Menhaden Oil

Fatty acids from Codex CXS 329-2017 Standard for Fish Oils (adopted 2017, amended 2021 and 2024), Table 1 (GLC ranges, percentage of total fatty acids, 'from authentic samples'), column 'Menhaden (Section 2.1.4)'. Section 2.1.4: 'Menhaden oil is derived from the genera Brevootia [sic, Brevoortia] and Ethmidium (Clupeidae).' Section 3.1: oils described in Sections 2.1 and 2.3 'shall fall within the appropriate ranges specified in Table 1'. The column as printed: C14:0 myristic 8.0-11.0; C15:0 pentadecanoic ND-1.0; C16:0 palmitic 18.0-20.0; C16:1 (n-7) palmitoleic 9.0-13.0; C17:0 heptadecanoic ND-1.0; C18:0 stearic 2.5-4.0; C18:1 (n-7) vaccenic 2.5-3.5; C18:1 (n-9) oleic 5.5-8.5; C18:2 (n-6) linoleic 2.0-3.5; C18:3 (n-3) linolenic ND-2.0; C18:3 (n-6) gamma-linolenic ND-2.5; C18:4 (n-3) stearidonic 1.5-3.0; C20:0 arachidic 0.1-0.5; C20:1 (n-9) eicosenoic ND-0.5; C20:1 (n-11) eicosenoic 0.5-2.0; C20:4 (n-6) arachidonic ND-2.0; C20:4 (n-3) eicosatetraenoic NA; C20:5 (n-3) eicosapentaenoic 12.5-19.0; C21:5 (n-3) heneicosapentaenoic 0.5-1.0; C22:1 (n-9) erucic 0.1-0.5; C22:1 (n-11) cetoleic ND-0.1; C22:5 (n-3) docosapentaenoic 2.0-3.0; C22:6 (n-3) docosahexaenoic 5.0-11.5. ND = non-detectable, defined as <=0.05 %; NA = not applicable or available. 'ND-x' is stored as min 0, max x, as the CXS 210 records do. The original 2017 print (copy hosted by IFFO) has the same 23 values in this column. Isomers: oleic = C18:1 (n-9) only; gadoleic = C20:1 (n-11) only; erucic = C22:1 (n-9) only; linolenic = C18:3 (n-3); gammaLinolenic = C18:3 (n-6), printed as gamma-linolenic acid; stearidonic = C18:4 (n-3). NOT MAPPED (no schema key), as printed: EPA C20:5 (n-3) 12.5-19.0; DHA C22:6 (n-3) 5.0-11.5; DPA C22:5 (n-3) 2.0-3.0; cis-vaccenic acid C18:1 (n-7) 2.5-3.5; arachidonic C20:4 (n-6) ND-2.0; heneicosapentaenoic C21:5 (n-3) 0.5-1.0; gondoic acid C20:1 (n-9) ND-0.5; cetoleic acid C22:1 (n-11) ND-0.1; pentadecanoic C15:0 ND-1.0; heptadecanoic C17:0 ND-1.0. At range midpoints the mapped acids total 58.85 % and the unmapped rows 32.55 %; all printed rows reach only 91.4 %, so about 9 % of the oil is in acids the Codex table does not list at all. Soap-quality figures computed from this profile describe only the mapped 59 %. THIS IS MENHADEN OIL, NOT 'FISH OIL' IN GENERAL: CXS 329 gives compositional ranges only for named oils (anchovy, tuna, krill, menhaden, salmon, calanus, cod liver); 'fish oils (unnamed)' (Section 2.2, one or more species) have no ranges, so there is no primary profile for a generic fish oil, and species ranges are not blended here. Menhaden was chosen among the named oils because a primary document also publishes its saponification and iodine values. SAP, IODINE VALUE AND UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER from the US regulation 21 CFR 184.1472(a) 'Menhaden oil' (prepared from fish of the genus Brevoortia by cooking and pressing, then refined by winterization, optional degumming, neutralization, bleaching and deodorization; 'Winterization may separate the oil and produce a solid fraction'): saponification value between 180 and 200 (AOCS Cd 3-25); iodine number not less than 120 (AOCS Cd 1d-92, cyclohexane-acetic acid method); unsaponifiable matter not more than 1.5 percent (AOCS Ca 6b-53); also free fatty acids not more than 0.1 percent, peroxide value not more than 5 meq/kg, lead not more than 0.1 ppm, mercury not more than 0.5 ppm, color and state 'Yellow liquid to white solid'. The regulation covers Brevoortia only; Codex also admits Ethmidium. Paragraph (b) of the same section specifies hydrogenated menhaden oil (opaque white solid; saponification value 180-200, iodine number not more than 4, unsaponifiable matter not more than 1.5 percent), a different material that is not used here. Codex itself prints no saponification value, iodine value or unsaponifiable matter; its limits are acid value <= 3 mg KOH/g, peroxide value <= 5 meq active oxygen/kg, anisidine value <= 20 and ToTox <= 26 (Section 3.3.1). USP29-NF24 has no fish-oil or menhaden monograph (the mirror's search for 'Fish Oil', 'Menhaden' and 'Omega' returns nothing). meltingPointC is null: neither document prints a melting point. Consistency: the mapped acids alone, renormalised, imply about 205 mg KOH/g, 7.4 % above the published midpoint of 190, because EPA, DHA and DPA are unmapped; all printed rows at their midpoints imply about 193, within 2 %. INCI, CAS and EC are CosIng's entry for Menhaden Oil ('the oil obtained from the small North Atlantic fish, Brevoortia tyrannus'). CosIng also carries Brevoortia Oil under the same CAS and EC numbers, so either name may appear on a label.

This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL). Found an error or a better primary source? The dataset is on GitHub; corrections with a document link are welcome.