Enzymatic hydrolysis in vitro of thermally oxidized sunflower oil.

The hydrolysis of thermally oxidized sunflower oil by pancreatic lipase was studied in relation to chemical changes in the acylglycerols. Four classes of compounds (monomers, dimers, trimers and polymers) formed from the acylglycerols were separated from the heated oils by column chromatography on silica gel, and further verified by thin layer chromatography. Each fraction, after analyses for generaly properties, was subjected to a time course study of hydrolysis by pancreatic lipase over a 30-min period. After 70 hr of heating, the amount of hydrolysis for the acylglycerol dimers was only about half that of the monomers, and that for the trimers was, in turn, about one-third that of the monomers. The polymers were the least hydrolyzed and showed no further reaction after 5 min. The reduction in enzymatic hydrolysis of isolated fractions from the thermally oxidized oils indicates structural differences, related to formation of polar compounds and polymerization products. Adverse effects on animals from feeding these materials can be attributed partly to inhibition of hydrolysis resulting in less available energy.