Reduction of cholesterol in beef suet using lecithin

Dietary fats have been implicated in the progression of coronary heart disease (CHD), and cholesterol-lowering procedures have attracted much attention since the link between cholesterol and CHD was established. This study aims to investigate the cholesterol-lowering effect of soybean lecithin on bleached and deodorized beef suet, a slaughterhouse by-product. Beef suet was bleached, deodorized and subjected to lecithin treatment, and the effects of lecithin-to-suet ratio, stirring time, stirring rate, and lecithin-to-water ratio on cholesterol reduction were investigated. Bleaching and deodorization, increasing of lecithin to-suet ratio, stirring rate, and stirring time up to 1.5 h elicited a linear reduction in cholesterol content, although further stirring showed no evidence of significant cholesterol reduction. In addition, different lecithin-to-water ratios did not show significant effect on cholesterol removal content. In all, up to 54.8% of bleached and deodorized beef suet cholesterol was reduced by lecithin treatment. Moreover, treatment with lecithin demonstrated an increase in suet-free fatty acids and color value with no effect on peroxide value. In conclusion, our observations suggest lecithin treatment as an appropriate method to reduce cholesterol in beef suet.