A STUDY OF THE LEVELS OF TRANS FATTY ACID IN HYDROGENATED OILS SOLD IN EGYPT AND THE EFFECT OF INTERMITTENT HEATING ON THE BLOOD LIPID PIROFILE OF EXPEIRIMENTAL ANIMALS

Abstract

Fats are important constituents of our diet and, beside their functions as sources of energy and carriers for fat-soluble vitamins, they supply essential fatty acids that are vital components of cell membrane, and are precursors for potent hormone-like compounds such as prostaglandines and leukotrienes. Trans fatty acids occur when natural cis unsaturated fatty acids are altered by partial hydrogenation,they are also found in low concentrations in maets and dairy products, to straighten the chains so that they have some of the physical packing properties of saturated fatty acids; their cis double bond changed to trans double bond and they turn a mostly unsaturated oil into a solid fat. Trans fatty acids, of the same length and weight as the original cis fatty acids, they were formed from, still have the same number of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms but are shaped differently in space. Widespread use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils containing large amounts of trans-fatty acids has raised questions concerning the biological effects of consumption of significant amounts of these isomers. Trans-fatty acids occur naturalJy in small amounts in meats and dairy products and in variable amounts in commercially prepared partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. The objective of hydrogenation is to reduce the degree of unsaturation, thereby increasing the melting point to improve textural properties in the food and increasing oxidative stability, it is important to note that trans double