Abstract
The fatty acid and tocopherol (Toc) compositions in 13 different refined vegetable oil were determined by gas and high performance liquid chromatographies, and the ratio of α-Toc to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was calculated. The lowest concentration of α-Toc was found in coconut oil. Safflower, cottonseed, rice bran and sesam oil showed similar ranges of α-Toc concentration. A high concentration of α-Toc was found in sunflower oil. On the other hand, those oils with a ratio of α-Toc mg/PUFA g less than 0.4 included soybean, peanut, coconut, palm kernal and safflower oil. Toc contained in oil decomposed by heating and also the ratio of α-Toc to PUFA decreased during heating.
Liver and kidney tissues from rats fed with fresh soybean oil had higher concentration of the α-Toc than those obtained from thermally oxidized soybean oil group. The molar ratio of PUFA/α-Toc in tissues from rats fed with thermally oxidized soybean oil had slightly higher ratio than did tissues from rats fed with fresh soybean oil.
