The main objective of this work was to identify the
fatty acid composition of several vegetable oils and
fats. Twenty vegetable oils and fats were analyzed
for its fatty acid composition by gas chromatography
(GC-FID). Among the evaluated oils the higher
contents of saturated fatty acids were found in the
coconut and palm fats, that showed above 80% of
saturated fatty acids. Except palm fat, that presented
about 50% in saturated fatty acids, all other oils
showed saturated fatty acids below 25%, being the
canola oil that presented the highest unsaturated fatty
acid content. Furthermore, canola oil, in the same way
soybean oil, showed between 8 and 10% of omega-3
fatty acids. The borage and evening primrose oils
differed from the others by presenting appreciable
amount of γ-linolenic acid, and the linseed oil for
presenting more than 50% in linolenic acid. The rice,
peanut, cotton and corn oils showed higher content
of oleic and linoleic acids.