Chemical Structure
The erucic acid is represented by the formula 22: 1 ω-9. We are therefore talking about a monounsaturated fatty acid with 22 carbon atoms, in which the only double bond is between the ninth and tenth carbon atom starting from the methyl end.
Food Sources
The erucic acid is typical of the seeds of Brassicaceae, a large family of herbaceous plants to which belong, among other things, rape - from which an important oil is obtained in the food and industrial sector - and mustard, whose seeds are the typical ingredient of mustard.
Health risks
Erucic acid rose to the forefront of the news in the 1970s, when a series of studies conducted on young mammalian animals confirmed its toxicity at high dosages. In particular, erucic acid proved to be cardiotoxic, with an increase in lipid deposits in the heart of experimental animals.
Since then the farmers have undertaken to select low-erucic acid seeds, producing a variety - later renamed canola - particularly poor in saturated fats and erucic acid. At the same time, other varieties of rape destined for the chemical and mechanical industry were selected so as to increase the erucic acid content of the oil, which is important - for example - for its high lubricating power and resistance to high temperatures.
Today, the maximum permitted concentration of erucic acid in edible oils and fats (margarine) is 5%. In that of canola this percentage fluctuates between 0.3 and 1.2%, while it rises up to 30-50% in traditional rapeseed oil.
Not recommended for younger children, because they are unable to metabolize it properly, erucic acid taken at the doses to which we are commonly exposed is far from being dangerous to health.
If we take canola oil, for example, the abundant presence of monounsaturated fatty acids, together with the low concentration in saturated fats and erucic acid, make it a good food choice, slightly penalized by the non-negligible content in trans fatty acids.
