Corn oil

Corn oil is a pale-yellow oil procured from the kernel of corn. The first commercial production of corn oil took place in 1889. Refined corn oil is tasteless and odorless oil. Corn oil is used as a cooking medium and for manufacturing hydrogenated oil.

Corn germ contains about 85 percent of the total oil of the kernel. The rest is dispersed in endosperm and hull fractions. Most corn oil is produced by the wet milling of corn. Corn is the third most important food crop in the world and a major source of energy, protein, and other nutrients for both human and livestock. Maize contains 7-13 g/100 g proteins.

Corn oil as a concentrated source of energy (calories), is highly digestible and provides essential fatty acids and Vitamin E to the body. The oil is composed of the glycerides of the following fatty acids: myristic 0.1-1.7%, palmitic 8-12%, stearic 2.5-4.5%, hexadecenoic 0.2-1.6%, oleic 19-49%, and linoleic 34-62%.

Corn oil is a rich source of linoleic acid (essential fatty acid), which is one of two essential acids necessary for the integrity of the skin, cell membranes and the immune system and for synthesis of eicosanoids necessary for reproductive, cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal functions and resistance to disease and it is highly effective for lowering serum cholesterol, primarily low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol.

Corn oil research has shown that phytosterols play an important role in reducing blood cholesterol by inhibiting its absorption from the intestines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that corn oil contains 968 milligrams of phytosterols per 100 grams of oil. The oil has one of the highest phytosterol levels of the refined vegetable oils.

The primary use for corn oil is as a cooking oil and to manufacture margarine. Corn oil having low melting point due to its low content of glycerides containing more than one solid fatty acid per molecule. It is a natural salad oil so it does not need the removal of stearin when allowed to stand at ice box temperature. Mayonnaise made of corn oil with stands freezing without breakup the emulsion better than that made with most to other salad oils.

Corn oil is also used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and in paint. Non-food uses make up a negligible portion of total corn oil consumption in the U.S.
Corn oil