Soybean oil, nutritional composition, cardio protective effect, neuroprotective effect, hypolipidemic effect and positive effect on eye, skeletal system and digestive health

Description :   Oil, which is extracted from soybean, is generally known as soybean oil. It is considered as one of

Article Details    :

Oil, which is extracted from soybean, is generally known as soybean oil. It is considered as one of the most nutritious vegetable oils, which offers numerous health benefits.

Characteristics

• It is liquid in room temperature
• It is pale yellow in colour
• It has a bland taste and does not contain too much flavor
• It has high smoking point about 230°C, which makes it ideal for high heat cooking purposes

Process of extraction

• At first the soybeans are cleaned properly for removing impurities. Often magnets are also used for eliminating metals from it
• Then the beans are subjected to dehulling process, where the hulls are removed
• Mechanical rollers are used for rolling soybean into thin flakes that is accountable for splitting oil containing cells
• Then the beans are subjected to solvent extraction process. Hexane is commonly used as solvent in this extraction method, which helps to clean the oil from the flakes
• After the complete removal of oil, the solvent is separated from both soybean oil and flakes. The flakes are further steamed and heated for recovering the residual solvent
• The desolventized flakes are used as an imperative by product of soybean and they are tremendously rich in proteins whereas the desolventized oil is further processed and refined to produce edible soybean oil

Nutritional profile

• It contains both saturated and unsaturated fatty acid and the amount of unsaturated fatty acid, especially PUFA are found comparatively higher in soybean oil
• It is estimated that soybean oil contains about 16% of saturated fat, 23% of monounsaturated fat and about 58% of polyunsaturated fat
• It contains palmitic acid and stearic acid as saturated fatty acid
• It contains oleic acid as monounsaturated fat
• It also contains significant amount of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid as polyunsaturated fat thus it is considered as a good source of omega-3-fatty acid
• It contains phytosterols as well that plays significant role in decreasing cholesterol concentration in body
• It also contains several fat soluble vitamins and significantly rich in Vitamin K

Health benefits

Role on cardiac health

• Soybean oil contains various cardio protective nutrients thus its consumption is very beneficial for promoting cardiac health
• Omega-3-fatty acid found in soybean oil significantly reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases
• Its polyunsaturated fatty acid contents are responsible for improving cardiac functionality in many folds
• It is closely related with decreasing cholesterol concentration in blood and it has seen that beta-sitosterol component of soybean oil plays vital role in reducing cholesterol storage in body thus its consumption is considered as an effective measure for reducing total body cholesterol percentage
• Its cholesterol lowering effect decreases the prevalence of atherosclerosis, which ultimately lessen the risk of developing coronary artery disease
• It also lowers the susceptibility of heart attacks or strokes
• It has seen that soybean oil contains right proportion of saturated and unsaturated fat thus its inclusion in regular diet helps to maintain normal cholesterol level, which ultimately reduces the risk of developing various cardiac problems thus individuals with hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular diseases should include soybean oil in their diet

Role on skeletal system

• Soybean oil helps to provide a positive impact on the growth and development of bone
• Soybean oil contains significant amount of Vitamin K, which is essentially required by the body for synthesizing a protein named osteocalcin that helps to produce healthy bone tissues
• It also helps to increase bone mass
• Calcium component of soybean oil is also related with improving bone strength
• It helps to improve bone mineral density as well thus plays significant role in reducing the prevalence of bone fractures
• Isoflavones components of soybean oil also play imperative role in reducing the risk of developing osteopenia as well as osteoporosis

Role on nervous system

• Consumption of soybean oil is very effective for improving the overall functionality of nervous system
• Vitamin K, linolenic acid and linoleic acid components of soybean oil act as the potential source of EPA (ecosa pentanoic acid) and DHA (docosa hexanoic acid) both of which are required by the body for promoting proper development of brain
• It helps to promote cognition
• It is also associated with improving memory
• It exerts neuroprotective effect as well, which helps to protect neurons from oxidative damages hence decreases the susceptibility of developing neurological disorders
• It has seen that consumption of soybean oil is very much useful for preventing various cerebrovascular as well as neurodegenerative    Read more