Tung (Vernicia fordii and Vernicia montana)

Abstract Tung tree oil is a valuable, chemically unique plant oil. Primarily known for its useful properties as a drying oil, it has been used in the production of paints, dyes, inks, and various specialty products for decades. Tung oil contains approximately 80 mol percent alpha-eleostearic acid (ESA, 18:3Δ9cis,11trans,13trans), a novel trienoic fatty acid that bestows the chemical functionality of tung oil. Agronomic limitations to tung tree cultivation inspired a long and successful history of increasingly sophisticated biochemical and molecular genetic studies that led to the identification and characterization of several of the genes responsible for the production of ESA in tung seeds. Examples of the various uses of tung oil in modern chemistry are described, and a summary of molecular studies is given. Also provided is a detailed history of the tung oil industry in the United States, which has undergone dramatic “boom and bust” changes, from its birth a century ago until now. The rise and fall (and potential second rising) of the domestic tung oil industry is a fascinating case study in the roles of governmental policy, global competition, and the evolution of the chemical industry and modern agriculture.