with human skin cells clearly indicated that lecithin-based nanoemulsions were superior to SDS-based formulations. ATR-FTIR tests showed that lecithin and oil components remained in the superficial layers of the stratum corneum, suggesting a low risk for skin irritation. Ex vivo tape stripping experiments revealed that the kind of oil used in the nanoemulsion seemed to influence the depth of curcumin penetration into the stratum corneum.

Determination of glycerophospholipids in vegetable edible oils: Proof of concept to discriminate olive oil categories

Glycerophospholipids (GPLs) constitute a chemical family within the saponifiable fraction of vegetable oils. GPLs have been scarcely studied in edible oils owing to the lack of sensitive and selective analytical methods. We have developed a method for identification, confirmation and relative quantitation of GPLs in vegetable oils. The method is based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) for isolation of GPLs and determination by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). As proof of concept, the approach has been applied to characterize GPLs in different olive oil categories, thus revealing compositional changes, which could be explained by factors such as the quality of fruits and the extraction process. Families such as glycerophosphatidic acids and phosphatidylglycerides are remarkable because of their capability to discriminate virgin olive oils from the rest of categories. These results open a door to additional studies targeted at the identification of olive oil quality by monitoring these lipids.

Distribution of phospholipid based formulations in the skin investigated by combined ATR-FTIR and tape stripping experiments

The spatial distribution of exogenous substances in the stratum corneum (SC) could have an influence on their skin irritation potential. In this study it was possible to monitor the distribution of phospholipids with their phosphatidylcholine scaffold on porcine ear skin by combining tape stripping and in vitro ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Significant vibrational modes in the spectra could be successfully assigned to the functional groups of the molecules. Thus it was possible to track the phospholipids without the need of their deuterated form by calculating difference spectra from the treated - untreated skin samples. The correlation between four characteristic bands (R²≥0.9909) revealed the excellent suitability of this semi-quantitative method for deep profiling analysis. The penetration capabilities of aqueous suspensions of the different phospholipid compositions as well as two monoacyl-phosphatidylcholine based liposome formulations were investigated using this method. Nevertheless, differences in the distribution of the investigated phospholipid species, having different amounts of monoacyl-phosphatidylcholine, could not be found. It could be clearly shown that the deepest skin penetration was seen in the irritating anionic SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) out of the aqueous solution. The aqueous suspensions based on different phospholipid surfactants showed the same range of penetration depth (10-15% of SC), whereas the smallest skin penetration depth was observed after the application of liposomal formulations.