Note on gossypol and its relation to color fixation in cottonseed oil

Summary The crude oils studied contained from 0.00 to 0.04% gossypol. Much of the gossypol added to crude cottonseed oils disappeared in one hour. The disappearance of gossypol from refined, bleached, and deodorized cottonseed oil, from highly purified tripelargonin, and from ethyl acetate is demonstrable after the lapse of one hour. It is suggested that the initial reaction of gossypol in the oils is an ester exchange reaction. It is further suggested that secondary reactions result in the production of a red coloration product that is not removable from the oil by the standard refining and bleaching methods.