The glyceride structure of beef tallows

Abstract

Four beef tallows from various N. and S. American sources were investigated with reference to their content of fully-saturated glycerides and the component fatty acids of the latter and of the whole fats. In the whole fats the united molar percentage of stearic, oleic and linoleic acids tends towards one of two definite figures (ca. 62 or ca. 69 mols. %) in spite of wide variations in the amount of stearic acid. The proportion of fully-saturated glycerides present varies according to the relative total amounts of saturated and unsaturated acid in the whole fats, but the composition of the acids present therein tends to much the same figure in all cases, namely, about 60% of palmitic (with myristic) and about 40% of stearic acid.