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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Functional Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #330734
Research Project: Innovative Processing Technologies for Creating Functional Food Ingredients with Health Benefits from Food Grains, their Processing Products, and By-products

Location: Functional Foods Research

Title: Naturally occurring fatty acids: Source, chemistry, and uses

Author
item Kenar, James - Jim
item Moser, Bryan
item LIST, GARY - Former ARS Employee

Submitted to: Elsevier
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/8/2016
Publication Date: 7/25/2017
Citation: Kenar, J.A., Moser, B., List, G.R. 2017. Naturally occurring fatty acids: Source, chemistry, and uses. In: Ahmad, M.U., editor. Fatty Acids: Chemistry, Synthesis, and Applications. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. p. 23-82.

Interpretive Summary: Natural occurring fatty acids are a large and complex class of compounds found in plants and animals. Fatty acids are abundant and of interest because of their renewability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost, and fascinating chemistry. Of the many fatty acids, only 20-25 of them are widely distributed in nature and commercially significant. This book chapter gives an in-depth overview of the research literature concerning the major types of naturally occurring fatty acids, their preparation and purification, and important reactions used to modify their structures and properties for various applications.

Technical Abstract: Natural occurring fatty acids are a large and complex class of compounds found in plants and animals. Fatty acids are abundant and of interest because of their renewability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost, and fascinating chemistry. Of the many fatty acids, only 20-25 of them are widely distributed in nature and commercially significant. They are produced in large quantities from the domesticated commodity plant oils and animal fats, provide essential nutritional requirements to humans and animals, and also supply the chemical industry with a renewable feedstock to prepare soaps, detergents, personal care products, lubricants, paints, and biodiesel. This chapter summarizes the major types of naturally occurring fatty acids, their preparation and purification, and important reactions used to modify their structures and properties for various applications. An attempt was made to focus on commodity fatty acids but some less common fatty acids having unusual structures are also examined.