Safflower Oil: Physical and Chemical Properties, and Fatty Acid Composition

Abstract Some physical and chemical properties, including fatty acid composition by gas chromatography, of 15 commercially refined safflower oils and three crude oils extracted from safflower seed, were determined. The average and standard deviations found were: refractive index, 1.4748 ± 0.0003; specific gravity, 0.9210 ± 0.0005; iodine number, Wijs, 143.4 ± 1.4; squalene, 7.1 mg/100 g ± 1.1; and Bellier test, 7.4° ± 0.9. The major fatty acid components were; palmitic 6.7 ± 0.3, stearic 2.7 ± 0.4, oleic 12.9 ± 0.6, and linoleic 77.5 ± 1.1. Minor fatty acid components detected were myristic, arachidic, and eicosenoic acids.