Potential Health Implications of the Consumption of Thermally-Oxidized Cooking Oils – a Review

Abstract

Cooking oils are an integral part of a human diet as they are used in almost all types of culinary practices. They serve as sources of lipids with a significant nutritive value and health benefits which can be attributed to their fatty acid compositions and biological antioxidants. However, cooking oils are usually subjected to thermal oxidation which occurs when fresh cooking oil is heated at high temperatures during various food preparations. Repeated use of cooking oils in the commercial food industry is also common to maximize profit. Thermal oxidation of edible oils had since attracted great attention of nutritionist and researchers given the deteriorative effect such as generation of very cytotoxic compounds, loss of carotenoid, phenolics and vitamins thus reducing the overall antioxidant properties of the oils. Furthermore, several in vivo studies had suggested that consumption of thermally-oxidized cooking oils might not be healthy as it might negatively influence the lipid profile (increased low density lipoprotein (LDL), decreased high density lipoprotein (HDL) and elevated cholesterol level), haematological system (alteration in concentration of heamoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts), kidney function, and induce lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress which have been associated with the pathogenesis of various degenerative diseases. Therefore, thermal oxidation seems not to provide any health benefit, as it deteriorates cooking oils and the consumption of the oils may predispose consumers to various disease conditions that may ensue from free radical generation, thereby having deleterious effect on human health.

Keywords

• thermal oxidation
• cooking oils
• antioxidant properties
• health concerns