- Triangulum Australe is a small constellation in the far Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name is Latin for “the southern triangle”, which distinguishes it from Triangulum in the northern sky and is derived from the acute, almost equilateral pattern of its three brightest stars. It was first depicted on a celestial globe as Triangulus Antarcticus by Petrus Plancius in 1589, and later with more accuracy and its current name by Johann Bayer in his 1603 Uranometria. The French explorer and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille charted and gave the brighter stars their Bayer designations in 1756.
- First report on quality and purity evaluations of avocado oil sold in the US (sciencedirect.com)
The demand for avocado oil has increased significantly as consumers resonate with its potential health benefits, however, due to the lack of enforceable standards, consumers are unprotected from fraud (i.e., economic motivated adulteration). This study analyzed avocado oils currently on the market in the US to evaluate their quality (e.g., free fatty acidity, peroxide value, UV absorbances, vitamin E) and purity (e.g., fatty acids, sterols, triacylglycerols). Our results showed that the majority of commercial samples were oxidized before reaching the expiration date listed on the bottle. In addition, adulteration with soybean oil at levels near 100% was confirmed in two “extra virgin” and one “refined” sample. These findings demonstrate there is an urgent need to develop standards for avocado oil not only to ensure the consumers receive high quality and authentic products but to establish a level playing field to support the continuing growth of global avocado oil industry.
