An edible oil that is produced within its beans (seeds) by the soybean plant (botanical name Glycine max (L.) Merrill). When removed from soybeans via crushing and refining processes, soybean oil is (historical average) composed of 60.8% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), 24.5% monounsaturated fatty acids, and 15.1% saturated fatty acids. However, soybean varieties have recently been created that possess as little as 7% saturated fatty acids.
A commonly used oil obtained from the seeds of the soya plant that is low in unsaturated fat and rich in linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid.