What is an Iodine Value?
Let us look at the iodine value definition in analytical chemistry. The iodine value, also known as the iodine number, is a measure of the degree of unsaturation of fat, wax, or oil; it is expressed in gms, the amount of iodine, which is taken up by 100 gms of the fat, wax, or oil. Iodine is not taken up by saturated oils, waxes, or fats, because their iodine value is zero; however, iodine is taken up by unsaturated fats, oils, and waxes.
Saturated vs Unsaturated Fats
Fat is an ester of fatty acids found in a variety of food materials and animals. This is a hydrocarbon chain that has glycerol in one of its ends. There are usually two types of fat we find saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are the chain that contains all single-bonded carbon-carbon bonds. This is denoted by the C-C bond and as the carbon atoms are fully bonded with two hydrogens there is no possibility of any more hydrogen atoms being bonded with the carbon. Each carbon atom is bonded with two other carbon and two hydrogen atoms in the chain. These are very stable molecules and it is very hard for them to get emulsified. Unsaturated fats have a double or triple-bonded carbon chain in them. This leaves room for future reactions of the chain where it can get bonded with the hydrogen atoms and even get emulsified with relative ease. Each triple or double bond can be broken into a single bond and hydrogen atoms get added to the carbon atom.
When it comes to fat they have a very bad reputation as many of them are associated with life-threatening diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. But not all fats are the same and our body requires certain types of fats to carry out its day-to-day activities. They are generally saturated fats. Researchers have found that unsaturated fats have a good impact on our body metabolism and are useful in maintaining it. So the unsaturated fats are usually called good fats.
Iodine Value
The purity of fats is an important thing to measure and is mandatory by many government regulations to mention it on the packaging of food materials. The best way to find the purity of saturated/unsaturated fats is iodine value. Iodine value or Iodine number as it is commonly known as is the amount of Iodine that can react with the fat of a common mass (100 grams). This denotes the degree of unsaturation of fats. The saturated fat takes up no Iodine so their Iodine value is said to be of value zero. But the unsaturated fats have double or triple bonds which are generally very reactive towards the iodine. With the increase in double or triple bonds in carbon, the reactivity with iodine increases and it consumes more Iodine in reaction and so has a higher iodine value.
For the method of the test, a known amount of Iodine in the form of iodine monochloride is left in a beaker of 100 grams of fats, oils, or wax. This starts the reaction between them and after the reaction is over the remaining amount of Iodine is found out by titration and so we can get the amount of Iodine that reacted with the fat and that becomes the iodine value of the fat.
In summary, the Iodine Value is the degree of unsaturation of fats, oils, and wax.
FAQs on Iodine Value
1. Give the Use of Iodine in Infection Removals?
Iodine also helps to remove chemicals, toxic metals, and body infections. Regarding the infection removals such as antibacterial, antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral, it acts as a germicide. Also, new research reveals that it can also act as an antioxidant. Ultimately, iodine can also act as an anti-cancer supplement, especially for ovarian, breast, and thyroid cancers, although it can help others.
2. How to Detect Iodine-131?
In general, iodine 131 is detected with its photons. I-131 decays by the beta minus decay. And, 89.9% of the decays result in beta with an Emax of 606 keV. With these particulars, beta releases a photon of 364.5 keV with an abundance value of 81.7% (the abundance difference is because of some internal conversion events).
3. Give the Function of Iodine 125 and Iodine 131 in Our Body?
Iodine is the primary element in the important hormone thyroxine produced by the thyroid gland. It has 15 isotopes, where only I-127 is stable and nonradioactive. Therefore, the radioactive isotopes I-125 and I-131 contain no physiological function. But, they are useful in tracing the iodine presence. I-125 has a half-life of 60 days, and I-131 has eight days.
4. Why is Iodine-131 Dangerous?
Iodine-131 is dangerous because it contains a short half-life time, which means that half of all the I-131 atoms in a sample will throw off the gamma-rays and a beta particle in 8 days. For a fission product, this is very high intensity and yet long enough for it to be present for a couple of months before it decays away.
5. What are the Examples of Saturated Fats?
Most of the animal fats are saturated in nature with fish fats being an exception to be unsaturated fat. But normally most foods contain a mixture of both saturated and unsaturated fats. Many processed foods like deep-fried items in hydrogenated oil are rich in saturated fat and so are the sausages. The store-bought baked goods contain semi hydrogenated oils which also contain a huge amount of saturated fats. Natural milk products and some plant oils like coconut and palm kernel oils are also high in saturated fat content. To know more about this topic, download the Vedantu app now!
6. What are the Sources of Unsaturated Fats?
Unsaturated fats which normally are liquid at room temperature are commonly found in food from plants such as vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. There are two types of unsaturated fats available in nature: monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fats are generally found in high concentrations in olive, peanut, and canola oils. This is also found in avocados, almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans. This can also be found in seeds such as pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. Polyunsaturated fats are found in Sunflower, corn, soybean, flaxseed oils, Walnuts, Flax seeds, and Fish.
7. What are Omega-3 Fatty Acids?
Omega-3 is a type of polyunsaturated fatty acid that is important for the human body. These essential fatty acids help in maintaining heart health, boost our eyesight, reduce joint pain, reduce inflammation and help to heal faster when injured. Our body is incapable of forming omega-3 so it must come to us from different food sources. The rich source of Omega-3 is flax seeds, walnuts, and canola or soybean oil. But the fish is believed to be the best source of Omega-3 fatty acids. It is suggested to have fish 2-3 times a week to fulfill our omega-3 needs.
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