Current advances in sunflower oil and its applications

The fatty acid and triacylglycerol composition of a vegetable oil determine its physical, chemical and nutritional properties. The applications of a specific oil depend mainly on its fatty acid composition and the way in which fatty acids are arranged in the glycerol backbone. Minor components, e. g. tocopherols, also modify oil properties such as thermo-oxidative resistance. Sunflower seed commodity oils predominantly contain linoleic and oleic fatty acids with lower content of palmitic and stearic acids. Higholeic sunflower oil, which can be considered as a commodity oil, has oleic acid up to around 90%. Additionally, new sunflower varieties with different fatty acids and tocopherols compositions have been selected. Due to these modifications sunflower oils possess new properties and are better adapted for direct home consumption, for the food industry, and for non-food applications such as biolubricants and biodiesel production. © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.