Fatty acid content of vegetable oils and assessment of their consumption in Serbia

Abstract

Although fatty acid (FA) composition of vegetable oils used daily markedly influences human health, there are no detailed data on their composition in available on-line food composition data bases, particularly from Central and Eastern Europe. This study focused on determination of the FA composition of eight different vegetable oils, which are commonly used in nutrition, as well as the dietary habits in oil consumption in Serbia. The results showed high contents of n-6 linoleic acid (LA) and total polyunsaturated FA in sunflower and grapeseed oil (62.5 and 70.0%, respectively), while the highest content of oleic acid and total monounsaturated FA was found in canola oil (64.4%) and olive oil (67.0%). Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, n-3) was found in linseed oil (53.6%) and to a lesser extent in canola oil (7%). The results of the survey showed that processed sunflower oil is the most often consumed oil in Serbia. Therefore there is a high daily intake of LA, which may have unfavourable impact on human health. Considering our similar dietary habits, it could be proposed that the same situation applies to the whole region. However, changes in dietary habits and proper choice of oils could improve overall health in our region.