GLYCERIDE STRUCTURE OF EGYPTIAN VEGETABLE OILS

Three Egyptian vegetable oils, namely, groundnut, safflower and chufa, with different unsaturated fatty acid combination were studied. The oils were subjected to detailed studies with regard to their glyceride structure. Low temperature crystallisation technique together with the pancreatic lipase hydrolysis was used. The fatty acid composition was determined by gas liquid chromatography. From the data obtained, the distribution of the fatty acids within the glyceride moieties was computed. The results showed that pancreatic lipase hydrolysis technique alone gives more or less the same results as those obtained by the tedious low temperature crystallisation technique in combination with pancreatic lipase hydrolysis of the separated fractions. Therefore, pancreatic lipase hydrolysis technique alone can be used successfully for the elucidation of glyceride structure of oils.