The name of fatty acids is determined based on the carbon number and number of double bonds. As shown in Table 5, oleic acid (C18:1) has a carbon number of 18 and has a double bond in one location. Table 5 shows the content ratio of each fatty acid in the main types of vegetable oil. When consuming vegetable oil, it is important to understand the function of these fatty acids in the human body.
Table 5: Content ratio of fatty acids contained in main types of vegetable oil
| Content ratio of main fatty acids（％） | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturated fatty acids | Unsaturated fatty acids | ||||
| Palmitic acid（C16） | Stearic acid（C18） | Oleic acid（C18-1） | Linolenic acid（C18-2） | α-Linolenic acid（C18-3） | |
| Rapeseed oil | 4.1 | 1.8 | 64.1 | 19.0 | 8.5 |
| Soybean oil | 10.3 | 3.9 | 23.7 | 54.3 | 6.8 |
| Safflower oil (high-oleic) |
4.6 | 1.7 | 80.8 | 11.5 | 0.2 |
| Sunflower oil (high-oleic) |
3.4 | 3.5 | 83.7 | 7.4 | 0.2 |
| Corn oil | 11.6 | 1.7 | 32.1 | 52.4 | 1.1 |
| Rice oil | 17.4 | 1.8 | 43.2 | 34.1 | 1.3 |
| Sesame oil | 9.2 | 5.6 | 39.9 | 44.0 | 0.3 |
| Cottonseed oil | 19.8 | 2.2 | 18.0 | 57.5 | 0.8 |
| Olive oil | 11.8 | 2.9 | 75.4 | 7.2 | 0.7 |
| Palm oil | 44.0 | 4.5 | 39.7 | 9.6 | 0.2 |
Source: Created by the Association based on 2019 data from the Japan Inspection Institute of Fats & Oils.
