Evaluating the Content and Distribution of <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acid Isomers in Foods Consumed in Japan

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Consumption of trans fatty acids TFA from dietary foods is thought to be one of the leading causes of heart attack around the world, because TFA change the ratio of low-density lipoprotein LDL to high-density lipoprotein HDL cholesterol in blood, which leads to cardiovascular disease CVD 1 5. A famous meta-analytical epidemiological study by Ascherico indicates that the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol LDL/HDL in blood increases with the intake of TFA 6, 7. In particular, daily caloric intake of more than 2 TFA significantly increases the LDL/HDL ratio. Consequently, the World Health Organization WHO recommends that more than 1 of a person s daily caloric intake should not come from TFA 8. TFA is synthesized during the production of foods or biosynthesis in ruminants by three main methods, namely hydrogenation of oil, biohydrogenation of oil in ruminants, and heating of oil. Partially hydrogenated oil PHO formed by the hydrogenation of liquid oil contains TFA and is used for margarine, chocolate fat substitute, and shortening oil, among other foods 9. PHO, also known as industrial TFA, was banned from use in foods in the USA because it is considered a main source

Comparison of plasma levels of different species of trans fatty acids in Japanese male patients with acute coronary syndrome versus healthy men

“…A meta-analysis of seven cohorts with genome-wide association studies has not identified a significant genetic control for TFA, including palmitelaidc acids, trans-C18:1 isomers, trans/trans-C18:2, and trans/cis-C18:2 isomers [33]. Gotoh et al have very recently reported the distribution of trans-C18:1 positional isomers in various foods consumed in Japan [34]. They showed that Table 4 Comparison of plasma fatty acid composition between the groups.…”

“…some foods contained ≥1.0 g TFA/100 g food, and high content of trans-C18:2 in foods was attributed to the heating of oil. In addition, they described that difference between monoene-rich and polyene-rich TFA was attributed to diverse TFA formation mechanisms [34]. Further studies are required to investigate both dietary intake and plasma levels of TFA.…”

Trans‐10 18:1 in ruminant meats: A review

“…Commercial beef in North America is thus predisposed to higher proportions of t 10‐ than t 11‐18:1. The finding of greater proportions of t 10‐ than t 11‐18:1 in commercial beef is, however, not restricted to North America as recently 5 out of 20 beef samples collected in Japanese supermarkets from various countries also exhibited the trans ‐10 shift (Gotoh et al, 2019). Although the North American market primarily provides grain‐finished beef, there are also growing niche and direct marketing of organic and natural beef.…”

“…Overall, ruminant fats are currently the main source of TFA in most developed countries (Lichtenstein et al, 2006; Menaa et al, 2013) and t 10‐18:1 can be a dominant TFA (Gotoh et al, 2019; Vahmani, Ponnampalam, et al, 2020). In contrast, the high‐fiber, low‐starch (i.e., forage‐based) diets dominating ruminant production systems in developing countries (Mlambo & Mapiye, 2015) produce meat and milk containing greater proportions of t 11‐18:1 and c 9, t 11‐CLA (Aldai et al, 2013; Ferlay et al, 2017).…”

Assessment of trans-fatty acid content in a sample of foods from the Slovenian food supply using a sales-weighting approach

“…Regular monitoring of the food supply is needed in order to evaluate the efficacy of those policies and to enable updated assessments of the TFA-related public health risks. The presence of TFA in food supply is therefore regularly monitored in different countries (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) .…”