LAUSR

Targeted analysis confirmed the presence of new phytosterol degradation products in fully hydrogenated commercial samples. EI-MS, APCI-MS and 1D-NMR experiments let to the identification of 10 novel markers of catalytic hydrogenation, among which 5α-sitostan-3-one, 5α-campestan-3-one, isomers of saturated and monounsaturated steroidal hydrocarbons were reported in edible oils for the first time. Examination of phytosterol degradation mechanism was done by catalytic transfer deuteration technique. Mitigation strategy of potentially detrimental compounds included optimization of processing parameters. The effect of catalyst dosage (≤ 0.1 % based on Ni basis) and temperature region (˂ 180 °C) were the most crucial factors in phytosterol degradation control.