Journal of Food Lipids 7(4): 217-224 (2000). Extraction of Lipids from Extruded Corn-Soy Blends Elizabeth D. Strange 1 and Karen M.Schaich 2 1 USDA, ARS, Eastern Regional Research Center, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania 19038. E-mail estrange@arserrc.gov. 2 Department of Food Science, Rutgers The State University, 65 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8520. E-mail schaich@aesop.rutgers.edu. Mention of brand or firm name does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over others of a similar nature not mentioned. ABSTRACT Extruded corn-soy products developed for the US AID Food for Peace program contain high levels of lipids (about 12%) and vitamins and minerals, including oxidation-sensitive vitamins A and C and iron. Because the stability of the lipids is probably the most important factor in maintaining stability of these products during long-term storage under adverse conditions, being able to analyze lipid content and oxidation is critical. In cereals, substantial amounts of lipid are bound to starch, and this makes cereal lipids notoriously difficult to extract. Conventional methods such as acid hydrolysis, hot water-saturated butanol, and exhaustive soxhlet extractions result in damage to the lipids and thus give inaccurate measures of lipid stability. A new method of extracting lipids from cereal-based products without damage is proposed using pretreatment with α-amylase to digest the starch and release bound lipids. One gram of the product is slurried with 25 mg α-amylase in water and incubated for 16 hours. Lipids are then extracted from this mixture with 2:1 v/v dichloromethane or chloroform:methanol. This procedure was quantitative, extracting 98.7% of the lipid, and it gave an extract suitable for analysis of fatty acid contents and lipid oxidation products, e.g. peroxide values, and carbonyl contents.