UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 505 
Contribution from the States Relations Service 
A. C. TRUE, Director 
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Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER February 13, 1S17 
. , . — j- ._ — — — — 
DIGESTIBILITY OF SOME VEGETABLE FATS, 
By C. F. Langworthy, Chief, and A. D. Holmes, Scientific Assistant, Office of Home 
Economics. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
Experimental methods 1 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Digestion experiments— Olive oil, cottonseed 
oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, cocoa 
butter 2 
Conclusions 18 
INTRODUCTION. 
Studies of the digestibility of some common animal fats, including 
lard, beef fat, mutton fat, and butter, have been reported in a previous 
paper 1 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 hi 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 
