Phytosterol oxidation products (POP) in foods with added phytosterols and estimation of their daily intake: A literature review

1To evaluate the content of phytosterol oxidation products (POP) of foods with added phytosterols, in total 14 studies measuring POP contents of foods with added phytosterols were systematically reviewed. In non-heated or stored foods, POP contents were low, ranging from (medians) 0.03-3.6 mg/100 g with corresponding oxidation rates of phytosterols (ORP) of 0.03-0.06%. In fat-based foods with 8% of added free plant sterols (FPS), plant sterol esters (PSE) or plant stanol esters (PAE) pan-fried at 160-200°C for 5-10 min, median POP contents were 72.0, 38.1, and 4.9 mg/100 g, respectively, with a median ORP of 0.90, 0.48, and 0.06%. Hence resistance to thermal oxidation was in the order of PAE > PSE > FPS. POP formation was highest in enriched butter followed by margarine and rapeseed oil. In margarines with 7.5-10.5% added PSE oven-heated at 140-200°C for 5-30 min, median POP content was 0.3 mg/100 g. Further heating under same temperature conditions but for 60-120 min markedly increased POP formation to 384.3 mg/100 g. Estimated daily upper POP intake was 47.7 mg/d (equivalent to 0.69 mg/kg BW/d) for foods with added PSE and 78.3 mg/d (equivalent to 1.12 mg/kg BW/d) for foods with added FPS as calculated by multiplying the advised upper daily phytosterol intake of 3 g/d with the 90% quantile values of ORP. In conclusion, heating temperature and time, chemical form of phytosterols added and the food matrix are determinants of POP formation in foods with added phytosterols, leading to an increase in POP contents. Practical applications: Phytosterol oxidation products (POP) are formed in foods containing phytosterols especially when exposed to heat treatment. This review summarising POP contents in foods with added phytosterols in their free and esterified forms reveals that heating temperature and time, the chemical form of phytosterols added and the food matrix itself are determinants of POP formation with heating temperature and time having the biggest impact. The estimated upper daily intakes of POP is 78.3 mg/d for fat-based products with added free plant sterols and 47.7 mg/d for fat-based products with added plant sterol esters. Phytosterols in foods are susceptible to oxidation to form phytosterol oxidation products (POP). This review summarizes literature data regarding POP contents of foods with added phytosterols that were exposed to storage and heat treatments.