An “Omics” Approach for Lipid Oxidation in Foods: The Case of Free Fatty Acids in Bulk Purified Olive Oil

Abstract

Monitoring or preventing oxidation processes in foods, particularly heterogeneous systems or highly oxidizable lipids, has become a primary issue. Traditional approaches often fail in pursuing this aim. At the same time, the prediction in laboratory of the efficacy of antioxidant molecules and technologies often fails when challenging reality. A change in the traditional paradigm used to conceive oxidation processes and their monitoring could be a key. In the present work, an “omics” approach is suggested for the evaluation of oxidation in food lipids and of the role played by minor compounds. This holistic and comprehensive, hypothesis‐generating approach is applied to a typical research case: highly‐purified olive oil added with increasing amounts of purified free fatty acids (FFA). A comprehensive profile (“oxidome”) of oxidation products is outlined during the accelerated oxidation. The pathways considered are FFA and triacyglycerol oxidation, triacyglycerol polymerization, volatile compounds formation as well as their further oxidation. FFA affectes the overall balance of the oxidation pathways and consequently causes a drift in the evolution of the pattern of oxidation products. The balance between accelerating activity of FFA toward triacylglycerol oxidation and their high susceptibility to undergo oxidation turnes out to be dose‐dependent and time‐related, and shiftes the resulting oxidation profile of the oil. The omics approach to oxidation products profiling provides new insight into oxidation processes. “Oxidomics” could be helpful to deepen the insight into unresolved issues of oxidation, going beyond the usual single‐ or few‐marker approach. Practical Applications: This research suggests a new paradigm for approaching food lipid oxidation. Unresolved practical issues regarding food spoilage and shelf‐life, waste reduction, keeping of healthy properties are increasing along the increasing formulation of complex and dispersed systems, use of healthy highly unsaturated fatty acids and bioactive antioxidants, attention paid by consumers and industries to nutritional, sensory, health properties of foods. The new paradigm suggests going beyond the usually adopted single‐ or few‐marker approach and to consider the pattern of oxidation reactions and products as a whole, in order to better describe and predict its changes and the effects of external factors as well as added molecules. “Oxidomics” is a new paradigm for lipid oxidation, with a holistic approach to the system and evaluating a pattern of oxidation products and its changes.

Radical Scavenging Activity of Olive Oil Phenolic Antioxidants in Oil or Water Phase during the Oxidation of O/W Emulsions: An Oxidomics Approach

“…The importance of time scale in oxidation experiments has been pointed out in another study [ 11 ]. The behavior of hydroperoxides during radical-catalyzed oxidation of emulsions showed, therefore, two competing chemical processes: hydroperoxides exponential decay and their synthesis, each one prevailing on different time scales.…”

“…It is noteworthy that considering the only hexanal, as usually appears in the literature, as a secondary oxidation marker, would have led to the misleading conclusion that OPAs in the water phase were more effective towards secondary oxidation. The adopted oxidomics approach, instead, allowed to depict a more complete view of the mechanisms of action of these molecules [ 5 , 8 , 11 , 12 ].…”

“…Additionally, Paradiso suggested also the need for epistemological and experimental approaches by applying an interdisciplinary perspective. In particular, oxidomics, being an inductive, hypothesis-generating, circular approach involving multiparametric analyses, can provide the means to deepen the understanding of lipid oxidation and antioxidation processes in complex food matrices [ 11 ]. Gómez-Cortés and Camiña successfully applied this approach to differentiate oxidation in oils of different origin [ 12 ].…”

Modified Rotating Reel for Malaxer Machines: Assessment of Rheological Characteristics, Energy Consumption, Temperature Profile, and Virgin Olive Oil Quality

“…With regard to this last aspect, several papers [42,43] have been published on the pro-oxidant action of FFAs. Autoxidation of oils is accelerated by the presence of free fatty acids; it seems to be exerted by the carboxylic molecular group, which accelerates the rate of decomposition of hydroperoxides [44,45].…”

From Extra Virgin Olive Oil to Refined Products: Intensity and Balance Shifts of the Volatile Compounds versus Odor

“…Mass peak m/z 47.012 was tentatively identified as formic acid [31,32]. The headspace concentration of formic acid in EVOO (3 ± 3 ppmv) was significantly lower than in ROO (12 ± 11 ppmv) and POO (17 ± 16 ppmv).…”