ABSTRACT
Saturated fatty acids (SFA) are solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fatty acids in nature are less tightly packed because of the cis conguration of the double bonds and they, generally, are liquids or oils at room temperature (Risérus, 2006). Trans fatty acids (TFA) consist of at least one isolated, nonconjugated, double bond in the trans geometric conguration. However, it excludes conjugated fatty acids such as
8.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 133 8.2 Formation and Occurrence ........................................................................... 135
8.2.1 Hydrogenation of Oils ....................................................................... 135 8.2.2 Natural Digestion of Ruminant Animals .......................................... 137 8.2.3 Levels of Trans Fatty Acids in Foods ............................................... 137
8.3 Analytical Methods ...................................................................................... 139 8.3.1 Sample Preparation and Extraction .................................................. 139 8.3.2 Gas Chromatography ........................................................................ 140 8.3.3 Silver Ion Chromatography ............................................................... 140 8.3.4 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy ........................................ 141 8.3.5 Capillary Electrophoresis ................................................................. 141
8.4 Evidence of Health Implications ................................................................... 142 8.4.1 Cardiovascular Health ...................................................................... 142
8.4.1.1 Lipid Effects ....................................................................... 142 8.4.1.2 Systemic Inammation and the Suggested Mechanisms ....................................................................... 143 8.4.1.3 Endothelial Dysfunction and the Suggested Mechanisms ....................................................................... 143
8.4.2 Diabetes ............................................................................................ 144 8.4.3 Compromised Fetal Development .................................................... 145 8.4.4 Cancers ............................................................................................. 146
8.5 Mitigating the Intake of TFA ........................................................................ 147 8.5.1 Regulation ......................................................................................... 147 8.5.2 Approaches to Reduce TFA .............................................................. 148
8.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 148 References .............................................................................................................. 149
conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) (Kim et al., 2008). The trans and cis congurations of TFA are different because of the positions of hydrogen atoms on the carbon atoms (Figure 8.1). The melting point of TFA is between that of saturated and cis unsaturated fatty acids since the trans double bond has a more rigid conguration and requires much less space than the cis double bond (see Figure 8.2).
