The present trend in human diets is to decrease the consumption of the saturated fatty acids, palmitic and stearic fatty acids. Studies have shown that consumption of high levels of saturated fats increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Vegetable oils are the principal source of fats in many diets.
The level of saturated fatty acids observed in the population remained low when plants were grown in the greenhouse under uniform conditions. This would indicate that palmitic and stearic acids have a genetic base with the potential for selection and incorporation into cultivated sunflower to lower the present level of saturated fats in sunflower oil.