The term "vegetable oil" can be narrowly defined as referring only to substances that are liquid at room temperature,[2] or broadly defined without regard to a substance's state (liquid or solid) at a given temperature.[3] While a large majority of the entries in this list fit the narrower of these definitions, some do not qualify as vegetable oils according to all understandings of the term.
Classification
Vegetable oils can be classified in several ways. For instance, by their use or by the method used to extract them. In this article, vegetable oils are grouped in common classes of use.
Extraction method
There are several types of plant oils, distinguished by the method used to extract the oil from the plant. The relevant part of the plant may be placed under pressure to extract the oil, giving an expressed (or pressed) oil. The oils included in this list are of this type. Oils may also be extracted from plants by dissolving parts of plants in water or another solvent. The solution may be separated from the plant material and concentrated, giving an extracted or leached oil. The mixture may also be separated by distilling the oil away from the plant material. Oils extracted by this latter method are called essential oils. Essential oils often have different properties and uses than pressed or leached vegetable oils. Finally, macerated oils are made by infusing parts of plants in a base oil, a process called liquid–liquid extraction.
Sources and Uses
Most, but not all vegetable oils are extracted from the fruits or seeds of plants. For instance, palm oil is extracted from palm fruits, while soybean oil is extracted from soybean seeds.
Vegetable oils may also be classified by grouping oils extracted from similar plants, such as "nut oils".
Although most plants contain some oil, only the oil from certain major oil crops[4] complemented by a few dozen minor oil crops[5] is widely used and traded.
Use
Oils from plants are used for several different purposes. Edible vegetable oils may be used for cooking, or as food additives. Many vegetable oils, edible and otherwise, are burned as fuel, for instance as a substitute for petroleum-based fuels. Some may be also used for cosmetics, medical purposes, wood finishing, oil painting and other industrial purposes.
Edible oils
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
Major oils
These oils make up a significant fraction of worldwide edible oil production. All are also used as fuel oils.
Coconut oil, a cooking oil, with medical and industrial applications as well. Extracted from the kernel or meat of the fruit of the coconut palm. Common in the tropics, and unusual in composition, with medium chain fatty acids dominant.[6]
Rapeseed oil, including Canola oil, the most sold cooking oil all around the world; used as a salad and cooking oil, both domestically and industrially.[8] Also used in fuel industry as bio-fuel.
Safflower oil, until the 1960s used in the paint industry, now mostly as a cooking oil.[13]
Sesame oil, cold pressed as light cooking oil, hot pressed for a darker and stronger flavor.[14]
Soybean oil, produced as a byproduct of processing soy meal.[15]
Jamaican cobnut oil, a sweet, fine-flavored oil[22][23] pressed from the seeds of Omphalea triandra in the tropical Americas. It is also reported to be used as a lubricant.[24]
Hazelnut oil, mainly used for its flavor. Also used in skin care, because of its slight astringent nature.[25]
Mongongo nut oil (or manketti oil), from the seeds of the Schinziophyton rautanenii, a tree which grows in South Africa. High in vitamin E. Also used in skin care.[27]
Pecan oil, valued as a food oil, but requiring fresh pecans for good quality oil.[28]
Pine nut oil, sold as a gourmet cooking oil,[29][30] and of potential medicinal interest as an appetite suppressant.[31]
Pistachio oil, a strongly flavored oil with a distinctive green color.[26]
A number of citrus plants yield pressed oils. Some, such as lemon and orange oil, are used as essential oils, which is uncommon for pressed oils.[note 1][35] The seeds of many if not most members of the citrus family yield usable oils.[35][36][37][38]
Grapefruit seed oil, extracted from the seeds of grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi). Grapefruit seed oil was extracted experimentally in 1930 and was shown to be suitable for making soap.[39]
Lemon oil, similar in fragrance to the fruit. One of a small number of cold pressed essential oils.[40] Used as a flavoring agent[41] and in aromatherapy.[42]
Members of the Cucurbitaceae include gourds, melons, pumpkins, and squashes. Seeds from these plants are noted for their oil content, but little information is available on methods of extracting the oil. In most cases, the plants are grown as food, with dietary use of the oils as a byproduct of using the seeds as food.[45]
Bitter gourd oil, from the seeds of Momordica charantia. High in α-Eleostearic acid. Of current research interest for its potential anti-carcinogenic properties.[46]
Argan oil, from the seeds of the Argania spinosa, is a food oil from Morocco[67] developed through a women's cooperative founded in the 1990s,[note 3] that has also attracted recent attention in Europe.
Ben oil, extracted from the seeds of the Moringa oleifera. High in behenic acid. Extremely stable edible oil. Also suitable for biofuel.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Borneo tallow nut oil, extracted from the fruit of species of genus Shorea. Used as a substitute for cocoa butter, and to make soap, candles, cosmetics and medicines in places where the tree is common.[73]
Cape chestnut oil, also called yangu oil, is a popular oil in Africa for skin care.[74]
Cocoa butter, from the cacao plant, is used in the manufacture of chocolate, as well as in some ointments and cosmetics; sometimes known as theobroma oil[77]
Coriander seed oil, from coriander seeds, used in a wide variety of flavoring applications, including gin and seasoning blends.[81] Recent research has shown promise for use in killing food-borne bacteria, such as E. coli.[82]
Date seed oil, extracted from date pits.[83] Its low extraction rate and lack of other distinguishing characteristics make it an unlikely candidate for major use.[84]
False flax oil made of the seeds of Camelina sativa. One of the earliest oil crops, dating back to the 6th millennium B.C.[87] Produced in modern times in Central and Eastern Europe; fell out of production in the 1940s.[88] Considered promising as a food or fuel oil.[89]
Grape seed oil, a cooking and salad oil, also sprayed on raisins to help them retain their flavor.[90]
Hemp oil, a high quality food oil[91] also used to make paints, varnishes, resins and soft soaps.[92]
Mafura oil, extracted from the seeds of Trichilia emetica. Used as an edible oil in Ethiopia. Mafura butter, extracted as part of the same process when extracting the oil, is not edible, and is used in soap and candle making, as a body ointment, as fuel, and medicinally.[97]
Papaya seed oil, high in omega-3 and omega-6, similar in composition to olive oil.[106] Not to be confused with papaya oil produced by maceration.[107]
Pili nut oil, extracted from the seeds of Canarium ovatum. Used in the Philippines as an edible oil, as well as for a lamp oil.[112]
Pomegranate seed oil, from Punica granatum seeds, is very high in punicic acid (which takes its name from pomegranates). A topic of current medical research for treating and preventing cancer.[113][114]
Tea seed oil (Camellia oil), widely used in southern China as a cooking oil. Also used in making soaps, hair oils and a variety of other products.[137][138]
Tigernut oil (or nut-sedge oil) is pressed from the tuber of Cyperus esculentus. It has properties similar to soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oils.[142] It is used in cooking and making soap[143] and has potential as a biodiesel fuel.[142]
Although diesel engines were invented, in part, with vegetable oil in mind,[148] diesel fuel is almost exclusively petroleum-based. Vegetable oils are evaluated for use as a biofuel based on:
The oils listed immediately below are all (primarily) used for other purposesTemplate:Snd all but tung oil are edibleTemplate:Snd but have been considered for use as biofuel.
Palm oil, very popular for biofuel, but the environmental impact from growing large quantities of oil palms has recently called the use of palm oil into question.[157]
Soybean oil, not economical as a fuel crop, but appealing as a byproduct of soybean crops for other uses.[147]
Sunflower oil, suitable as a fuel, but not necessarily cost effective.[163]
Tigernut oil has been described by researchers in China as having "great potential as a biodiesel fuel."[142]
Tung oil, referenced in several lists of vegetable oils that are suitable for biodiesel.[164] Several factories in China produce biodiesel from tung oil.[165]
Inedible oils used only or primarily as biofuel
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
These oils are extracted from plants that are cultivated solely for producing oil-based biofuel.[note 5] These, plus the major oils described above, have received much more attention as fuel oils than other plant oils.
Petroleum nut oil, from the Petroleum nut (Pittosporum resiniferum) native to the Philippines. The Philippine government once explored the use of the petroleum nut as a biofuel.[173]
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
Drying oils are vegetable oils that dry to a hard finish at normal room temperature. Such oils are used as the basis of oil paints, and in other paint and wood finishing applications. In addition to the oils listed here, walnut, sunflower and safflower oil are also considered to be drying oils.[176]
Script error: No such module "anchor".Linseed oil's properties as a polymer make it highly suitable for wood finishing, for use in oil paints, as a plasticizer and hardener in putty and in making linoleum.[179] When used in food or medicinally, linseed oil is called flaxseed oil.
Artichoke oil, extracted from the seeds of the artichoke fruit, is an unsaturated semi-drying oil with potential applications in making soap, shampoo, alkyd resin and shoe polish.[186]
Astrocaryum murumuru butter is employed in lotions, creams, soaps hair conditioners, facial masks, shampoo, oils and emulsions, skin moisturizer, products for the nutrition of the hair and restore damaged hair, depilatory waxes.[187]
Brucea javanica oil, extracted from the seeds of the Brucea javanica. The oil has been shown to be effective in treating certain cancers.[189][190]
Burdock oil (Bur oil) extracted from the root of the burdock. Used as an herbal remedy for scalp conditions.[191]
Buriti oil, extracted from the Mauritia flexuosa fruit, is high in carotenoids and monounsaturated fatty acids, and of consequent nutritional interest. It is also used in the cosmetics industry.[192]
Crambe oil, extracted from the seeds of the Crambe abyssinica. High in erucic acid, used as an industrial lubricant, a corrosion inhibitor, and as an ingredient in the manufacture of synthetic rubber.[198][199]
Mowrah butter, from the seeds of the Madhuca latifolia and Madhuca longifolia, both native to India. Crude Mowrah butter is used as a fat for spinning wool, for making candles and soap. The refined fat is used as an edible fat and vegetableghee in India.[48]
Ojon oil extracted from the nut of the American palm (Elaeis oleifera). Oil extracted from both the nut and husk is also used as an edible oil in Central and South America. Commercialized by a Canadian businessman in the 1990s.[209][210]
Passiflora edulis Passion fruit oil is extracted from the seeds and composed mainly of linoleic acid (62%) with smaller amounts of oleic acid (20%) and palmitic acid (7%). It has varied applications in cosmetics manufacturing and for uses as a human or animal food.[211]
Rose hip seed oil, used primarily in skin care products, particularly for aging or damaged skin.[212]
Tall oil, produced as a byproduct of wood pulp manufacture. A further byproduct called tall oil fatty acid (TOFA) is a cheap source of oleic acid.[219]
Tucumã butter is extracted from both the pulp and seed of the fruit of Astrocaryum vulgare, a South American oil palm.[223] The pulp oil is used as a skin conditioner. The seed oil is sold for use as a cooking oil and for making soap due to its high lauric acid content.[224]
Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". An older version of this site was very helpful in making this list more comprehensive.
Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Compiles useful information on vegetable oils from a number of sources.
Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". The site contains a large set of resources on castor oil and many other oils, particularly those used to make biodiesel.
Script error: No such module "anchor".Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". List of about 300 plants that grow in India, and that yield oil. Also includes common names in languages spoken in India.
Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Old reference with basic information on an unusually large variety of plant oils.
Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Comprehensive information on cooking oils that are used for flavoring foods.
Script error: No such module "anchor".Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
↑PLANTAS DA AMAZÔNIA PARA PRODUÇÃO COSMÉTICA: uma abordagem química - 60 espécies do extrativismo florestal não-madeireiro da Amazônia / Floriano Pastore Jr. (coord.); Vanessa Fernandes de Araújo [et al.];– Brasília, 2005. 244 p.
