Plant fats and oils

Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides, as contrasted with waxes which lack glycerin in their structure. Although many plant parts may yield oil, in commercial practice, oil is extracted primarily from seeds.

Vegetable fats and oils may or may not be edible. Examples of inedible vegetable fats and oils include processed linseed oil, tung oil, and castor oil used in lubricants, paints, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial applications.

Cooking oils

Several oils are used as cooking oils. Note that each specific cooking oil has a specific heat tolerance (high or low smoke point). When choosing a cooking oil, it is important to match the oil's heat tolerance with the cooking method; this due to health reasons.

Oils that are suitable for high-temperature frying (above Template:Convert) are:

• Avocado oil
• Corn oil
• Mustard oil
• Palm oil
• Peanut oil (marketed as "groundnut oil" in the UK and India)
• Rice bran oil
• Safflower oil
• Sesame oil (semi-refined)
• Soybean oil
• Sunflower oil

Oils suitable for medium-temperature frying (above Template:Convert) include:^{[citation needed]}

• Almond oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Diacylglycerol (DAG) oil
• Ghee, Clarified butter
• Grape seed oil
• Lard
• Olive oil (Virgin, and refined)
• Rapeseed oil, (marketed Canola oil in North America or, sometimes, simply "vegetable oil" in the UK)
• Mustard oil
• Walnut oil

Major oils

These oils account for a significant fraction of worldwide edible oil production. All are also used as fuel oils.

• Coconut oil, a cooking oil, with medical and industrial applications as well. Extracted from the kernel or meat of the fruit of the coconut palm. Common in the tropics, and unusual in composition, with medium chain fatty acids dominant.
• Corn oil, one of the principal oils sold as salad and cooking oil.
• Olive oil, used in cooking, cosmetics, soaps, and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps.
• Peanut oil (Ground nut oil), a clear oil with some applications as a salad dressing, and, due to its high smoke point, especially used for frying.
• Rapeseed oil, including Canola oil, one of the most widely used cooking oils.
• Safflower oil, until the 1960s used in the paint industry, now mostly as a cooking oil.
• Sesame oil, cold pressed as light cooking oil, hot pressed for a darker and stronger flavor.
• Soybean oil, produced as a byproduct of processing soy meal.
• Sunflower oil, a common cooking oil, also used to make biodiesel.

Nut oils

Nut oils are generally used in cooking, for their flavor. Most are quite costly, because of the difficulty of extracting the oil.

• Almond oil, used as an edible oil, but primarily in the manufacture of cosmetics.^[1]
• Beech nut oil, from Fagus sylvatica nuts, is a well-regarded edible oil in Europe, used for salads and cooking.^[2]
• Cashew oil, somewhat comparable to olive oil. May have value for fighting dental cavities.^[3]
• Hazelnut oil, mainly used for its flavor. Also used in skin care, because of its slight astringent nature.^[4]
• Macadamia oil, with a mild nutty flavor and a high smoke point.^[5]
• Mongongo nut oil (or manketti oil), from the seeds of the Schinziophyton rautanenii, a tree which grows in South Africa. High in vitamin E. Also used in skin care.^[6]
• Pecan oil, valued as a food oil, but requiring fresh pecans for good quality oil.^[7]
• Pine nut oil, sold as a gourmet cooking oil,^[8][9] and of potential medicinal interest as an appetite suppressant.^[10]
• Pistachio oil, a strongly flavored oil with a distinctive green color.^[5]
• Walnut oil, used for its flavor,^[5] also used by Renaissance painters in oil paints.^[11][12]

Citrus oils

A number of citrus plants yield pressed oils. Some, like lemon and orange oil, are used as essential oils, which is uncommon for pressed oils. The seeds of many if not most members of the citrus family yield usable oils.^[13][14][15]

• Grapefruit seed oil, extracted from the seeds of grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi). Grapefruit seed oil was extracted experimentally in 1930 and was shown to be suitable for making soap.^[16]
• Lemon oil, similar in fragrance to the fruit. One of a small number of cold pressed essential oils.^[17] Used as a flavoring agent^[18] and in aromatherapy.^[19]
• Orange oil, like lemon oil, cold pressed rather than distilled.^[20] Consists of 90% d-Limonene. Used as a fragrance, in cleaning products and in flavoring foods.^[21]

  

Oils from melon and gourd seeds

Members of the Cucurbitaceae include gourds, melons, pumpkins, and squashes. Seeds from these plants are noted for their oil content, but little information is available on methods of extracting the oil. In most cases, the plants are grown as food, with dietary use of the oils as a byproduct of using the seeds as food.^[22]

• Bitter gourd oil, from the seeds of Momordica charantia. High in α-Eleostearic acid. Of current research interest for its potential anti-carcinogenic properties.^[23]
• Bottle gourd oil, extracted from the seeds of the Lagenaria siceraria, widely grown in tropical regions. Used as an edible oil.^[24]
• Buffalo gourd oil, from the seeds of the Cucurbita foetidissima, a vine with a rank odor, native to southwest North America.^[25]
• Butternut squash seed oil, from the seeds of Cucurbita moschata, has a nutty flavor that is used for salad dressings, marinades, and sautéeing.^[26]
• Egusi^{[note 1]} seed oil, from the seeds of Cucumeropsis mannii naudin, is particularly rich in linoleic acid.^[27]
• Pumpkin seed oil, a specialty cooking oil, produced in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. Used mostly in salad dressings.^[28]
• Watermelon seed oil, pressed from the seeds of Citrullus vulgaris. Traditionally used in cooking in West Africa.^[29][30]

• Açaí oil, from the fruit of several species of the Açaí palm (Euterpe) grown in the Amazon region.

• Black seed oil, pressed from Nigella sativa seeds, has a long history of medicinal use, including in ancient Greek, Asian, and Islamic medicine, as well as a topic of current medical research.
• Blackcurrant seed oil, from the seeds of Ribes nigrum, used as a food supplement. High in gamma-Linolenic, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
• Borage seed oil, from the seeds of Borago officinalis, with an omega-3 content comparable to blackcurrant seed oil and evening primrose oil.
• Flaxseed oil (called linseed oil when used as a drying oil), from the seeds of Linum usitatissimum. High in omega-3 and lignans, which can be used medicinally. A good dietary equivalent to fish oil.

Other edible oils

• Amaranth oil, from the seeds of grain amaranth species, including Amaranthus cruentus and Amaranthus hypochondriacus, high in squalene and unsaturated fatty acids.
• Apricot oil, similar to almond oil, which it resembles. Used in cosmetics.
• Apple seed oil, high in linoleic acid.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
• Pili nut oil, extracted from the seeds of Canarium ovatum. Used in the Philippines as an edible oil, as well as for a lamp oil.^[31]
• Pomegranate seed oil, from Punica granatum seeds, is very high in punicic acid (which takes its name from pomegranates). A topic of current medical research for treating and preventing cancer.^[32][33]
• Poppyseed oil, long used for cooking, in paints, varnishes, and soaps.^{[34][35][36][37]}
• Prune kernel oil, marketed as a gourmet cooking oil^[38][39] Similar in composition to peach kernel oil.^[40]
• Quinoa oil, similar in composition and use to corn oil.^[41]
• Ramtil oil, pressed from the seeds of the one of several species of genus Guizotia abyssinica (Niger pea) in India and Ethiopia.^[42][43]
• Rice bran oil is a highly stable cooking and salad oil, suitable for high-temperature cooking.^[44][45] It also has potential as a biofuel.^[46]
• Royle oil, pressed from the seeds of Prinsepia utilis, a wild, edible oil shrub that grows in the higher Himalayas. Used medicinally in Nepal.^[47]

• Sacha inchi oil, from the Peruvian Amazon. High in behenic, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.^[48][49]
• Sapote oil, used as a cooking oil in Guatemala.^[50]
• Seje oil, from the seeds of Jessenia bataua. Used in South America as an edible oil, similar to olive oil, as well as for soaps and in the cosmetics industry.^[51]
• Shea butter, much of which is produced by poor, African women. Used primarily in skin care products and as a substitute for cocoa butter in confections and cosmetics.^[52][53]
• Taramira oil, from the seeds of the arugula (Eruca sativa), grown in West Asia and Northern India. Used as a (pungent) edible oil after aging to remove acridity.^[54][55]
• Tea seed oil (Camellia oil), widely used in southern China as a cooking oil. Also used in making soaps, hair oils and a variety of other products.^[56][57]
• Thistle oil, pressed from the seeds of Silybum marianum.^[58] A good potential source of special fatty acids, carotenoids, tocopherols, phenol compounds and natural anti-oxidants,^[59] as well as for generally improving the nutritional value of foods.^[60]
• Tigernut oil (or nut-sedge oil) is pressed from the tuber of Cyperus esculentus. It has properties similar to soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oils.^[61] It is used in cooking and making soap^[62] and has potential as a biodiesel fuel.^[61]
• Tobacco seed oil, from the seeds of Nicotiana tabacum and other Nicotiana species. If purified, is suitable for edible purposes.^[63]
• Tomato seed oil is a potentially valuable by-product, as a cooking oil, from the waste seeds generated from processing tomatoes.^[64]
• Wheat germ oil, used nutritionally and in cosmetic preparations,^[65] high in vitamin E and octacosanol.^[66]

Oils used for biofuel

A number of oils are used for biofuel (biodiesel and Straight Vegetable Oil) in addition to having other uses. Other oils are used only as biofuel.^{[note 2][67]}

Although diesel engines were invented, in part, with vegetable oil in mind,^[68] diesel fuel is almost exclusively petroleum-based. Vegetable oils are evaluated for use as a biofuel based on:

1. Suitability as a fuel, based on flash point, energy content, viscosity, combustion products and other factors
2. Cost, based in part on yield, effort required to grow and harvest, and post-harvest processing cost

Multipurpose oils also used as biofuel

The oils listed immediately below are all (primarily) used for other purposes – all but tung oil are edible – but have been considered for use as biofuel.

• Castor oil, lower cost than many candidates. Kinematic viscosity may be an issue.^[69]
• Coconut oil (copra oil), promising for local use in places that produce coconuts.^[70]
• Colza oil, from Brassica rapa, var. oleifera (turnip) is closely related to rapeseed (or canola) oil. It is a major source of biodiesel in Germany.^[71]
• Corn oil, appealing because of the abundance of maize as a crop.
• Cottonseed oil, the subject of study for cost-effectiveness as a biodiesel feedstock.^[72][73]
• False flax oil, from Camelina sativa, used in Europe in oil lamps until the 18th century.^[74]
• Hemp oil, relatively low in emissions. Production is problematic in some countries because of its association with marijuana.^[75][76]
• Mustard oil, shown to be comparable to Canola oil as a biofuel.^[77]
• Palm oil, very popular for biofuel, but the environmental impact from growing large quantities of oil palms has recently called the use of palm oil into question.^[78]
• Peanut oil, used in one of the first demonstrations of the Diesel engine in 1900.^[68]
• Radish oil. Wild radish contains up to 48% oil, making it appealing as a fuel.^[79]
• Rapeseed oil, the most common base oil used in Europe in biodiesel production.^[67]
• Ramtil oil, used for lighting in India.^[80]
• Rice bran oil, appealing because of lower cost than many other vegetable oils. Widely grown in Asia.^[81]
• Safflower oil, explored recently as a biofuel in Montana.^[82]
• Salicornia oil, from the seeds of Salicornia bigelovii, a halophyte (salt-loving plant) native to Mexico.^[83]
• Soybean oil, not economical as a fuel crop, but appealing as a byproduct of soybean crops for other uses.^[67]
• Sunflower oil, suitable as a fuel, but not necessarily cost effective.^[84]
• Tigernut oil has been described by researchers in China as having "great potential as a biodiesel fuel."^[61]
• Tung oil, referenced in several lists of vegetable oils that are suitable for biodiesel.^[85] Several factors in China produce biodiesel from tung oil.^[86]

Inedible oils used only or primarily as biofuel

These oils are extracted from plants that are cultivated solely for producing oil-based biofuel.^{[note 3]} These, plus the major oils described above, have received much more attention as fuel oils than other plant oils.

• Copaiba, an oleoresin tapped from species of genus Copaifera. Used in Brazil as a cosmetic product and a major source of biodiesel.^[87]
• Honge oil (Pongamia), pioneered as a biofuel by Udipi Shrinivasa in Bangalore, India.^[88][89]
• Jatropha oil, widely used in India as a fuel oil. Has attracted strong proponents for use as a biofuel.^[90][91]
• Jojoba oil, from the Simmondsia chinensis, a desert shrub.^[92]
• Milk bush, popularized by chemist Melvin Calvin in the 1950s. Researched in the 1980s by Petrobras, the Brazilian national petroleum company.^[93]
• Nahor oil, pressed from the kernels of Mesua ferrea, is used in India as a lamp oil.^[94]
• Paradise oil, from the seeds of Simarouba glauca, has received interest in India as a feed stock for biodiesel.^[95]
• Petroleum nut oil, from the Petroleum nut (Pittosporum resiniferum) native to the Philippines. The Philippine government once explored the use of the petroleum nut as a biofuel.^[96]

See also

• File:Oil_crops.png; appropriate oil crops in various parts of the world

References

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