Biological effects of the polymeric residues isolated from autoxidized fats

Summary There is increasing evidence that the abnormal nutritional properties of highly autoxidized fats are related to the polymers which develop during autoxidation. Lard and cottonseed oil were aerated at 95°C. for 200 hrs. and molecularly distilled; and the residue fractions, non‐volatile at 275 to 300°C., were studied. Diets containing 20% of autoxidatively produced polymeric residue, fed to albino rats, led to diarrhea and rapid death, but when this residue was reduced to 10%, most of the animals were gradually able to tolerate it. At the 4 or 7% level it was well tolerated, but growth was reduced. There were no distinctive histological lesions, and withdrawal of the polymer permitted immediate realimentation without evidence of subsequent injuries. The polymeric residue from autoxidized cottonseed oil exerted a greater growth‐depressant effect than that from lard, and the latter, more than that from a hydrogenated vegetable oil used for deep‐fat frying for 80 hrs. at 190°C. Addition of fresh fat to the polymeric residues decreased their growth‐depressant effect. When rats were fed a measured amount of diet sufficient to maintain their weight, the caloric requirement necessary for weight maintenance gradually decreased. When the dietary fat source consisted of polymeric residue to the extent of 4 to 10%, the caloric requirement for weight maintenance decreased relatively little, if at all. The polymeric residue from autoxidized lard was, in this respect, as effective as that from autoxidized cottonseed oil.