Thermo-oxidative stability of asymmetric distigmasterol-modified acylglycerols as novel derivatives of plant sterols

The study investigated the thermo-oxidative stability of distigmasterol-modified acylglycerols as a new struc-tured acylglycerols. Samples were heated at 60 and 180 C for 8 h. Their percentage degradation and products formed during heating were compared with free stigmasterol and stigmasteryl esters. The remaining of stig -masterol and fatty acid parts, the formation of stigmasterol oxidation products and the composition of polar and non-polar fractions were analysed using chromatographic methods. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity were determined with the use of an MTT test and a comet assay, respectively. The highest stability during heating was observed for 2,3-distigmasterylsuccinoyl-1-oleoyl-sn-glycerol (dStigS-OA) and the lowest for 2,3-dis-tigmasterylcarbonoyl-1-oleoyl-sn-glycerol (dStigC-OA). Data showed that the formation of thermo-oxidative degradation products is affected by the temperature and chemical structure of lipids present in the molecule. The dStigMAs bonded by a succinate linker and products formed during their thermo-oxidation showed no cytotoxic or genotoxic activity to normal human cells.

Automated summary

This study investigated the thermo-oxidative stability of distigmasterol-modified acylglycerols and compared the products formed during heating with free stigmasterol and stigmasteryl esters. The results showed that the formation of degradation products was influenced by temperature and the chemical structure of lipids. Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests confirmed that the modified acylglycerols had no toxic effects on normal human cells.