ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the chemical composition of lipids, their physical properties and crystallization/solid phase behavior, methods to modify the fatty acid and triacylglycerol composition and thus the physicochemical properties of lipids and their propensity to undergo oxidative deterioration, and the role of lipids in health and disease. It is concerned with the molecular properties of lipids and their influence on food properties. The chapter focuses on how the structure, organization, and interactions of lipid molecules determine their functional properties, which in turn determine the bulk physicochemical and sensory properties of food products. Reactions between tocopherols and lipid peroxyl radicals lead to the formation of a lipid hydroperoxide and several resonance structures of tocopheroxyl radicals. Plants contain a diverse group of phenolic compounds, including simple phenolics, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, hydrocinnamic acid derivatives, and flavonoids. Free radicals are generated in the water phase of foods by processes such as the Fenton reaction, which produces hydroxyl radicals from hydrogen peroxide.
