The recent past has seen an increasing demand
for several nutriceuticals, sold in health food stores or drug stores, which
are wholly or partially removed from vegetable oil during the refining process
(Figure 1). The table summarizes some developments, which will likely increase
the demand for vegetable oil byproducts.
| Nutraceutical |
Source |
Recommended intake* |
Physiological action
|
| Phosphatidyl-choline (lecithin) |
By-product isolated from the gum fraction created by refining soybean |
425 mg of choline daily for adult women; 550 mg for adult men. Intakes of 450 and 550 mg for pregnant and lactating women |
High requirement for choline in growingm fetuses and infants |
| Phosphatidyl-serine |
Obtained from the gum fraction created while
degumming soybean oil |
250 to 500mg |
Improvement of age-associated memory
impairment. Improves the symptoms of patients with Alzheimer's disease |
| Esterified Sitostanol |
Sitostanol obtained by hydrogenating �
-sitosterol from tall oil, a byproduct of the wood pulping industry
Esterification with canola-sourced fatty acids (required to render the
sitostanol fat soluble) |
3g daily |
Total serum cholesterol was reduced 10-14% in
mildly hypercholesterolemic patients.Reduced total serum cholesterol by 13% in
postmenopausal women with a previous myocardial infarction |
| Vitamin E (consists of tocotrienol and
tocopherol homologues) |
Vitamin E is found
mostly in oils extracted from soybean, cottonseed and sunflower seeds. Tocotrienols
are found primarily in the oils of cereal grains such as wheat, barley, rice
and rye and the fruit of palm.Commercially, tocotrienols are extracted from the deodorizer
distillates of rice oil and palm oil. |
200 220 mg of tocotrienols for 4 weeks in
hypercholesterolemic men reduces serum cholesterol by 10 to 13% |
Prevents further decline in
moderate Alzheimer's disease. Natural stereoisomer (ie. d form) is two
times more potent than synthesized vitamin E (composed of both d and
l forms) |
*Recommendation of the Food and Nutrition Board
(FNB) of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)
Nutrition