Determination of FA Composition and Total Trans FA of Turkish Margarines by Capillary GLC

ABSTRACT: In this research, FA composition and total trans FA contents of 16 different brands of margarine (8 hard-type and 8 soft-type) sold in Turkey were determined by capillary GLC method. According to the results, the contents of saturated FA, monounsaturated FA, and PUFA were within the ranges of 23. 9-32.3, 44.0-61.9, and 14.2-24.1%, respectively, in hardtype margarines, and 27.0-39.9, 21.0-40.9, and 32.0-53.7%, respectively, in soft-type margarines. Hard-type margarines contained total trans FA concentrations of 20.1-34.3%, whereas softtype margarines contained less than 8.9% total trans FA. C 18:1 trans acid content was within the range of 18.5-29.8% in hardtype margarines, and it was significantly higher than the range in soft margarines (0.7-8.1%). C 18:1 trans acid was the major trans FA in all margarines, and C 18:3 trans acid concentrations were less than 0.2%. Trans FA, which are created by the partial hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils in the manufacturing of margarine and vegetable shortening, increase serum levels of LDL cholesterol and decrease those of HDL cholesterol (1,2). The adverse effects of the trans FA on the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol are twice that of saturated FA (3). Some epidemiological studies have also found a positive association between levels of trans FA intake and risk of cardiovascular disease (4,5). Owing to these concerns, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization recommended in 1994 that fats for human consumption contain less than 4% of the total fat as trans and urged the food industry to reduce the presence of trans fats in their products to these levels (6). Vegetable oil production was approximately 1.45 million tons per year between 1995 and 2000 in Turkey. About 30% of this production was used by the margarine industry. Total margarine production was 550 million kg, and consumption was 430 million kg per year. These results indicate that margarines have an important role in the consumption of vegetable oil in Turkey. Vegetable oil consumption is approximately 15.9 kg/person/year, and 6.3 kg of this value is from margarines (7). This paper presents the FA composition and total trans FA contents of Turkish margarines determined by capillary GLC. The trans isomers of the samples were evaluated in relation to health. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Sample selection. Seven different margarine companies are present in Turkey. Of these, five are major producers. Margarines produced by these companies are sold in all regions of Turkey. The five leading margarine companies produce 23 different brands (10 soft and 13 hard) of margarines. Of these, the top 16 best-selling brands (8 soft and 8 hard), which represented 85% of the market share, were selected for analysis and then purchased locally. Each brand was coded with a number Analysis. Each sample was homogenized and dehydrated with sodium sulfate, and the FA present were converted to methyl esters. Preparation of FAME. FAME were prepared from the margarines after alkaline hydrolysis, followed by methylation in methanol with 12.5% BF 3 as catalyst. The final concentration of the FAME was approximately 7 mg/mL in heptane (8). Capillary GLC. Analyses of the FAME by capillary GLC were carried out on a Hewlett-Packard 6890 chromatograph, equipped with an FID on a split injector (Chrompack, Middleburg, The Netherlands). A fused-silica capillary column (Chrompack) was used for the FAME analysis; CP TM -Sil 88, 50 m × 0.25 mm i.d., 0.2 µm film. GLC operating conditions were: temperature program of 130°C for 5 min, rising to 177°C at a rate of 2°C/min. Other GLC conditions were: injector temperature, 250°C; detector temperature, 250°C; carrier gas, helium at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION FA composition and trans FA of Turkish margarines are given i

Effect of heavy metals in the meconium on preterm mortality: Preliminary study

Background There have been many studies that have investigated the risk factors of mortality in preterm infants, but none has shown an association between preterm mortality and exposure to heavy metals or trace elements. The aim of this study was therefore to measure the levels of toxic metals (lead, cadmium) and trace elements (zinc, iron, copper) in meconium samples and elucidate their association with preterm mortality. Methods Metals and trace elements were measured in the meconium of 304 preterm infants using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results The level of heavy metals and trace elements in non-surviving infants was significantly higher than in surviving infants. Moreover, the level of heavy metals and trace elements in non-surviving infants whose gestational age was <30weeks (n=11) was significantly higher than in surviving infants (n=12). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that gestational age and meconium lead level predicted early mortality in premature newborns. Furthermore, this curve analysis showed that, when comparing meconium lead level and gestational age, meconium lead level had a similar effect on mortality as gestational age. Conclusion Meconium lead level and gestational age are associated with increased mortality risk in preterm neonates

The Effect of Heavy Metals and Trace Elements in the Meconium on Preterm Delivery of Unknown Etiology

Objective: Prematurity is an important etiologic factor for perinatal mortality and morbidity. In our country, preterm births and complications of prematurity account for 26% of perinatal mortality. There are many maternal, fetal or placental, genetic and environmental etiologic factors that cause prematurity. There have been no studies to show an association between preterm delivery of unknown etiology and exposure to heavy metals and trace elements at toxic levels in meconium. The purpose of this study is to measure the levels of heavy metals (lead, cadmium) and trace elements (zinc, iron, copper) in meconium samples and to understand their associations with preterm delivery of unknown etiology. Material and Methods: The levels of heavy metals and trace elements in the meconiums of 810 term or preterm infants with known and unknown etiology for being preterm were measured with a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results: Lead and cadmium were detected in all meconium samples. Heavy metal and trace element levels in meconium were significantly higher in preterms of unknown and known etiology for being preterm compared to term infants (for all p<0.0001). Lead levels in meconium were significantly higher in preterm of unknown etiology compared to preterm of known etiology in posthoc analysis with Bonferroni corrected Mann Whitney U test. Conclusion: These results may suggest that lead levels in meconium samples are higher in preterm newborns especially with unknown etiology compared to term newborns. Therefore, we suggest that preterm delivery of unknown etiology may be decreased by decreasing air pollution

Default mode network activity and neuropsychological profile in male children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder

It is known that patients with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Conduct disorder (CD) commonly shows greater symptom severity than those with ADHD alone and worse outcomes. This study researches whether Default mode network (DMN) is altered in adolescents with ADHD + CD, relative to ADHD alone and controls or not. Ten medication-na < ve boys with ADHD + CD, ten medication-na < ve boys with ADHD and 10-age-matched typically developing (TD) controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans in the resting state and neuropsychological tasks such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop Test TBAG Form (STP), Auditory Verbal learning Test (AVLT), Visual Auditory Digit Span B (VADS B) were applied to all the subjects included. fMRI scans can be used only nine patients in each groups. The findings revealed group differences between cingulate cortex and primary mortor cortex; cingulate cortex and somatosensory association cortex; angular gyrus (AG) and dorsal posterior cingulate cortex, in these networks increased activity was observed in participants with ADHD + CD compared with the ADHD. We found that lower resting state (rs)-activity was observed between left AG and dorsal posterior cingulate cortex, whereas higher rs-activity connectivity were detected between right AG and somatosensory association cortex in ADHD relative to the ones with ADHD + CD. In neuropsyhcological tasks, ADHD + CD group showed poor performance in WISC-R, WCST, Stroop, AVLT tasks compared to TDs. The ADHD + CD group displayed rs-functional abnormalities in DMN. Our results suggest that abnormalities in the intrinsic activity of resting state networks may contribute to the etiology of CD and poor prognosis of ADHD + CD