Inspired by the proved dissolving power of vegetable oils for non-polar and low-polar natural compounds, animal fats with triglycerides as the major components were investigated as food-grade solvents in this study for the simultaneous extraction of carotenoids and capsaicinoids from Sichuan chili. The dissolving power of lard, beef tallow, chicken fat and basa fish oil in the extraction of er jing tiao chili was firstly compared, where animal oils with worse extraction ratios for carotenoids (0.79 mg/g in average) performed better for the extraction of capsaicinoids (0.65 mg/g in average). Furthermore, the solvent effect of animal fats on the oleo-extracts was evaluated in terms of fatty acid composition, oil quality indexes, crystal polymorphism, melting and crystallization behaviors, where no significant differences were observed between animal fats before and after extraction. The oxidative stability of animal fats could be 1.02- up to 2.73-fold enhanced after extraction and the pungency degree could reach the same spicy level as commercial hotpot oil. In addition, the Hansen solubility parameters of solvents and solutes were predicted for further theoretical miscibility study, which helps to make a better comprehension of the dissolving mechanism behind such oleo-extraction. Overall, animal fats demonstrated their considerable solvent power for extracting carotenoids and capsaicinoids simultaneously from Sichuan chili, which showed significant potential for developing a novel Sichuan spicy hotpot oil with enhanced flavor and stability.

Evidence suggests that the relations between intakes of individual fatty acids and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) vary. However, associations between intakes of different cooking oils as sources of fatty acids and incident T2D remain largely unknown.
We aimed to evaluate relations between intakes of individual cooking oils and incident T2D in a nationwide Chinese cohort.
Overall 15,022 Chinese adults aged ≥20 y from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) without self-reported T2D at entry in the 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, or 2009 rounds were followed up until 2011. Consumption of various cooking oils/fats including lard, peanut oil, soybean oil, canola oil, sesame oil, and refined blended plant oil was assessed using 3-d 24-h records in each survey and the cumulative mean intake was calculated. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed to estimate the HRs of T2D.
A total of 1014 cases were recorded after a median follow-up of 14 y. The intakes of animal and plant cooking oils/fats were both associated with higher T2D risk. Compared with nonconsumers, multivariable-adjusted HRs and 95% CIs for the highest tertiles were 1.31 (1.03, 1.67) for lard, 1.36 (1.10, 1.66) for peanut oil, 1.14 (0.91, 1.43) for soybean oil, 1.11 (0.87, 1.43) for canola oil, 1.02 (0.79, 1.32) for sesame oil, and 1.42 (1.12, 1.82) for refined blended plant oil. Substituting 1 tablespoon/d (8 g · 2000 kcal-1 · d-1) of soybean oil for the sum of lard, peanut oil, refined blended plant oil, and other plant oils was associated with a 3% (HR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95, 0.99) lower risk of T2D.
Intakes of lard, peanut oil, and refined blended plant oil but not soybean oil, canola oil, and sesame oil are associated with higher T2D risk. Reducing the consumption of cooking oils in general may be protective against T2D among the Chinese population.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03259321.

A new method based on the cholesterol level was developed to detect the presence of animal fats in virgin coconut oil (VCO). In this study, the sterols in VCO and animal fats was separated using conventional one-dimensional gas chromatography (1D GC) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC). Compared with 1D GC, the GC×GC system could obtain a complete baseline separation of the sterol trimethylsilyl ethers derived from cholesterol and cholestanol, so that the cholesterol content in pure VCO and false VCO adulterated with animal fats could be accurately determined. Cholesterol, a main sterol found in animal fats, represented less than 5mg/kg of VCO. The study demonstrated that the determination of the cholesterol level in VCO could be used for reliable detection of the presence of lard, chicken fat, mutton tallow, beef tallow, or their mixture in VCO at a level as little as 0.25%.