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Published on: October 1, 2013
The Fatty Acid Composition of Vegetable Oils and Their Potential Use in Wound Care
Anselmo Queiroz Alves1, Valdemiro Amaro da Silva, Alexandre José Silva Góes
1Anselmo Queiroz Alves, MD, is a Specialist, Maxiclínica Médica Ltda, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Valdemiro Amaro da Silva, Jr, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Veterinary Medicine at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. At the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, Alexandre José da Silva Góes, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Antibiotics; and Mariza Severina Silva is a Master of Sciences student, Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Gibson Gomes de Oliveira, PhD, is a postdoctoral student, Research Center on Natural and Synthetic Products, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. At the UFPE, Isla Vanessa Gomes Alves Bastos, PhD, is a postdoctoral student, Department of Antibiotics; Antonio Gomes de Castro Neto, PhD, is Substitute Professor, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology; and Antonio José Alves, PhD, is Titular Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Acknowledgments: The authors thank the Maxiclínica Médica Ltda and CEAN/CETENE for their contributions to research development. The authors have disclosed no financial relationships related to this article. Submitted July 26, 2018; accepted in revised form September 13, 2018; published online ahead of print May 2, 2018.
Objective:
To evaluate the similarities among fatty acid compositions of vegetable oils sold in the Brazilian market and those present in a reference health product used to treat wounds.
Methods:
The relative amounts of fatty acids in 21 types of vegetable oils, purchased in the Brazilian market, were assessed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and flame ionization detection.
Main Results:
The studied oils had similar fatty acid compositions to the reference product (caprylic acid, 18.8%; capric acid, 17.4%; oleic acid, 27.5%; and linoleic acid, 28.1%). The presence of caprylic acid (10.45% ± 0.07%), capric acid (5.8% ± 0.75%), lauric acid (45.63% ± 0.93%), and myristic acid (16.33% ± 2.23%) were detected in all the vegetable oils tested. Oleic acid (52.94% ± 12.54%) was present in andiroba, avocado, canola, copaiba, olive, palm, pequi, and pracaxi oils and featured prominently in olive oil (75.8%). Linoleic acid (57.09% ± 8.47%) was present in corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, passion fruit, and sunflower oils and in mixed oils (olive with soybean and sunflower with corn and canola).
Conclusions:
Most of the vegetable oils tested are products of plants from tropical climates, where they are abundant and easy to cultivate. It is possible that a balanced composition of fatty acids obtained from natural sources could be an effective alternative treatment for wounds.
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