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The Reichert value (also Reichert-Meissl number, Reichert-Meissl-Wollny value or Reichert-Meissl-Wollny number[citation needed]) is a value determined when examining fats and oils. The Reichert value is an indicator of how much volatile fatty acid can be extracted from a particular fat or oil through saponification. It is equal to the number of millilitres of 0.1 normal hydroxide solution necessary for the neutralization of the water-soluble volatile fatty acids distilled and filtered from 5 grams of a given saponified fat. (The hydroxide solution used in such a titration is typically made from sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, or barium hydroxide.)[1]
This number is a useful indicator of non-fat compounds in edible fats, and is especially high in butter.
The value is named for the chemists who developed it, Emil Reichert and Emerich Meissl.[2]
The Polenske value and Kirschner value are related numbers based on similar tests. The Reichert-Meissel value for milk ranges between 28.5 and 33.
- ^ Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization. (2001). The Codex Alimentarius. Rome:FAO/WHO. Volume 8: Fats and Oils, "Section 4.9.1: Estimation of Milk Fat Content". ISBN 92-5-104682-4
- ^ "Reichert-Meissl number". Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Retrieved 2022-09-27.