Occurrence
Fatty acids (or as their salts) do not often occur as such in biological systems. Instead fatty acids like oleic acid occur as their esters, commonly the triglycerides, which are the greasy materials in many natural oils. Via the process of saponification, the fatty acids can be obtained.
Triglycerides of oleic acid compose the majority of olive oil, although there may be less than 2.0% as free acid in the virgin olive oil, with higher concentrations making the olive oil inedible. It also makes up 59-75% of pecan oil, 36-67% of peanut oil, 15-20% of grape seed oil, sea buckthorn oil, and sesame oil, and 14% of poppyseed oil. It is abundantly present in many animal fats, constituting 37 to 56% of chicken and turkey fat and 44 to 47% of lard.
Oleic acid is the most abundant fatty acid in human adipose tissue.
Read more about this topic: Oleic Acid
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