THE VACCENIC ACID CONTENT OF VARIOUS FATS AND OILS

Vaccenic acid (A-11,12-elaidic acid) has recently been reported by Boer, Jansen, and Kentie' to possess growth-stimulating properties.These authors found that the growth rate of rats was more rapid when butter fat was in the ration than when rape-seed oil was used.The addition of vaccenic acid to the latter diet at a level of 0.1 per cent of the total ration caused the rate of growth to approximate that of the animals fed butter fat.From this it was concluded that this acid was one of the compounds in butter fat responsible for its superior nutritive value as compared with vegetable oils.