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A Srupy oF THE CHEMICAL Composition or Burrer Fat, 
AND Irs RELATION TO THE CompPosITION oF BUTTER. 
By O. F. HUNZIKER AND GEORGE SPITZER. 
SUMMARY OF AUTHENTIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPOSITION 
OF BUTTER FAT. 
Milk fat or butter fat consists of triglycerides of fatty acids. The 
fatty acids of butter fat are monobasic and have the general formula 
CnH2n +1 COOH, except oleic acid, which is a non-saturated acid be- 
longing to the acrylic series with the general formula CnH2n1 CO OH. 
The triglycerides of butter fat do not exist as glycerides of one fatty acid, 
but as a mixture of several acid radicals combined with glycerin. Glyc- 
erin is a triatomie alcohol, C,H;(OH),. Theoretically, therefore, the milk 
fat could contain triglycerides of the fatty acids present, that is, there 
could be tributyrin, triolein, tristearin, ete. In reality no such combination 
exists. Just in what order the triglycerides are present has not been 
definitely established. The acids present in butter fat are butyric, caproic, 
caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, oleic and stearic. 
Bell’ holds that butter fat consists of mixed glycerides, glycerides in 
the molecule of which the glycerol is combined with three different acid 
radicals forming a compound having the following composition : 
OCsH7O 
(st OC ind 
OCisH 330 
This theory is supported by the fact that the glycerol forms triacid 
compounds and not compounds of one acid, which theoretically could be 
possible. If the glycerol formed monoacid compounds, butter fat would 
contain glyceryl] tributyrates, caproates, stearates, ete. 
SOLUBILITY OF BUTTER FATS IN ALCOHOL. 
If butter fat is dissolved in alcohol, from 1.1 to 3.8 per cent of the 
fat goes into solution, the solubility depending on the temperature of the 
alcohol. If tributyrin existed in butter fat, all of the tributyrin would 
1The Chemistry of Foeds, Vol. II, page 44. 
