UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



jv-^'^u-t. 



I BULLETIN No. 505 



Contribution from the States Relations Service 

 A. C. TRUE, Director 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



February 13, 1917 



DIGESTIBILITY OF SOME VEGETABLE FATS. 



By C. F. Langworthy, Chief, and A. D. Holmes, Scientific Assistant, Office of Home 



Economics. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 



Experimental methods. 



Digestion experiments— Olive oil, cottonseed 

 oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, cocoa 

 butter 2 



Conclusions 18 



mXRODUCTION. 



Studies of the digestibility of some common animal fats, including 

 lard, beef fat, mutton fat, and butter, bave been reported in a previous 

 paper ^ of this series. The results of these experiments showed that 

 all the animal fats investigated were satisfactorily digested and are 

 suitable for use in quantity as food. 



The available supply of animal fats, however, is now little if any 



in excess of the demand, and it is likely that the supply of such fats 



for culinary purposes in the future will be even less adequate than 



at the present time. It is probable, therefore, that in the future 



greater reliance must be placed on the vegetable fats to supplement 



the available animal-fat supply. The experiments reported in this 



bulletin, showing the thoroughness of digestion of certain vegetable 



oils and indicating in a general way their suitability for food, have 



an important bearing on this question. The fats studied included 



olive oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, and cocoa 



butter. 



EXPERIMENTAL METHODS. 



The digestion experiments with the vegetable fats were conducted 

 by the same methods that were employed in the study of the animal 

 fats, and accordingly the results are directly comparable. A basal 



I U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 310 (1915). 



Note. — This bulletin records studies of the digestibility of olive oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, coconut 

 oil, sesame oil, and cocoa butter, and is primarily of interest to students and investigators of food problems, 

 70069°— Bull. 505—17 1 



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