An attempt has been made to compare the nutritional quality between naturally occurring conjugated octadecatrienoic fatty acid with trans configuration and the trans fatty acids being produced in hydrogenated fats. The karela seed oil (Momordica charantia) (29.2% trans isomer) was used as the source of conjugated trienoic trans fatty acid and hydrogenated fat for trans fatty acid (39.5%). The two fats were fed to male albino rats (Charles Foster strain) for four weeks. Feeding experiment showed comparable results in terms of growth rate, food efficiency ratio (FER) and serum lipid profile. In the third week the growth rate of rats fed hydrogenated fat with trans showed a significant increase than the karela seed oil with trans conjugated trienoic fatty acid fed group. Total cholesterol level of liver was significantly higher in rats fed karela seed oil containing conjugated trienoic fatty acid with trans configuration. The phospholipid content of heart and brain of rats fed karela seed oil was significantly higher than the hydrogenated fat with trans fed group.

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Total lipid was extracted from four organs of the turtle Aspidertes gangeticus namely liver, muscle, eye and brain. Lipids like phospholipid and cholesterol were estimated in the total lipids. Fatty acid compositions of the total lipids were also determined. A. gangeticus liver shows a much higher content of total lipid (11.2%) than in muscle (0.5%). Phospholipid content is more in brain (6.5%) and muscle (7.2%) than in liver (2.4%) and eye (1.5%). Cholesterol occurs in brain (12.6%), eye (7.6%) and muscle (6.1%). The phospholipid and cholesterol ratio is maximum in muscle (1.1), gradually lowering in liver (0.8), brain (0.5) and eye (0.2) in the proportions indicated. In turtle all the organs studied are rich in palmitic (C_16:0) and stearic (C_18:0) acids. The amount of saturated fatty acid is more or less in equal proportion in the organs like eye (36.7%) and liver (37.9%). Turtle muscle and liver are more rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids in comparison with the other organs. Liver is enriched in the monoenoic C_18:1 acid (38.2%) that is relatively much less in brain (16.9%), eye (16.6%) and muscle (15.6%), respectively. Eicosapentaenoic acid (C_20:5) is especially high in Aspideretes eye (12.9%). Arachidonic acid (C_20:4) is present in all the tissues studied.

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Plant sterols are effective inhibitors of cholesterol absorption. Examination was made of the physiological effects of plant sterols and/or mayonnaise on this inhibition in rats. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (Control, PS, MS, MS+PS) and provided experimental diets for three weeks. The diets of two groups (PS, MS+PS) contained 0.5% plant sterols with or without 2% mayonnaise, while those of the other two groups (Control, MS) did not contain the sterols. PS and MS+PS groups had lower serum and hepatic cholesterol concentrations, and had higher serum HDL-cholesterol concentration than Control and MS groups. Fecal excretion of neutral sterols was noted to increase in PS and MS+PS groups. Plant sterols persisted even when the sterols had been mixed with mayonnaise. The mayonnaise addition may thus be concluded to have no effect on the inhibitory action of plant sterols which in this study were found to reduce serum and hepatic cholesterol concentrations.

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Absorbance and fluorescence intensity of fluorescein decreases in the presence of aqueous nonionic micellar solution of Tween 20 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate), Tween 40 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate), Tween 60 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate) and Tween 80 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate). Photovoltage generation using fluorescein dye in aqueous micellar solutions of Tweens (20, 40, 60 & 80) was studied using a photogalvanic cell. The characteristics of the cell were determined. An attempt has been made to analyze the results on a physicochemical basis.

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Free plant sterol-supplemented mayonnaise was examined for its capacity to lower serum cholesterol and evaluation was made of its mayonnaise. This evaluation was done via a double-blind, placebo-controlled study using forty-six normocholesterolemic and mildly hypercholesterolemic Japanese persons (total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL) randomly divided into two groups. The plant sterol (PS) (+) group was given 15 g mayonnaise containing 800 mg free PS daily, while the PS (-) group did 15 g mayonnaise daily for 12 weeks. Serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-C were reduced by 4.3% and 9.2% in the PS (+) group, on completion of the 12-week period. At that time, serum apolipoprotein (Apo) B had been reduced by 3.6% in the PS (+) group, this being significantly more compared to the PS (-) group. Serum remnant-like particle (RLP)-C and Apo E did not change significantly in either groups. Decrease in TC and LDL-C with PS (+) group was greater for the serum TC ≥ 220 mg/dL subjects compared to the TC<220 mg/dL subjects. Serum vitamin A, 25 (OH) vitamin D, and vitamin K₁ underwent no change throughout the study. Serum α-tocopherol reduction was the same in the two groups. The PS (+) group showed significant increase in serum β-sitosterol while β-sitosterol remained within normal range throughout the study period. For complete blood count (CBC) and blood biochemistry, all values were normal in the two groups. Free plant sterol-supplemented mayonnaise is thus shown a safe food for reducing serum TC and LDL-C. This mayonnaise should prove applicable for reducing serum LDL-C in mildly hypercholesterolemic persons.

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Novel double-chain cleavable surfactants bearing an acetal group were easily prepared by acid-catalyzed condensation of pyruvate with fatty alcohols (octyl, decyl, dodecyl) followed by alkaline hydrolysis without any expensive reagents and special equipments. These surfactants showed easier micelle formation and greater ability to lower surface tension compared to those of sodium dodecanoate and the previously reported single-chain cleavable surfactant. These double-chain compounds showed good foaming properties at 0.02 wt%. The wetting times of 0.02 wt% the compounds were almost the same as those of 1 wt% sodium dodecanoate. They decomposed completely after 40 min at pH 1. Their biodegradabilities were higher or almost the same as that of sodium dodecanoate.

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The surface states of ganglioside G_M1 (GM1) / dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), GM1/dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and GM1/DPPC/DOPC monolayers were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the effect of surface pressure on the surface states of the membranes was examined. Specific changes in morphology were observed in the GM1/DPPC and GM1/DPPC/DOPC monolayers when the surface pressure was varied from 30 to 40 mN m^-1, while no significant morphological change was detected in the GM1/DOPC monolayer. GM1 was likely to bring about a change in morphology in the liquid-condensed film but not the liquid-expanded film. Nevertheless, the changes to monolayers with surface pressure support the participation of GM1 in signal transduction or specific cell recognition. Furthermore, the surface pressure-responsive change in morphology of GM1 was affected by the matrix, suggesting that the GM1 localized to each organ has a specific role.

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