Abstract
Cholesterol oxidation was studied in 12 samples of mass-produced egg pasta and in home-made egg pasta produced with fresh eggs obtained from hens bred in the open with organic methods (a), fresh eggs purchased in a local retail shop (b) and spray-dried eggs, which are not allowed by Italian law (c). The lipids of commercial egg pasta contained almost twice the concentration of cholesterol of hand-made egg pasta (2.6 vs. 1.4 mg/100 mg lipids). Mass-produced egg pasta contained 2.2±1.5 μg oxycholesterols (cholesterol oxidation products, or COPs)/g of pasta, αEpo being the most represented oxycholesterol. The oxycholesterol content in home-made pasta was 1.7, 3.5 and 3.6 μg/g pasta, for pasta obtained with samples a, b and c, respectively. 7β-Hydroxycholesterol and β-epoxy-cholesterol were not taken in account, because they co-eluted with campesterol and campestanol, respectively. The home-made procedure (eggs mixed with flour and water and dried for 48 h at 30 °C) led to the formation of 7 k and 7α, rather than αEpo. The use of eggs from hens bred in the open reduced the COPs content considerably. The home-made product should be consumed within a few days after manufacturing or should be immediately refrigerated. © Springer-Verlag 2004.