An investigation was carried out into the stability of fatty acyl groups to heat-induced oxidative changes as affected by their chemical environment. The behavior of oleic and linoleic acyl groups when esterified in triacylglycerols (TAGs) and phosphatidylcholines (PCs) was evaluated. The monitoring of the oxidative degradation using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) showed that fatty acyl groups are less likely to be oxidized when in the form of PCs than when in the form of TAGs. In addition, oxidation products from PCs were more stable than those from TAGs. This finding strengthens the idea that the choline group in PCs increases the stability of fatty acyl groups to oxidation in comparison to TAGs.
