The function of lipids in human nutrition has been intensively debated in the last decade.This context reinforces the concern about controlling the trans fat ingestion, due to its negative implications on health. Interesterification provides an important alternative to modify the consistency of oils and fats without causing formation of trans isomers. This article reports research done towards production of zero trans fats by chemical interesterification, for different industrial purposes. Aspects related to the effect of trans fats on diet, their impact on health and modifications in Brazilian legislation are also covered.

The aim of this work is to present the new applications of membrane technology in fat and oil processing, with emphasis on development and applications of the enzymatic membrane reactor and its association with extraction and purification technology by supercritical fluids (SCF). Combining the extraction by SCFs and the separation by membranes allows the integration of extractions reactions with selective separation by membranes through filtration of the supercritical mixture (SCF + extracted solutes). This association provides important energy savings regarding the SCF recompression costs.

The production of ethyl esters by alcoholysis is an alternative for splitting triacylglycerols due to the possibility of using low temperatures, which results in oxidative protection of the polyunsaturated fatty acids. Ethyl esters produced under mild conditions of temperature could be used as substrate for obtaining structured lipids. The reaction parameters of production of ethyl esters from fish oil with high content of omega-3 fatty acids by alcoholysis were optimized using response surface methodology. An experimental design (2³) (with levels +1 and -1, six axial points with levels -alpha and +alpha and three central points) was applied. The variables investigated were concentration of catalyst, amount of ethyl alcohol and temperature. Ethyl ester conversion was monitored by high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and the best result obtained was 95% conversion rate. The optimal conditions were 40 °C, 1% of NaOH and 36% of ethanol.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo determinar o teor de tocoferois no músculo e cavidade ocular do matrinxã (Brycon cephalus), capturados na Amazônia Central - Brasil, no período da cheia e seca. A coleta dos peixes foi realizada em diferentes épocas sazonais, constituindo-se de três lotes com cinco exemplares. As análises seguiram a metodologia da AOCS Ce 8-89 (1996) em cromatógrafo HPLC PERKIN ELMER - Bomba isocrática LC 250 acoplado a detector de fluorescência (SHIMADZU - RF-10AxL). O a-tocoferol foi predominante nas diferentes sazonalidades. No músculo do peixe capturado na época da cheia e seca, o teor de tocoferois variou de 0,04 a 0,43mg 100g-1 e 0,06 a 8,23mg 100g-1, respectivamente. O teor de tocoferois na cavidade ocular, na época da cheia e seca, variou de 0,02 a 0,09mg 100g-1 e 0,03 a 0,42mg 100g-1, respectivamente.

This research aimed to determine the content of different tocopherol levels in muscle and ocular cavity of matrinxã fishes captured in the Central Amazon Region - Brazil. For the antioxidants determination, three batches, each consisting of 5 fish, during two different seasons. The analyses were performed according to the AOCS Ce 8-89 (1993) methodology in chromatography HPLC PERKIN ELMER - Isocratic LC 250 pump couple to fluorescence detector (SHIMADZU - RF - 10AxL). The a-tocopherol was predominant in the different seasons. The tocopherol content ranged from 0.43 to 0.04mg 100-1 and from 8.2 to 0.06mg 100g-1 in the muscle of matrinxã captured in the flood ad dry season, respectively. The tocopherol content in the adipose tissue of the orbital cavity of matrinxã captured in the flood ad dry season showed ranged from 0.09 a 0.02mg 100g-1 and from 0.42 to 0.03mg 100g-1, respectively.