Natural products analysis triglycerides

Solid Fat Index. This analysis has become the most important criterion for the melting behavior and crystalline structure of fats and oils products. It determines the proportion of solid and liquid materials at a given temperature. The solid fat index (SFI) analysis is an empirical measure of the solid fat content. It is calculated from the specific volume at various temperatures using a dilatometric scale graduated in units of milliliters times 1000. Values for the solid contents are usually determined at 50°F, 70°F, 80°F, 92°F, and 104°F or 10°C, 21.1°C, 26.7°C, 33.3°C, and 40°C. Unlike the tropical oils, cottonseed and the other oleic- and lino-leic-classification oils do not contain any significant quantity of triglycerides made up of two or three saturated fatty acids therefore, the solid fat index at the lowest temperature usually measured would have minimal values. Natural cottonseed oil can have a solid fat index content at 50°F or 10°C but not at the higher temperature measurements. 

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