Animal fats fatty acid composition

Figure 2-5 Chromatogram of Milk Fat Fatty Acid Composition Analyzed as Butyl Esters on a 30-m Capillary Column. Source Reprinted from R.G. Ackman, Animal and Marine Lipids, in Improved and Technological Advances in Alternative Sources of Lipids, B. Kamel and Y. Kakuda, eds., p. 298, 1994, Aspen Publishers, Inc.

Animal fats are rendered tissne fats that can be obtained from a variety of animals. Examples of edible animal fats are butter, lard (pig fat), tallow, ghee, and fish oil. They are obtained from fats in the milk, meat, and under the skin of the animal. Typical fatty acid composition of some animal fats and oils are summarized in Table 5.5. 

Table 3 Typical fatty acid compositions of vegetable oils and animal fats...

If that does occur, then the present system of classification of oils may be impossible to police, and a modified system may become necessary. Perhaps the sale and perceived value of oils will necessarily become dependent on the performance, not the source of the oil. With bulk oils such as palm, peanut, sunflower, safflower, sesame, soya, rapeseed, com, fish, and animal fats and oils, the fatty acid composition will obviously be important for health reasons. If the oil is to be used for frying then the frying properties will be important. In the case of palm products the physical properties and minor components such as carotenoids will be defined. Similarly animal fats will be judged mainly on physical behaviour and effect on the product in which they are used. In all cases the oxidative and stability of the oil will have to be defined. Sesame is a very stable oil, and thus its stability, together with its low level of linolenic acid, would be its major attribute, except for toasted sesame, which would probably be classed as a specialist oil. Already most baking fats sold to the public are blends developed to give the best performance, with no mention on the pack as to the source. If a bulk oil of this type had the desired chemical composition, stability and cooking behaviour, then perhaps the source would not be a matter of concern. 

DePeters, E.J., Medrano, J.F., Reed, B.A. 1995. Fatty acid composition of milk fat from three breeds of dairy cattle. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 75, 267-269. 

Kennelly, J.J. 1996. The fatty acid composition of milk fat as influenced by feeding oilseeds. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 60, 137-152. 

Charmley, E., Nicholson, J.W.G. 1995. Influence of dietary fat source on oxidative stability and fatty acid composition of milk from cows receiving a low or high level of dietary vitamin E. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 74, 657-664. 

Identification Menhaden Oil can be differentiated from animal fats and vegetable oils by the distinctive significant amount of long-chain C20 and C22 fatty acids. Partially Hydrogenated Menhaden Oil exhibits the following typical composition profile of fatty acids, determined as directed under Fatty Acid Composition, Appendix VII ... 

The depot fats of higher land animals, especially mammals, have relatively simple fatty acid composition. The fats of birds are somewhat more complex. The fatty acid compositions of the major food fats of this... 

Most commodity oils contain fatty acids with chain lengths between Cie and C22, with Cig fatty acids dominating in most plant oils. Palm kernel and coconut, sources of medium-chain fatty acids, are referred to as lauric oils. Animal fats have a wider range of chain length, and high erucic varieties of rape are rich in this C22 monoene acid. Potential new oil crops with unusual unsaturation or additional functionahty are under development. Compilations of the fatty acid composition of oils and fats (6, 9, 11, 12) and less-common fatty acids (13) are available. 

Although Table 1 lists the fatty acid compositions of various lipids, this is not the only or the final arbiter of their classification. As opposed to vegetable fats and oils (other than olive oil), where only one oil is generally identified as originating from an oilseed (e.g., corn oil), a diversity of definitions and specifications is used in the identification of and trade in animal fat products. These often include statements of the allowed limits of any number of quality parameters. 

Dietary MUFA have been found to have several positive effects that include, in addition to lowering human LDL-cholesterol plasma levels, positive effects on lipoprotein oxidation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis (29). Low-fat, monounsaturate-rich diets reduce the susceptibility of low-density lipoproteins to peroxidation ex vivo (30). In hypercholesterolemic subjects, diets containing MUFA resulted in favorable alterations in the fatty acid composition and oxidative profile of LDL in hypercholesterolemic subjects that were characterized as an increase in lipid peroxide lag time and a decrease in lipid peroxide formation (30). In animal studies. 

Nutritional values of fats and oils differ with fatty acid composition, with the species, age, physiological stage, environment of the animal, and adequacy of the overall diet. Care should be exercised in regard to the following ... 

TABLE 8. Fatty Acid Composition of Common Feed Animal Fats, Fish Oils, and Vegetable Olls. ... 

The typical fatty acid composition of these rendered animal fats and fish oil is shown in Table 6 (11, 12). Rendered animal fats can also be characterized by their... 

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