Specialty oils. Functional and nutraceutical properties

Some specialty oils contain higher amounts of nutritionally desirable components such as antioxidants, essential fatty acids, phospholipids, phytosterols, and other bioactive lipids and phenolic compounds. The more common sources of these functional specialty oils include marine organisms, tree nuts, cereals, and berry plants. Oils from tree nuts used in nutraceutical and cosmetic products are used mainly for their higher amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids. They also contain high amounts of essential polyunsaturated lipids such as linoleic acid and α-linolenic fatty acids. The biological properties and health benefits of these fatty acids and lipid phytochemicals have been widely studied for their potential applications in disease prevention. Applications of these nutraceutical specialty lipids have extended also into pharmaceutical and cosmetic products such as excipients, coadjuvants, transdermal carriers, and skin emolliency agents. This chapter reviews properties, methods of processing, and applications of these specialty oils.