In addition to serving as an energy source, vegetable oil also fulfills important functions for maintaining human health. This function is achieved by the constituents contained in vegetable oil. In particular, fatty acids are contained most in vegetable oil and fulfill an important function in promoting the health of the human body.

Vegetable oil is composed of substances (glycerides) which are ester bonds between fatty acids and glycerine. In addition to serving as a source of calories, vegetable also fulfills a variety of functions in the human body. The majority of these functions can be attributed to fatty acids. Fatty acids are carboxylic acids that possess chains of carbon and hydrogen. The properties of fatty acids differ depending on the carbon number and the number of double bonds (unsaturated bonds). Accordingly, the functions of each fatty acid change. Table 4 is an overview of fatty acids contained in vegetable oil normally used for edible consumption.

Table 4: Category of fatty acids contained in vegetable oil

Note: Conceptual speaking, short-chain fatty acids exist; however, they do not exist in actual edible oils.