Technological Advances in Improved and Alternative Sources of Lipids.

Lipids form one of the most important components of a healthy diet as they represent the most concentrated energy source of any foodstuff. They also supply essential fatty acids, serve as carrier for fat soluble vitamins, make foods more palatable and help to produce a feeling of satiety after eating. Lipids are also essential components for the chemical and cosmetics industries.

However, the present world oil supply is heavily dependent on conventional sources, which comprise only ten edible oil crops of commercial value. The author sets out to show how pressures, such as the changing political and economic map of the world, consumer preferences due to nutrition and health factors, mean that consumer demand will soon surpass supply. Given these facts we are presented with possibilities for producing new types of oil. Many nations around the globe have vast numbers of plants that can be used for oil extraction both for home use and cash crops. We are also introduced to the possibilities of using the waste from food processing, such as tomatoes, plums, and grapes, all of which contain valuable amounts of usable oil. The book also introduces new developments in areas such as biotechnology, genetic engineering, enzyme technology and new processing techniques, which are being introduced to lipid research and production.

This is intended to be a practical book which reviews methods for improving oils from existing sources and follows this up with an examination of the technology and economics for exploiting under-utilized sources.

The book comprises twelve chapters under the following titles: Present and future outlook of the world fats and oil supplies; Nutritional aspects of oils and fats; Biotechnological advances in improved and alternative sources of lipids; Edible oils from herbaceous crops; Tropical fruits - a source of lipids; Nuts as a source of edible oils; Fruit and vegetable by-products as sources of oil; Oil from under-utilized palm and forest products; Yeasts, moulds, algae and bacteria as sources of lipids; Animal and marine lipids; Treatment, oxidation and health aspects of fats and oils; Enzymes in lipid technology and cocoa butter substitutes.