The oxidation of lecithin and other fatty substances in the presence of glutathione

Abstract

A comparison of the rates of oxidation in the presence of glutathione, of lecithin, kephalin, neutral fats and fatty acids, including those obtained from lecithin on hydrolysis, has been made. Under anaerobic conditions at a slightly alkaline reaction, lecithin appears to be much more rapidly oxidized by means of oxidized glutathione than is neutral fat or fatty acid. At an acid reaction the O uptakes of lecithin and reduced glutathione are greater than that of the neutral fat or fatty acids tested and also greater than that of the fatty acids obtained from lecithin on hydrolysis. The O uptake of lecithin is about 4 times that which would be expected from a consideration of its iodine no. in relation to the iodine no. of its constituent fatty acids and their O uptakes. Calculated on the basis of iodine nos. the O uptake of lecithin is a much higher % of the theoretical than is the case with unsaturated fatty acids.