Full Length Research Paper

Chemical composition of Chinese palm fruit and chemical properties of the oil extracts

Rui Li¹, Qiuyu Xia¹, Minmin Tang¹, Songlin Zhao^1*, Weijun Chen¹, Xintao Lei¹ and Xinpeng Bai²

¹Coconut Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang,

Hainan, 571339, P. R. China.

²School of Food Science, Hainan University, 58 Renmin Avenue, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, P. R. China.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: liruihn@163.com. Tel: 86-898-63330007. Fax: 86-898-63330673.

Abbreviations: PM, Palm meat; PK, palm kernel; PO, palm oil; PKO, palm kernel oil; AV, acid value FFA, free fatty acid

Accepted 12 April, 2012

   Abstract

The proximate composition, mineral concentration of fleshy mesocarp, palm meat (PM) and palm kernel (PK) of oil palm fruit (Elaeis guineensis S.L.Dura) produced in Hainan, China were investigated. The fatty acid composition, chemical properties and minor constituents of palm oil (PO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) were also studied. The crude fat of PM and PK were 68.09±3.57% and 49.36±2.61%, respectively. The PM and PK were found to be good sources of minerals. The acid value (AV) and free fatty acid (FFA) of PO extracted from fresh PM were much higher. If the fresh PM were heated at 100ºC for 30 min, the AV and % FFA could be reduced to 4.62±0.04 mgKOH/g and 2.72±0.002%, respectively. The major fatty acid of PO was palmitic acid 39.93±1.66% and that of PKO was lauric acid 48.01±0.69%. Tocopherol isomer (α-, (β+γ)- and δ-) contents in PO were 68.8±1.84, 22.8±0.54 and 11.8±0.12 mg/kg, respectively. The β-carotene content in PO was 901.5±11.95 mg/kg. The content of sterols in PO and PKO were 880.0±5.23 and 858.0±4.37 mg/kg, respectively. PO and PKO exhibited good chemical properties and could be used as edible oils and for industrial applications. There are almost no data about Chinese palm fruit now and this study systematically researched on it, which can provide useful information for Chinese oil palm industry.

Key words: Chemical composition, palm fruit, palm oil, palm kernel oil, chemical properties.