Fractionation and characterization of edible sheep tail fat

Edible sheep tail fat was effectively fractionated by an acetone crystallization. Each of the fractions and filtrates were analyzed for melting point, refractive index, iodine value, fatty acid composition, and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. Fatty acid analysis indicated that as the fractionation temperature decreased, the concentration of unsaturated fatty acids in the fractions increased. The liquid fraction had a differential scanning calorimetry melting curve similar to commercial salad oil and the curve of one of the filtrates resembled that of cocoa butter. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.