Presence of Phytosterol Oxides in Crude Vegetable Oils and Their Fate during Refining

The content of phytosterol oxidation products was determined in samples of crude vegetable oils: peanut, sunflower, maize, palm nut, and lampante olive oils that were intended for refining and not for direct consumption. The 7α- and 7β-hydroxy derivatives of β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol and the 7-keto-β-sitosterol were the principal phytosterol oxides found in almost all of the oils analyzed. In some oils, the epoxy and dihydroxy derivatives of β-sitosterol were also found at very low levels. The highest total concentrations of phytosterol oxides, ranging from 4.5 to 67.5 and from 4.1 to 60.1 ppm, were found in sunflower and maize oils, respectively. Lower concentrations were present in the peanut oils, 2.7−9.6 ppm, and in the palm nut oil, 5.5 ppm, whereas in the lampante olive oils, only three samples of the six analyzed contained a low concentration (1.5−2.5 ppm) of oxyphytosterols. No detectable levels of phytosterol oxides were found in the samples of palm and coconut oils. Bleaching experiments were carried out on a sample of sunflower oil at 80 °C for 1 h with 1 and 2% of both acidic and neutral earths. The bleaching caused a reduction of the hydroxyphytosterol with partial formation of steroidal hydrocarbons with three double bonds in the ring system at the 2-, 4-, and 6-positions (steratrienes). The same sunflower oil was deodorized at 180 °C under vacuum for 1 h, and no dehydration products were formed with a complete recovery of the hydroxyphytosterols. A bleaching test with acidic earths was carried out also with an extra virgin olive oil fortified with 7-keto-cholesterol, dihydroxycholesterol, and α-epoxy-cholesterol. There was no formation of steratrienes from these compounds, but dihydroxycholesterol underwent considerable decomposition and α-epoxycholesterol underwent ring opening with formation of the dihydroxy derivative, whereas 7-ketocholesterol was rather stable.