Lipids and Nutraceuticals January 2026
AAOCS news from Dr. Matt Miller
We will be holding an international conference in Hakodate in August-September 2027. We are accepting abstract submissions and are looking for Select Lectures with a prize of 100,000 yen and free registration fee. We are looking for abstracts from overseas, so please apply. Also, please let other researchers around you know about it. For details, please see our website. Please contact me if you have any questions.
The 3rd World Congress on Oleo Science (WCOS2027) | Confit
Call for Papers | The 3rd World Congress on Oleo Science (WCOS2027) | Confit
Best regards,
Masashi Hosokawa, Ph. D
Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University
Laboratory Bioresources Chemistry
Bio-functional Molecular Chemistry Group
TEL&FAX: +81138405530
E-mail: hoso@fish.hokudai.ac.jp
Skin damage and the sun-nicotinamide
UV radiation in New Zealand (NZ) is compared with other locations, and it is shown that while it is high compared with the UK, it is not particularly high in a global sense. Our high skin cancer rates are not due to increased UV from ozone depletion, but mainly to other factors, had it not been for the Montreal Protocol, UVI values in NZ would by now be ~20% greater than in 1990 when measurements began. However, because of the success of the Montreal Protocol, UVI values have not changed significantly in NZ since the early 1990s. Kids in schools with hats, availability of effective skin creams and the early checking of skin conditions by professionals all helps.
NIWA UV Workshop, Wellington, 4-6 April 2018 (www.niwa.co.nz/atmosphere/uv-ozone/uv-science-workshops/2018-uv-workshop) UV in the Melanoma Capital of the World Compared with Other countries.
There are different types of skin damage conditions and most of us in NZ have these conditions.:
Actinic keratoses, Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.
Niacin or Vitamin B3 once used to combat pellagra is now being used for skin cancer treatment. Niacin is an important type of B vitamin found in animal foods like red meat, liver, and fish. Although humans can make it from the amino acid tryptophan, this synthesis is inefficient; thus, niacin is still considered a vitamin (an organic substance that must be ingested). It is often referred to as vitamin B3 because it was the third of the discovered vitamins of B group.
The discovery of the role of niacin is intricately linked with the story of pellagra. This disease was widespread throughout human history, especially among impoverished people whose diet consisted entirely of corn products. Symptoms of pellagra include diarrhoea, inflamed mucous membranes, mental confusion, delusions, and scaly skin sores. It is easily cured with a balanced diet, but nicotinamide sorted it for the USA in the short term.
Several of us under the guide of our physicians are trying Vitamin B3 cream for sorting early onset sun damage. Apparently, the literature reports a 25% success rate.
Olive oil-economic EV supply
Olive oil stands for roughly 40 to 50 percent of New Zealand’s total oil sales, making it a hugely popular grocery item. As global demand outstrips supply, prices have naturally gone up. This oil is mainly RBD oil although some brands purport to be EV, but they are old and stale and would not meet the organoleptical test.
If you cannot get NZ EV oil, then Modern olives oil is a good and economic substitute. Their Australian Director, Leandro Ravetti has recently moved to the USA to supervise their production there.
Leandro Ravetti is the Technical Director at Australia’s Boundary Bend Olives, LTD. He is an authoritative advocate for olive oil truth-in-labelling and is an internationally known speaker on all thing’s olive. Leandro has championed olive research, particularly in the field of nutrition. He knowledge of olive cultivars is extensive. Leandro made a significant contribution to Florida olives when he developed a list of olive varieties for the Florida low chill research project. He is now based in California.
Locally produced olive oil only makes up about 10 percent of what is consumed in New Zealand, and while the price of New Zealand olive oil has not increased at nearly the same rate as what is produced overseas, it still does not come cheap.
New Zealand has experienced similarly challenging weather conditions the past few seasons, with regions across the North Island experiencing flooding in early 2023. In addition, increasing labour and material costs across the horticulture industry means local olive oil production “is not a hugely profitable industry”, Glover said.
“[Olives New Zealand's] recorded production within our members dropped down to 70,000 litres last year, from 120,000 litres the year before… we’re surviving.”
The Impact of Pyropheophytin a (PPP) and 1,2-Diacylglycerols (DAGs) on Extra Virgin Olive Oil Quality and Shelf Life
Xueqi Li, Lu Li, Andrew Blandino, Mary Mori, Christopher Moore, Alejandra Andalon, Selina C. Wang
https://doi.org/10.1002/aocs.12959Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Leandro Ravetti, a frequent visitor to NZ and a strong advocate for quality olive oil has recently moved to the USA (California) to handle their production and sales.
Herbal extracts for Gin
Gin used to be the grog of choice for the poor as it is cheap to make but now there are lots of gourmet gins with unusual herbal extracts making for interesting taste sessions.
Dripping-once a commodity, now a gourmet food item!!
Years ago we made a super frying fat called Chefade, which was highly refined, colourless and bland. The process took cheap dripping or tallow from the freezing works and highly processed it. People turned away from animal products as they were told that it was no good for one! There is nothing like progress.
Blood pressure versus sodium intake, the conundrum
Those of us in our senior years have elevated blood pressure with many on medication to bring it down to safe levels. A chief culprit for BP elevation is sodium, or salt intake.
However, the conundrum is that we need sodium for cognition. Our level should be 135 mole/L minimum. . A good blood sodium level is generally 135 to 145 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L), crucial for nerve, muscle, and fluid balance, but daily dietary sodium should be limited to under 2,300 mg (about a teaspoon of salt), with an optimal goal of under 1,500 mg for most adults to prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, according to the American Heart Association and NZ Heart Foundation.
Squalene and shark liver oil
Squalene is present up to 85% by weight of liver in deep sea sharks. Among the plant sources, squalene is present in Amaranthus seed oil (6-8%), olive oil (up to 0.7% by weight), palm oil (0.1 to 2%, depending on species and method of extraction),
Oxidative damage of the skin starts at the surface induced by pro-oxidants which brings about oxidation of skin lipids (Ohsawa et al., 1984; Wefers et al., 1991). Due to its presence in skin squalene can effectively scavenge free radicals (Kohno et al., 1995; Atkins, 2002; Das, 2005) from skin, one reason why squalene finds application as a skin moisturizer in cosmetics.
Many years ago, we made lovely skin lotions with around 25% squalene and avocado oil though it was never commercialized