BULLETIN 505, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTUBE. 
Summary of digestion experiments with cottonseed oil in a simple mixed diet. 
Experi- 
ment No. 
Subject. 
Protein. 
Fat. 
Carbohy- 
drates. 
Ash. 
139 
D. G. G 
Per cent. 
77.0 
71.3 
66.1 
70.8 
76.4 
67.3 
66.9 
82.6 
70.6 
38.9 
56.6 
68.8 
Per cent. 
95.8 
93.9 
91.6 
95.8 
95.1 
93.7 
93.3 
96.9 
94.3 
96.4 
95.3 
96.9 
Per cent. 
96.4 
95.3 
97.3 
96.6 
95.2 
95.6 
95.9 
97.6 
95.7 
97.4 
98.5 
97.2 
Per cent. 
140 
H. D. G 
51 
141 
R. L. S 
50.3 
62 3 
142 
R. F. T 
143 
D. G. G 
58 
144 
H. D. G 
48.9 
52.7 
76 8 
145 
146 
R. L. S 
R. F. T 
246 
H. F. B 
61.3 
247 
248 
249 
D.G.G 
R. L. S 
0. E. S 
68.2 
69.2 
74 7 
67.8 
94.9 
96.6 
61 ."> 
The average coefficient of digestibility of the fat, of which over 
98.3 per cent was cottonseed oil, was 94.9 per cent, while 67.8 per cent 
of the protein and 96.6 per cent of the carbohydrates were retained 
in the body. Making allowance for that portion of the ether extract 
designated metabolic products the actual availability of the cotton- 
seed oil becomes 97.6 per cent. In 9 of the 12 experiments the sub- 
jects reported that the feces were of a normal consistency. In experi- 
ments Nos. 142 and 247, in which 94 and 98 grams of cottonseed oil 
was consumed, the subjects reported that the feces were softer than 
normal. In experiment No. 249, however, in which 125 grams of 
cottonseed oil was eaten daily, the subject reported the diet as being 
constipating. Accordingly, it would seem that cottonseed oil does 
not act as a laxative when eaten in amounts not exceeding 125 grams 
daily. In view of the fact that 86 grams of cottonseed oil was eaten 
by each subject daily without digestive disturbances of any kind it 
is reasonable to conclude that cottonseed oil may be used freely for 
culinary or table purposes. 
PEANUT OIL. 
The total quantity of peanuts eaten is very large and it follows 
that the amount of oil eaten as an integral part of the nuts is also 
large. The partially separated oil as it occurs in peanut butter is 
easily recognized, and this, too, is eaten in quantity. The expressed 
oil has long been known for culinary and table purposes, and its use 
has increased in the United States as the methods of manufacture 
have improved. 
The only investigations of the food value of peanut oil of which 
accounts have been found in the literature are those of Moore x on 
the relative digestibility of various edible fats and oils of vegetable 
origin, which showed that peanut oil was 86 per cent digested by 
guinea pigs. 
Part of the oil used in the experiments reported in this bulletin 
was prepared by the Bureau of Chemistry of the United States 
Department of Agriculture, and the remainder was purchased in the 
open market. That obtained from the Bureau of Chemistry was 
1 Loc. cit. 
