Hydrocarbons and other weakly polar unsaponifiables in some vegetable oils

Abstract The hydrocarbon fractions obtained from sunflower, olive, soybean, rapeseed and pumpkin seed oils by fractionation of unsaponifiable matter were composed of n‐paraffins, isoprenoidal polyolefins, squalene, diterpene and triterpene hydrocarbons and compounds with oxygen. Iso‐, anteiso‐ and other branched hydrocarbons were not identified in any of investigated oils. Possible compounds with oxygen are aliphatic and alicyclic ketones, conjugated steroid ketones, esters and lactones. The differences in the hydrocarbon fractions of investigated oils suggest they may be used for characterization.