Abstract
Department of Food Science and Technology, Kyushu University School of Agriculture, Fukuoka Trans fatty acid contents of 15 margarines for home use, 33 margarines for institutional use, 5 margarines for school feeding, 26 shortenings for institutional use and human sera from healthy young adults were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. Almost all of Trans fatty acids found in the hydrogenated products were t-18: 1. Small amounts of c, t- or t, c-18: 2 were also presented and quite a few products contained t, t-18: 2. The average Trans fatty acid contents of margarines were 13.7% for home use, 12.2% for institutional use and 15.5% for school feeding. Shortenings for institutional use averaged 14.3%. The relatively low values for hydrogenated products for institutional use were attributed either to the severe hydrogenation or to the use of fats scanty of unsaturated fatty acids. Trans fatty acid contents of total lipids in sera from healthy graduate students who are taking meals mainly in an university refectory were estimated to be less than 1%. There was a slight difference in the content of Trans fatty acids among different lipid classes, and the highest value was observed in the free fatty acid fraction, mean value 3.1% (range 2-4%).
