The effect of gamma radiation on simple triglycerides was investigated. Trilaurin, trimyristin, tripalmitin, tristearin, tripalmitolein, triolein and trilinolenin were irradiated under vacuum at 6 megarads. The volatile breakdown products were separated by vacuum distillation and identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Qualitative and quantitative data show that the cleavage in fatty acids essentially follows a specific pattern and is not random. A mechanism of radiolysis is proposed.

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