| Abstrakt: |
This discussion of minor oil-bearing crops by no means includes all that were considered and might conceivably have deserved treatment or at least passing mention. Omitted were seeds contained in agricultural products from which, in all likelihood, oil could never be obtained economically. Justification for such reasoning can in most cases be found in the scattered status of an industry processing the commodity from which the oil bearing part is derived, or the low magnitude of processing operationsvs. that of retail sales. For example, the seeds of watermelon, cantaloupe, and a wide assortment of berries were not included. A vast number of seeds of wild plants could have been discussed, but unless concentration of growth occurs either naturally or as a result of domestication or unless the derived oil seems to have outstanding characteristics, such as that of gopher plant seeds or jojoba beans, it is useless to consider them seriously as oil sources. Certain grain screenings such as water grass, which occurs plentifully in rice, were omitted because their oil content is too low for profitable recovery. The evaluation of oils must usually be made on the same basis as the commoner bulk oils of commerce which they most closely resemble. As a rule vegetable oils differ from each other only in their contents of individually combined acids and their distribution in the oil as triglycerides or in having a high percentage of an unusual acid such as elaeostearic or hydnocarpic acid. Important variations, however, may occur in content of minor constituents such as oil-soluble vitamins, antioxidants, or prooxidants, and it must be recognized that no oil can be completely evaluated until quantitative measurements covering such substances have been made where their presence is indicated. |
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