MAIN WORLD SOURCES
OF OILS
Around
the world, it must be noticed that about 110 million tons of vegetal oils are
produced per year and that about 70% of that production are accounted for four
vegetal species:
1 - Soya oil, about 26% of the world production, in USA, Argentina, Brasil and China. 32 mt in 2004-05.
Soybeans (Glycine soja) stem from China (mentioned at the time of the Emperor Chennung, 2800 B.C.). They were brought in Europe by missionaries (1740) and first grew in the Paris botanical garden. They were first taken to the United States as inexpensive ballast in 1804. A century later, G.W. Carver laid the foundation of new ideas about soybeans.
Today, soybean is the world's leading source of oil as
well as by-products and protein-rich seed meal. The highest domestic
consumption is in Asia where soybean is a basic food since ancient times.
Besides the oil content of about 20%, the high protein content
(about 35%) is of special importance as a protein source in the world.
Crude soybean oil contains about 88% neutral lipids, 10% phospholipids and 2%
glycolipids.
The
composition in triacylglycerol species is characterized by the presence of
LLL (19%), OLL (15%), LLLn (10%), LOP (9%), OLO (6%), and OLLn (6%) (Holcapek
M et al., J Chromatogr A 2003, 1010, 195). About 50% of soybeans come from the USA, 20% fro Brazil, 11% from
Argentina, 9% from China, and 4% from India. More than 55 million hectares
are used in the world for its cultivation.
Soybeans are the vegetable oilseed grown in largest amount : the world soybean production
amounted to about 156 million tons in 1999-2000 and the yield is reported
to be in the range 2300-4000 kg/ha. That production represents about 52%
of total global oilseed production.
About 32% of soybean oil are produced in the United States, 17% in Brazil,
13.5% in China,
12% in Argentina, 11% in European Union, and 3% in India and
Japan.
Recent world statistics on oilseed production in U.S. and in the world are
found in the web site of the American
Soybean Association
Refined soybean oil, before or after hydrogenation, is used in numerous
edible products (more in North America than in Europe) : spreads, butter, margarine, frying and salad oils, mayonnaise, and as essential components
of most baked goods. Soybean oil is also an important component of inks
used for newsprint. Soybean's many uses can be viewed on the web
site of the American
Soybean Association.
Pictures relating to soybean production, transportation and marketing may
be found on the web site of the American
Soybean Association.
Information on soybean may be found on the web sites SOJAXA
and American
Soybean Association.
2 - Palm oil, about 18% of the world
production, in Malaysia, Indonesia and Africa. 32.5 mt in 2004-05. Palm oil
is the world's most important lauric oil.
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) was first reported by the Portuguese sailor Eannes in 1434. The oil palm is native to West and Central Africa where its food use dates back to over 5000 years. Its botanical classification is derived from the Greek elaion (oil) and the specific name of guineensis is indicative of its origin from the equatorial Guinea coast. In 1763, Nicholas Jacquin produced one of the earliest illustrations of the oil palm tree and he is remembered in its scientific name (Hartley, C.W.S. The Oil Palm 1988 3rd edn),
Each fruit consists of a hard kernel (seed) inside a shell (endocarp), which is surrounded by a fleshy mesocarp. The mesocarp contains about 49% palm oil and the kernel about 50% palm kernel oil. It has been reported that the commercial palm oil contains about 96% neutral lipids, 2.4% phospholipids and 1.4% glycolipids.This plant is the oil producer with the highest yield, one tree can produce up to 20 tons of fruit bunches per year.
3 - Rape oil, about 12% of the world oil production (for 2000-01), in EEC (26%), China (20.2%), India (11.3%), Canada (9.3%), and Japan (6.6%). 16 mt in 2004-05.
The origin of rape (Brassica napus, B. campestris) is not clear but its first mention is around 2000 B.C. in India. Analysis of archaeological materials has proved that Brassicaceae seed oil was used as illuminant in Nilotic shells from a first millennium AD Coptic church in Egypt (Romanus K et al., Anal Bioanal Chem 2008, 390, 783). Rape oil appears in Nederlands in 1360. As the plant withstands frost, it was cultivated in the moderate climates of the north or the far south.
In the
mid-1930s it was grown almost entirely (90%) in China and India. Interest
in this oilseed crop was developed during and after World War II. Until 15 years ago, rape oil was unsuitable
for human nutrition because of its high content in erucic acid (up to
about 50% of C22:1 n-9)
which was
shown to influence negatively the metabolism of several organs. The erucic
acid-rich oil was used in Europe as a lamp oil, in the production of soaps
and paints, and for cooking and in Canada as a lubricant. New varieties were
developed with low erucic acid content (lower than 2%) and are known under
the name Canola. Yields in the range 900-3000 kg/ha are
reported. There is still a need for some high-erucic oil for industrial
use (Lipid Technol 1994, 6, 79). Increasing quantities of rape oil
are being used in Europe for biodiesel fuel,
in the form of ethyl esters.
Seed breeders are trying to reduce the content of saturated fatty acids,
to reduce the level of linolenic acid, to increase the level of oleic
acid, lauric acid or g-linolenic
acid. Rapeseed oil is also unusual in having substantial amounts of
eicosenoic acid (C20:1 n-9). Its level has been reduced by plant breeding
from about 10% to a level lower than 1%.
The average composition in triacylglycerol species is characterized
by the presence of OLO (23%), OOO (17%), OLnO (11%), OLL (8%), OLLn (6%),
OLnLn (4%) and LLLn (3%) (Holcapek M et al., J Chromatogr A 2003, 1010,
195). The world production of rape seed was about 38.5 million tons in
2001-02. The Republic of China is the first producer (24%), then Canada
(20%), India (14%), France (11%), Germany (9%), and Australia (5%). The
major exporters of oil are Canada and Europe, the United States being the
major importer. More than 17 million hectares are used in the world for
rapeseed culture.
General information and many links on Canola may be found on the web site
of the Canola
Council of Canada.
4 - Sunflower oil, about 13% of the world
oil production, in EEC, Russia and Argentina. 9 mt in 2004-05.
To learn more on the fatty acid composition (weight percent) of these
important oil products
