DIGESTIBILITY OP SOME NUT OILS. 17 



the four test periods which were made to determine the digestibility 

 of pecan oil. The coefficients of digestibility for the constituents of 

 the diet were for protein, 65.9 per cent; for fat, 93.9 per cent; and 

 for carbohydrates, 97.2 per cent. Experiments made to determine 

 the significance of the ether extract of the feces resulting from the 

 basal ration without the addition of fat have been reported in an 

 earlier paper; 1 making allowance for that portion of the ether 

 extract of the feces which results from the basal ration, the value 

 for the digestibility of the total fat, 93.9 per cent, becomes 96.8 per 

 cent for the pecan oil alone. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



An average of 70 grams of almond, 56 grams of black-walnut, 81 

 grams of Brazil-nut, 43 grams of butternut, 78 grams of English- 

 walnut, 95 grams of hickory-nut, and 104 grams of pecan oil was 

 eaten per subject per day in the experiments, out of a total of 71 

 grams, 68 grams, 84 grams, 46 grams, 80 grams, 97 grams, and 107 

 grams of fat supplied by the respective diets. 



The oils studied in this investigation were found to be well di- 

 gested, the coefficients of digestibility being 97.1 per cent for almond 

 oil, 97.5 per cent for black-walnut oil, 96.3 per cent for Brazil-nut oil, 

 95.4 per cent for butternut oil, 97.6 per cent for English-walnut oil, 

 99.3 per cent for hickory-nut oil, and 96.8 per cent for pecan oil. 



The nut oils, which are liquid at ordinary temperatures, have prac- 

 tically the same digestibility as the common vegetable oils (cotton- 

 seed, peanut, olive, sesame, and coconut oils), which are also liquid 

 at ordinary temperatures. 



While in these experiments as much as 81 grams of almond oil, 64 

 grams of black-walnut oil, 100 grams of Brazil-nut oil, 49 grams of 

 butternut oil, 109 grams of hickory-nut oil, and 130 grams of pecan 

 oil were eaten per dsij by one of the subjects for a 3-day test period, 

 no laxative effect was noted; accordingly the limits of tolerance for 

 these fats is in excess of these amounts. In the experiments with 

 English-walnut oil the three subjects are 69.9 grams, 83.8 grams, and 

 81.6 grams per day and all reported a slight laxative effect. 



The values obtained for the digestibility of the protein and carbo- 

 hydrates eaten in conjunction with the different nut oils are in agree- 

 ment with those obtained in the earlier experiments of this series, 

 indicating that the nut oils did not exert any unusual influence on 

 the digestibility of the foods eaten with them. 



The results of this study of the digestibility of these nut oils indi- 

 cate that they are very well assimilated by the human body, and that 

 whenever available they could be used freely for food purposes. 



'U. S. DepL Agr. Bui. S1Q (1915), p. 17. 



