Enzymatic hydrolysis of steryl glycosides for their analysis in foods

Steryl glycosides (SG) contribute significantly to the total intake of phytosterols. The standard analytical procedure involving acid hydrolysis fails to reflect the correct sterol profile of SG due to isomerization of some of the labile sterols. Therefore, various glycosylases were evaluated for their ability to hydrolyse SG under milder conditions. Using a pure SG mixture in aqueous solution, the highest glycolytic activity, as demonstrated by the decrease in SG and increase in free sterols was achieved using inulinase preparations (decrease of >95%). High glycolytic activity was also demonstrated using hemicellulase (63%). The applicability of enzymatic hydrolysis using inulinase preparations was further verified on SG extracted from foods. For example in potato peel Δ5-avenasteryl glucoside, a labile SG, was well preserved and contributed 26.9% of the total SG. Therefore, enzymatic hydrolysis is suitable for replacing acid hydrolysis of SG in food lipid extracts to accurately determine the sterol profile of SG.