Section: 7 | Composition and Properties of Common Oils and Fats |

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COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF COMMON OILS AND FATS

This table lists some of the most common naturally occurring oils and fats. The oils and fats consist mainly of esters of glycerol (i.e., triglycerides) with fatty acids of 10 to 22 carbon atoms. The four fatty acids with the highest concentration are given for each oil; concentrations are given in weight percent. Because there is often a wide variation in composition depending on the source of the oil sample, a range (or sometimes an average) is generally given. More complete data on composition, including minor fatty acids, sterols, and tocopherols, can be found in the references. Column definitions for the table are as follows.

Column heading	Definition
Name	Name of oil or fat; the oils and fats are listed alphabetically by common name
Source	Type of source: plant, fish and other marine life, or land animal
Acid 1	Fatty acid with highest oil or fat. Acids are designated by the codes described in the table “Properties of Fatty Acids and Their Methyl Esters” in this section; that table gives the systematic and common names of the acids. Thus 18:2 9c,12c indicates a C18 acid with two double bonds in the 9 and 12 positions, both with a cis configuration (cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid, or linoleic acid)
Conc. 1	Concentration of Acid 1, in weight %
Acid 2	Fatty acid with second highest oil or fat concentration; see definition of Acid 1 for code explanation
Conc. 2	Concentration of Acid 2, in weight %
Acid 3	Fatty acid with third highest oil or fat concentration; see definition of Acid 1 for code explanation
Conc. 3	Concentration of Acid 3, in weight %
Acid 4	Fatty acid with fourth highest oil or fat concentration; see definition of Acid 1 for code explanation
Conc. 4	Concentration of Acid 4, in weight %
t_mp	The normal melting point, in °C
ρ	Typical value of the density of the oil or fat, in g cm^-3; superscript indicates the temperature in °C
n_D	Typical value of the refractive index; superscript indicates the temperature in °C
Sapon. value	Saponification value or number; the number of milligrams (mg) of potassium hydroxide (KOH) required to completely saponify 1 g of the oil or fat
Iodine value	Iodine value or number; the number of grams of iodine taken up by 100 g of the oil or fat; a measure of the degree of unsaturation of the oil or fat

Notes

The composition figure given for oleic acid (18:1 9c) often includes low levels of other 18:1 isomers.
In some oils where a concentration is given for 18:2 9c,12c (linoleic acid), other isomers of 18:2 may be included.
Likewise, where a concentration is given for 18:3 9c,12c,15c (α-linolenic acid), other isomers of 18:3 may be included.
The acid 20:5 6c,9c,12c,15c,17c, which is prevalent in many fish oils, is often abbreviated as 20:5 ω-3 or 20:5 n-3.
Jojoba oil consists primarily of wax esters of the acids listed here and long-chain alcohols.
Kapok oil also contains up to 15% cyclopropene acids.
Stillingia oil also contains 5-10% trans,cis-2,4-decadienoic acid (stillingic acid, 10:2 2t,4c).
Capelin oil also contains about 10% 16:1.

The assistance of Frank D. Gunstone in preparing this table is gratefully acknowledged.

References

Firestone, D., Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Oils, Fats, and Waxes, Second Edition, AOCS Press, Urbana, IL, 2006.
Gunstone, F. D., Harwood, J. L., and Dijkstra, A. J., eds., The Lipid Handbook, Third Edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2006.
Dawson, R. M. C., Elliott, D. C., Elliott, W. H., and Jones, K. M., Data for Biochemical Research, Third Edition, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986.
Altman, P. L., and Dittmer, D. S., eds., Biology Data Book, Second Edition, Vol. 1, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Bethesda, MD, 1972.

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Composition and Properties of Common Oils and Fats

Name	Source	Acid 1	Conc. 1/ wt%	Acid 2	Conc. 2/ wt%	Acid 3	Conc. 3/ wt%	Acid 4	Conc. 4/ wt%	t_mp/ºC	ρ/g cm^-3	n_D	Sapon. value	Iodine value
Continued on next page...
Almond kernel oil	Plants	18:1 9c	43-70%	18:2 9c,12c	24-30%	16:0	4-13%	18:0	1-10%		0.910²⁵	1.467²⁶	188-200	89-101
Anchovy oil	Marine animals	16:0	16-20%	20:5 6c,9c,12c,15c,17c	10-20%	18:1 9c	9-14%	16:1 undefined	8-12%				191-194	163-169
Apricot kernel oil	Plants	18:1 9c	58-66%	18:2 9c,12c	29-33%	16:0	4.6-6%	18:0	1%		0.910²⁵	1.469²⁵	185-199	97-110
Argan seed oil	Plants	18:1 9c	42-55%	18:2 9c,12c	30-34%	16:0	12-16%	18:0	2-7%		0.912²⁰	1.467²⁰	189-195	92-102
Avocado pulp oil	Plants	18:1 9c	56-74%	18:2 9c,12c	10-17%	16:0	9-18%	16:1 9c	3-9%		0.912²⁵	1.466²⁵	177-198	85-90
Babassu palm oil	Plants	12:0	40-55%	14:0	11-27%	18:1 9c	9-20%	16:0	5.2-11%	24	0.914²⁵	1.450⁴⁰	245-256	10-18
Beef tallow	Land animals	18:1 undefined	31-50%	18:0	25-40%	16:0	20-37%	14:0	1-6%	47	0.902²⁵	1.454⁴⁰	190-200	33-47
Blackcurrant oil	Plants	18:2 9c,12c	45-50%	18:3 6c,9c,12c	14-20%	18:3 9c,12c,15c	12-15%	18:1 9c	9-13%		0.923²⁰	1.480²⁰	185-195	173-182
Borage (starflower) oil	Plants	18:2 9c,12c	36-40%	18:3 6c,9c,12c	17-25%	18:1 9c	14-21%	16:0	9.4-12%				189-192	141-160
Borneo tallow	Plants	18:0	39-43%	18:1 9c	34-37%	16:0	18-21%	20:0	1.0%	38	0.855¹⁰⁰	1.456⁴⁰	189-200	29-38
Butterfat	Land animals	16:0	28.1% (av.)	18:1 9c	20.8% (av.)	14:0	10.8% (av.)	18:0	10.6% (av.)	32	0.934¹⁵	1.455⁴⁰	210-232	26-40
Cameline oil	Plants	18:3 9c,12c,15c	33-38%	18:2 9c,12c	15-16%	20:1 total	14-16%	18:1 9c	12-24%		0.924¹⁵	1.477²⁰	180-190	127-155
Canola (rapeseed) oil (low erucic)	Plants	18:1 9c	52-67%	18:2 9c,12c	16-25%	18:3 9c,12c,15c	6-14%	16:0	3.3-6.0%	-10	0.915²⁰	1.466⁴⁰	182-193	110-126
Canola (rapeseed) oil (low linolenic)	Plants	18:1 9c	59-66%	18:2 9c,12c	24-29%	16:0	4-5%	18:3 9c,12c,15c	2-3%	-10				91
Capelin oil	Marine animals	18:1 9c	12-18%	22:1 undefined	9-25%	20:1 undefined	9-27%	16:0	8-12%			1.463⁵⁰	185-202	94-164
Caraway seed oil	Plants	18:1 9c	40%	18:2 9c,12c	30%	18:1 6c	26%	16:0	3%			1.471³⁵	178	128
Cashew nut oil	Plants	18:1 9c	57-80%	18:2 9c,12c	16-22%	16:0	4-17%	18:0	2-12%		0.914¹⁵	1.463⁴⁰	180-196	79-89
Castor oil	Plants	18:1 12-OH,9c	88%	18:2 9c,12c	3-5%	18:1 undefined	2.9-6%	22:0	2.1%	-18	0.952²⁵	1.475²⁵	176-187	81-91
Cherry kernel oil	Plants	18:2 9c,12c	42-45%	18:1 9c	35-49%	16:0	4-9%	18:3 9c,11t,13t	3-10		0.918²⁵	1.468⁴⁰	190-198	110-118

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