ASSESSMENT OF FATTY ACIDS COMPOSITION IN COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE AND WIDELY CONSUMED EDIBLE OILS IN ETHIOPIA: THEIR RELEVANCE AND HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

The research was designed to study the identities and concentrations of fatty acids in edible oils that are mainly consumed in Ethiopia. A total of twenty three (23) different commercially available edible oils were analyzed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). Codes for the oils’ brands were used instead of names in order to avoid conflict of interest. The analysis results showed variation in identities and concentrations of fatty acids in the analyzed oil samples. Depending on the type and brand of the oils, different concentrations of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (9.92 ± 0.07 - 47.27 ± 0.54), mono unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (24.54 ± 0.46 - 66.84 ± 0.54) and poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (7.23 ± 0.08 - 59.11 ± 0.61) were obtained. In addition to the fatty acids, additives and impurities (contaminants) were also detected. The ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids (P/S index) in all edible oils was calculated.