Soybean oil deodorizer distillate: An integrated isolation and analyses system of its bioactive compounds

Soybean oil is the most consumed vegetable oil in the world, representing 30% of the consumption in the worldwide market. During the production of soybean oil, soybean deodorizer distillate (SODD) is produced as byproduct of a deodorization step. It represent about 3% of refined oil or 0.6% of soybean seed as feed in the refining process. Recent interest in the exploitation of SODD is due to its content of economically-valuable bioactive compounds. It has been suggested as an alternative to marine animals as natural source of squalene and as a good raw material for the production of fatty acid steryl esters (FASEs), free phytosterols, and tocopherols. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the isolation and separation techniques, and analysis methods of these bioactive compounds. SODD typically contains high level of free fatty acids (FFAs) and acylglycerols depending on the conditions of the oil refining process, and the efficient elimination of them is crucial for the enrichment of the bioactive compounds. There are several different methodologies for the elimination of FFAs and acylglycerols: hydrolysis, esterification, transesterification, distillation, crystallization, adsorption, and liquid-liquid extraction. The development of new isolation techniques has gained increasing importance in chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries, due to the imposed environmental regulations and the necessity of minimizing energy requirement. The analysis methods of the bioactive compounds is also a challenging problem. Few analytical techniques are available to provide a detailed analysis. It will be of great importance if a method to identify individual compounds in SODD can be established.