Corn oil is the oil obtained from the wheat germ of corn. Its main use is in cooking, where its high smoke point makes refined corn oil a valuable frying oil. It is also a key ingredient in some margarines. Corn oil is generally less expensive than many other types of vegetable oil. One bushel of corn contains 1.55 pounds of corn oil (2.8% by weight). Egyptian agronomists developed high-fat varieties; however, these varieties tend to show lower field yields, so they are not universally accepted by breeders.
Corn oil is also a feedstock for biodiesel. Other industrial uses of corn oil include soap, ointment, paint, rust inhibitor for metal surfaces, inks, textiles, nitroglycerin and insecticides. It is sometimes used as a carrier for drug molecules in pharmaceutical preparations.