A dozen brands of commercially available cooking oils were investigated by analyzing their fatty acids, sterols, tocopherols, emulsifiers, heavy metals and by examining oxidative stabilities at 60°C.
1) The oils tested were composed mainly of C18:1, C18:2 along with small amounts of saturated fatty acids, but C15, C17 and trans fatty acids were not detected. Hydrogenated oils and animal fats were thus not blended in the oil.
2) Lecithin was detected 0.10-2.06 % in all samples, but monoacylglycerols could be found in only 3 samples. No other emulsifiers were detected in all the samples. No correlation could be found between lecithin and monoacylglycerols contents.
3) Oxidative stability of the samples depended on the lecithin content, but was not affected by that of iron or tocopherols.