The impact of beef steak thermal processing on lipid oxidation and postprandial inflammation related responses

Oxidised lipid species, their bioavailability and impact on inflammatory responses from cooked beef steak are poorly characterised. Oxidised lipid species from pan-fried (PF) and sous-vide (SV) thermally processed beef were determined with UHPLC-ESI/MS. Twenty-three lipid oxidation products increased with thermal processing and differences between the PF and SV steaks were measured. Fifteen oxidised lipids were measured in post-meal plasma after a cross-over randomised clinical study. Postprandial plasma inflammatory markers tended to remain lower following the SV meal than the PF meal. High levels of conjugated dienes were measured in the HDL fraction, suggesting that the protective effect of HDL may extend to the reverse-transport of oxidised lipid species. Oxidised lipids in a single meal may influence postprandial oxidative stress and inflammation. Further studies are required to examine the lipid oxidative responses to increased dietary oxidative lipid load, including the reverse transport activity of HDL.