Reagents and solutions
Cholesterol, linoleic acid, oleic acid, cholesterol oxide standards [7-ketocholesterol (7-keto), 6-ketocholesterol (6-keto), 7α-hydroxycholesterol (7α-OH), 7β-hydroxycholesterol (7β-OH), 5,6α-epoxycholesterol (5,6α-EP), 5,6β-epoxycholesterol (5,6β-EP), 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-OH), 20-hydroxycholesterol (20-OH), and cholestanetriol (triol)], butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Xpyridine, and silicic acid (100 mesh) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Co., LLC (Seoul, Korea). Bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) + 1 % trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) was obtained from Supelco (Bellefonte, PA, USA). HPLC-grade hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol, chloroform, Celite 545, and calcium phosphate (CaHPO4
.2H2O) were purchased from Fisher Scientific Co. (Malvern, PA, USA).
Sample preparation
Five processed meat products (frankfurter sausage, loin ham, bacon, luncheon meat, and pressed ham (Korean-style luncheon pork)) were purchased from a local market. Frankfurter sausage and bacon were used as such, whereas loin ham, luncheon meat, and pressed ham were cut into 1 cm thickness. Each product was divided into four groups: fresh (control), pan roasting (P), oven grilling (O), and microwave heating (M). The fresh samples were analyzed immediately after cooking, whereas the cooked samples were stored at refrigerated temperature (4 °C) and reheated after 3 and 6 days using the same cooking method or microwave heating, to simulate restaurant preparation. The treatment groups were the following: pan roasting-pan roasting (PP), pan roasting-microwave heating (PM), oven grilling-oven grilling (OO), oven grilling-microwave heating (OM), and microwave heating-microwave heating (MM). Samples for pan roasting (P) were roasted on an electric grill pan (Excel 10 Electric Grill, Tefal Sa, France) at 180 °C until the internal temperature of the samples reached 70 °C. After 3 and 6 days of storage, reheating by pan roasting was done at 180 °C for 5 min (PP) whereas microwave heating was performed in a microwave oven (M-M270TC, LG Electronics, Korea) with 700 W power for 2 min (PM). The samples were cooked by oven grilling in a convection oven (GR-643HT, Tong Yang Magic, Korea) at 150 °C until the internal temperature reached 70 °C. After 3 and 6 days of storage, reheating by oven grilling was done at 150 °C for 10 min (OO) using the same oven, whereas microwave heating was performed in a microwave oven with 700 W power for 2 min (OM). For the MM group, the samples were cooked in a microwave oven for 10 min and reheated in a microwave oven for 2 min, after 3 and 6 days of storage.
Determination of total cholesterol
The fat (0.5 g) was diluted in 10 mL of freshly prepared methanolic potassium hydroxide solution (1 M) and 1 g of sea sand was added. The mixture was heated for 25 min and the supernatant was transferred with a pipette into a 25 mL volumetric flask. The residue was boiled with 6 mL of isopropanol under reflux condenser for 5 min, and the solution was collected, cooled, and diluted to the mark with isopropanol. The turbid solutions were filtered through a Whatman No. 1 filter paper (Whatman Inc., Clifton, NJ). The clear aliquot was used for the cholesterol assay following the kit instructions (Cat. No 139050, Boehringer Mannheim, Germany). The blank sample was prepared by mixing 0.4 mL of the extracted sample solution and 5 mL of solution 4 (cholesterol reagent mixture). The sample solution was obtained by mixing 2.5 mL of the extracted sample solution and 0.02 mL of solution 3. The prepared blank and sample solutions were sealed with paraffin film and incubated at 37-40 °C for 60 min. The absorbance values of the blank (A1) and of the sample (A2) were determined using an UV spectrophotometer (UV1601, Shimadzu Co., Japan) at 405 nm. Cholesterol contents (mg/100 g) were calculated using the following equation:
$$ \mathrm{Cholesterol}\ \mathrm{content}\ \left(\mathrm{mg}/100\ \mathrm{g}\right)=\left[0.711\times \left(\mathrm{A}2-\mathrm{A}1\right)/\mathrm{sample}\ \mathrm{weight}\left(\mathrm{g}\right)\right]\times 100\times 25 $$
Cholesterol Oxidation Products (COPs)
Cholesterol oxidation products were analyzed according to the method of Lee et al. [17]. For the separation of COPs, a solid-phase column was prepared [18, 19] by mixing silicic acid, Celite 545, and CaHPO4
.2H2O (10:9:1, wt/wt/wt) with 30 mL chloroform, and the mixture was packed in a glass column (12 mm × 30 cm). The prepared column was repeatedly prewashed with 5 mL of hexane before sample application. The total lipids were extracted following the method of Folch et al. [20]. The lipid sample (0.2 g) was dissolved in 2 mL hexane:ethyl acetate (100:2, v/v) and applied to a prewashed column. The sample container was washed twice with 2 mL hexane:ethyl acetate and the wash solvent was applied to the column. Neutral lipid and cholesterol (phospholipids) were removed by adding 50 mL of solvent I (CHCl3:CH3OH = 2:1, v/v) and 60 mL of solvent II (hexane:ethyl acetate = 4:1, v/v). Solvent III (40 mL, acetone:ethyl acetate:methanol = 10:10:1, v/v/v) was used at a 1 mL/min flow rate to elute the COPs. The collected solutions were dried on a 50 °C hot plate with nitrogen gas flushing. The dried extracts were derivatized by heating at 80 °C for 1 h in the presence of 200 μL pyridine and 100 μL sylon-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide + 1 % trimethylchlorosilane. The COPs were analyzed using a gas chromatograph (HP 5890 plus) equipped with an on-column capillary injector and a flame ionization detector. Identification of cholesterol and COPs was based on the comparison of the retention times of the samples with those of the standards, on co-chromatography, and on the characteristics of the absorption spectra.
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variation (ANOVA) using SAS software (SAS, Release 8.01, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC), and Duncan’s multiple range test was employed to differentiate the significance among mean values.