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The harmful effects of consumption of

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 Clin Ter 2014: 165(4):217-221. dot: J0.7417/CT.20I4.I737
Review

The harmful effects of consumption of repeatedly heated

edible oils: a short review
S.K. Ku', M.S. Muhamad Ruhaifi', S.S. Fatin'. M . Saffana'. K. Taty Anna', S. Das', J. Kamsiah-

Departmenis of'Anatomy. 'Pliannacology. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abd Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

Abstract hydrolysis, cyclizaiion. polymerization and degradation to

II has been a regular praciice to repeatedly heat the cooking oil
and consume it without knowing the hannful effects of such. The pro-
cedure to use repeatedly healed cooking oil is aimed lo curb the cost
of expenses. Heating results is the formation of free reactive oxygen
species (ROS) which is responsible for the oxidative stfess and damage
10 various organs in the body. The present review article discusses the
harmful events occurring due to consumption of repeated heating of
edible oil. A su-ong message is aimed to generate public awareness
of the deleterious effects of consumption of heated edible oil which
may help in curbing hypertension and atherosclerosis. Clin Ter 2014;
16S(4):217-22I. dai: 10.7417/CT.2014.I737
Key words: anaiomy, at/ieroscteros/s, cooking oil, heating, effect,
hypertension, organs
Introduction
Frying is a commonly employed method for preparing
food as it can make the food very delicious and aromatic
which provides delicious taste. The common issue raised
in cooking oil nowadays is that it is repeatedly heating
and used it again for many times. This practice may be not
common in home cooking but it is sometime common in
hawkers which can help them to cut down their expenses
and earn more profit.
Cooking oil can be derived from animal or plant sources.
The commonly used cooking oils are peanut oil, corn o i l .
palm oil. sunflower oil and lard. The main component of
cooking oil is triglyceride which consists of three fatty acids
attached to one glycerol. Other minor components such as
mono- and diglycerides, free fatty acids, phosphatides, ste-
rols, fat-soluble vitamins, tocopherols, pigments, waxes, and
fatty alcohols are also present. The physical and chemical
characteristic of oil is influenced by kinds and proportions
of the component of fatty acids and the ways they are posi-
tioned on the glycerol molecule (1).
When cooking oil is used in frying, the temperature ran-
ges between 182 lo 191 °C and it can cause physicochemical
changes of oil. Chemically, frying oil undergoes oxidation.
volatile compound (2) .Hydrolysis of cooking oil occurs
when moist food is fried in hot o i l , this reaction increases
the acid value of oil because of fatty acid production du-
ring hydrolysis. Oxidation of oil during frying is the key of
concern. Oxidation occurs due to reaction wiih the oxygen.
Auto-oxidation can occur even though the oil is not healed,
this process is assisted when the temperature is increased,
exposed to U V light (photooxidation) and also presence
of heavy metal ions such as copper and ferum (3). Three
phases that occur during oxidation of oil are initiation, pro-
pagation and termination phase (3). This process results in
the production of lipid peroxide free radical, hydrocarbons,
aldehydes, ketone, alcohols, acid and so on (3-5). Oxidation
is more prone to happen in unsaturated fatty acid compared
to saturated form (6). When the oil is healed, thermal disso-
ciation occuring in its extra double bonds in the unsaturated
fatty acid chain allows hydrogen atom in the double bond
to be removed to form an alkyl radical or lipid radical and
this process happening in initiation phase (3, 7). In the pro-
pagation phase, lipid radical is unstable molecule resulting
due to its reaction with oxygen molecule to produce another
unstable free radical which called peroxy lipid free radical.
This phase continues when it reacts with another free fatly
acid and produces more free radical. This only stops when
two free radicals reacts and form non radical species which
happened in termination phase (5).
On the other hand, with this combination of chemical
changes, it leads lo physical changes such as change? in
the oil odour, increase in viscosity and density, and darken
colour (due to formation of polar compound), formation of
foam (due to polymer formation) and deteriorate nuuitional
value of the fried food (4, 8).
Many studies have been performed and they show that
oxidised lipid consumption leads to many harmful health
effects. Consumption of oxidized oil has shown to increase
oxidative su^ess and resulted in damage to liver in experimen-
tal rats (9, 10). With prolonged intake of thermo-oxidized
oil, growth depression can occur which may lead to growth
retardation (11). Surprisingly, few studies reported that
oxidized lipid intake is related with decreased fat mass and

Correspondence: Dr. Srijit Das. Professor. Department of Anatomy. Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Jalan Raja Muda
Abd Aziz. 50300 Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia. Tel.: 006-03-92897657; Fax: 006-03-26989506. E-mail; drsrijit@gmail.com

Copyright © SocietJl Edilrice Universo (SEU)

ISSN 0009-9074
218
obesity (12). Many researchers have reported that oxidised
lipoprotein would be more atherogenic (13) and one of the
factors associated with oxidized modification of lipoprotein
is via oxidized dietary lipid which is delivered to liver to
produce endogenous lipoprotein (14). In poorly conu-ol type
2 diabetics, oxidized lipid meal has been shown to increase
the oxidized lipid level of postprandial serum chylomicron,
and this suggest that poorly controlled diabetics is associated
with accelerated atherosclerosis (15).
The consumption of reheating the oil leads to the va-
rious deleterious effects on the vital organs. There may be
major biochemical changes and analysis of lipid level and
histopathological changes in the heart, aorta, liver and also
kidney may even show the damages.
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a chronic diseases that lakes many ye-
ars to develop its complication such as myocardial infarction
and cerebral vascular accident which are life threatening.
Many hypothesis and causes have been reported by various
researchers. It is associated with high plasma level of low
density lipoprotein in the anery, hyperlipidemia and low
plasma level of low density lipoproptein (16). Recent studies
have shown that there is increased in risk o f getting athe-
rosclerosis when experimental rats are fed with repeatedly
heated oil. Atherosclerotic parameters such as low density
lipoprotein. Serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances
( T B A R S ) and homocysteine level have been reported to be
raised when being fed with repeatedly heated soy oil, and
these may worsen especially in esu-ogen deficient states
(17). This is further supported by another study by Adam
ct al. (18) where atherosclerotic changes was noted in repe-
atedly heated oil fed to postmenopausal rats. The changes
were more obvious corresponding to die frequency of the
oil being heated. Funhenmore, similar results were been
shown in another study (19). From these findings, it can be
concluded that the atherosclerotic risk would be higher in
prolonged healed oil fed. On the other hand, atherosclerotic
histological changes and thickening of tun ica intima of aorta
were also observed in experimental groups of rats fed with
repeatedly healed palm oil (20). In summary, consuming
repeatedly heated oil is not advocated because it shows risk
of development of atherosclerotic changes.
Hypertension
Hypertension often associated with oxidative su^ess and
endothelial dysfunctions. Oxidative stress occurs following
an imbalance between the generations of the reactive oxygen
species (ROS) and the antioxidant defense system in the
vasculature (21). Physiologically ROS plays a role in maintai-
ning the cardiac and vascular integrity by regulating vascular
contraction-relaxation and cell growth. Pathologically, un-
controlled production of ROS leading to oxidative suess that
altered the uanscription factors, protein synthesis, kinases and
redox-sensitive genes leading to endothelial dysfunctions that
progresses to vascular damage (22). Increased blood pres-
S.K. Ku el a!.
sure (BP) was directly proportional to the number of times
of repetitive heating of the oil. l i is shown by the previous
study where the increased B P was affected by the number of
healing repetitions as evidenced by greater increases in B P
when die oil healed 10 limes compared to the B P increased
when the oil heated two or five times. The similar study also
reported that the increased in blood pressure was significantly
higher for 10 limes healed soy oil group than 10 times heated
palm oil group (23). Increased in blood pressure was also
related to the level of angiotensin converting enzyme ( A C E )
that important for the conversion of a potent vasoconstrictor.
Angiotensin II. A recent study showed that A C E level was
significantly elevated in the rats fed with heated palm olein.
Increase in A C E level leads to synthesis of Angiotensin II
may contribute to the elevation of BP. Similarly, other studies
also revealed that haeme oxygenase (HO) contribute to the
regulation of blood pressure. H O is die rate-limiting factor
involving in heme caiabolism and bilirubin production which
acts as antioxidant. Hence, consumption of repeatedly heated
palm olein decreases the H O activity and contributes to the
development of hypertension (24).
Heart
Heart has been shown to be one of the organs which is
being affected following ingestion of thermally oxidized oil.
Earlier study by Gabriel el al. (25) showed extensive fatty
vacuolation of the myocardial fibres. Since then, other stud-
ies also revealed histological changes like cardiac necrosis
and myolysis were seen in healed palm oil and other oils
ingestion (26,27). Furthermore, congested myorcardial and
vacuolation in papillary muscle were also seen (28).
Liver
Numerous researches have reported the association of re-
peatedly heated and thermally oxidised oil and liver damage
by demonstrating die increased of liver damage markers such
as Alanine aminoiransaminase, serum glutamic oxaloacetic
u-ansaminase (SCOT), alkaline phosphatase(ALP), aspartate
aminotransferase, total bilirubin, cholesterol, triglycerides,
low density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein and
reduced high density lipoprotein, protein and albumin
(28-31).
In addition, histological changes have been shown that
there were swollen and chronic inflammatory cell infilu^alion,
micro-granules present near the ponal area (28). Besides,
it also shown vacuolar degeneration of the hepatocytes and
necrosis of die liver in thermally oxidised oil fed rats (25).
Another study on ingestion of dietary oxidised groundnut
oil demonstrated liver architecture distortion and widening
of liver sinusoids (32). Multiple cooking oils with different
heated period have been tested, the longer ihe heated period,
the worse the severity of liver changes such as focal hepatic
haemorrhage and hepatocyte necrosis (27). Liver steatosis
was also seen in a study and can be suggested die association
between die oxidised oil consumption and sieatohepatitis
(31.33).
Consumption of heated oil
Kidney
Similar lo i(idney which is one of the vital organs which
has been shown to be affected. The architecture was shown
to be disrupted with regard to cellular degeneration and
necrosis of tubular epithelium, gromeruli distortion, disten-
tion of Bowman's space, coarse granular casts obstructing
tubular lamina, inflammatory infilu'ation. and presence of
tubular cell in medullary region, cytoplasmic and nuclear
vacuoles (25. 27. 28). These histological changes above
might lead to deterioration of kidney function and failure
in severe case.
Brain
Reheating cooking medium such as cooking oil could
release toxic compound, which are responsible for causing
brain diseases and cancer. The research had been done and
discovered that there was presence of certain aldehydes
in food, which cause neurodegenerative disease and some
cancers. The toxic aldehydes were due to the degradation o f
the fatty acids in the cooking oil. widi some being volatile,
while odiers remained after frying (34). That is the reason
why they can be found in cooked food. A s they are very
reactive compounds they can react with proteins, hormones
and enzymes in the organism and impedes its functioning
(35).
Alzheimer's disease has been reported to be associated
with oxidative stress, in part to die membrane action of
amyloid-P peptide ( A P ) (36), A P associated free radicals
cause lipid peroxidation, a major product of which is 4-hy-
droxy-trans-2-nonenal ( H N E ) . i i has been reported that the
fatty acid-derived toxin 4-hydroxy-trans-2- nonenal ( H N E )
accumulates in considerable amount in polyunsaturated
vegetables oils that had been reheated or used for a long
time (37). H N E significantly alters the conformation of
cortical synaptosomal membrane proteins and neurotoxic
to Alzheimer's disease brain (38). To add to such effects,
distortion of the layered appearance of the cerebral cortex
of rats was also reported by Jimoh et al. (32). This might
indicate the alteration of the brain function when in inges-
tion of thermally oxidised groundnut oil. However, there is
paucity of information and research studies may be planned
to corroborate such facts.
Osteoporosis
In a study about bone, fresh soy oil has the protective
properties against osteoporosis (39). Later, multiple heated
soy oil was studied on estrogen deficient rat. the multiple
times of reheating the soy oil causes the increase of IL-6
level and osteocalcin which was associated with structural
bone loss in die long term (40). In contrast, they had shown
that consumption of heated oil by normal male rats was
safe without any structural changes and deterioration of
bone (41).
2t9
Genotoxic and carcinogenic effects
Genotoxic and carcinogenic effects in food can be de-
rived from the external environment and during the food
being processes. Food is an important factor in determin-
ing cancer incidence in many countries and regions (42).
Studies have shown that, cooked food is one o f die foods
that contain a variety of mutagenic heterocyclic amines,
a carcinogenic substance that induced cancer in the liver
and other vital organs (43). Another study showed that all
the 10 compounds of heterocyclic amines were proven to
be carcinogenic in rats (44). This is further supported by
another study done by Srivasiava et al. (45) which showed
that there is genotoxic and carcinogenic risk associated with
the consumptions of repeatedly heated coconut oil. Accord-
ing to the study, there were higher amount of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were generated by the heal
processing of coconut oils which is potentially carcinogenic
and mutagenic in repeatedly heated coconut oil compared
to single-heated coconut oil.
Recommendation to public
Heating of cooking oil will change its properties physi-
cally and chemically. Consumption of these altered oil show-
ing to be hazard to our vital organs and tends to cause disease
on prolonged consumption. B y consuming it blindly, there
are risks of developing hypertension, hypercholesterolemia,
atherosclerosis, heart disease, liver and kidney problem,
osteoporosis, neurodegenerative disease and other possible
diseases. Even though, it is unable to prevent and stop the
hawkers from practising in this way. but it is advisable not
to reheat any cooking oil in home cooking and reduce tak-
ing any fried food from outside. In future, they might be
solution to reduce the complications of it such as by taking
antioxidants such as vitamin E , natural antioxidants like
Curcumin which is a chemical in turmeric, a food additive,
has been proven to have antioxidant effect and is protective
to us in exposure to heated oil diet (46. 47). Never forget
that vegetables and fruits also contain antioxidant which is
advisable to increase their intake relatively even though they
may not been proved for its beneficial against the effect of
reheated oil consumption.
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