Sterol oxidation in meat- and fish-based homogenized baby foods containing vegetable oils

Sterol oxidation was evaluated in commercial meat- and fish-based homogenized baby foods containing vegetable oil. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used for the analytical determination of 7-ketocholesterol and 7-ketositosterol, which were chosen as markers of sterol oxidation in lipids of animal origin and vegetable origin, respectively. Cholestanetriol was also quantified, because its negative effects on atherogenesis and other biological processes are well known. In meat-based samples, the levels of 7-ketocholesterol and 7-ketositosterol were 22-89 and 11-40 microg/serving, respectively, whereas the cholestanetriol levels were 7-38 microg/serving. The 7-ketocholesterol/cholesterol percent ratio was characteristic of each kind of meat and related to the levels of unsaturated fatty acids of animal lipids. In fish-based samples, the cholestanetriol and 7-ketocholesterol levels per serving were significantly lower than in meat samples, but in fish fillets they were about 20-25%, instead of 40%, of the ingredients. The values of the 7-ketocholesterol/cholesterol percent ratio in fish-based products were close to the values computed for chicken or turkey-based products. The detected values of cholestanetriol showed that the addition of vegetable oil enhances the development of the indirect bimolecular pathway of cholesterol oxidation, which was even more favorable in fish-based products.