UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 630 
Contribution from the States Relations Service T&»E 
A. C. TRUE, Director ,$VV*V^% 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER April 16, 1918 
STUDIES ON THE DIGESTIBILITY OF SOME NUT 
OILS. 1 
By A. D. Holmes, Specialist in Charge of Digestion Experiments, Office of 
Home Economics. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
Methods of procedure 2 
Subjects 3 
Almond oil 4 
Black- walnut oil 6 
Brazil-nut oil 8 
Page. 
Butternut oil 9 
English- walnut oil 11 
Hickory-nut oil 13 
Pecan oil 15 
Conclusions 17 
INTRODUCTION. 
This paper records the results of a study of the digestibility of 
almond, black-walnut, Brazil-nut, butternut, English-walnut, hick- 
ory-nut, and pecan oils. 
Previous papers 2 of this series have reported the digestibility of 
lard, beef fat, mutton fat (kidney fats), butter; cream, chicken, 
goose, fish, brisket, and egg-yolk fats ; and cocoa butter, olive, cotton- 
seed, peanut, coconut, and sesame oils. The results of the study of 
the digestibility of these fats indicate that they are well utilized by 
the human body and may be used in amounts exceeding those of the 
ordinary diet, without causing any laxative effects. In the experi- 
ments all of the fats were separated from the materials in which they 
naturally occur. Most of them are thus used in the ordinary diet, 
though with a few (egg fat and fish fat, for example) this is not the 
case. The present paper has to do with the digestibility of the oils 
obtained from some of the common nuts considered in comparison 
with the digestibility of the large number of animal and vegetable 
fats which are being considered in this series. While these oils can 
1 Prepared under the direction of C. F. Langworthy, Chief, Office of Home Economics. 
2 U. S. Dept. Agr. Buls. 310 (1915), 505 (1917), 507 (1917). 
Note. — This bulletin is primarily of interest to students and investigators of food 
problems. 
18030°— 18— Bull. 630 1 
