| abstract |
Antioxidants and antioxidant compositions useful as stabilizers for food compositions, including edible fats and oils, and other compositions have been prepared and recovered from a natural source, tempeh, a fermented soybean product. An ergostadientriol which possesses antioxidative properties and which in combination with mixtures of isoflavones provides compositions having exceptional antioxidative properties has been produced. This new sterol, either alone or in combination with mixtures of isoflavones or other compounds, would appear to be useful in the prevention and/or treatment of various diseases including atherosclerosis. The ergostadientriol is recovered from other constituents of a methanol extract of tempeh by a separation process based upon its molecular size and adsorptive properties. Two novel isoflavones have also been produced and recovered from tempeh. A mixture of these isoflavones possesses antioxidative properties which are enhanced by the presence of the ergostadientriol and known isoflavones. Separate recovery or production of these isoflavones is accomplished by the same method used to recover the aforementioned novel sterol. Antioxidant compositions comprising the ergostadientriol, the two new isoflavones and known isoflavones can be prepared. Also, such antioxidant compositions can be recovered from tempeh either by a method involving methanol extraction similar to that used for recovery of the sterol and the isoflavones or by a method involving petroleum ether extraction. |