Synergistic sequential oxidative extraction for nanofibrillated cellulose isolated from oil palm empty fruit bunch.

This research presents a comprehensive study of sequential oxidative extraction (SOE) consisting of alkaline and acidic oxidation processes to extract nanocellulose from plant biomass. This proposed process is advantageous as its operation requires a minimum process with mild solvents, and yet successfully isolated high-quality nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) from raw OPEFB. The SOE involved ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH, 2.6 M) and formic acid (HCOOH, 5.3 M) catalyzed by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 3.2 M). This approach was used to efficiently solubilize the lignin and hemicellulose from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) at the temperature of 100°C and 1 h extraction time, which managed to retain fibrous NFC. The extracted solid and liquor at each stage were studied extensively through physiochemical analysis. The finding indicated that approximately 75.3%dwb of hemicellulose, 68.9%dwb of lignin, and 42.0%dwb of extractive were solubilized in the first SOE cycle, while the second SOE cycle resulted in 92.3%dwb, 99.6%dwb and 99.8%dwb of solubilized hemicellulose, lignin, and extractive/ash, respectively. High-quality NFC (75.52%dwb) was obtained for the final extracted solid with 76.4% crystallinity, which is near the crystallinity of standard commercial NFC. The proposed process possesses an effective synergy in producing NFC from raw OPEFB with less cellulose degradation, and most of the degraded hemicellulose and lignin are solubilized in the liquor.

Regulation of fat crystals in water-in-oil emulsions by high-intensity ultrasound: Crystal size and tracing of droplet distribution.

In this paper, two emulsion systems with high and low solid fat contents were prepared from 20 % water phase and 80 % oil phase by adjusting the palm oil/palm stearin/soybean oil ratio. Different ultrasonic power and time were used for the pretreatment of emulsion with different solid fat content, and the application characteristics of ultrasonic in W/O emulsions were explored and evaluated. Directly using high-intensity ultrasound to prepare fatty emulsions would weaken the hardness and storage modulus G' of the samples. Although ultrasound reduced the size of fat crystals in emulsions, the interaction between water droplets and fat crystals needs to be considered. After ultrasonic treatment, water droplets were difficult to immobilize on the crystal surface and thus acted as an active filler to stabilize the emulsion together with the fat crystal network. In high solid fat emulsion systems, an increase in ultrasound power (from 100 W to 200 W) could more affect the crystallization behavior of fats than an increase in ultrasound duration (from 30 s to 60 s), and the distribution of crystals and droplets was more uniform. In the low solid fat emulsion system, the texture of the sample after ultrasonic treatment was softer, and the surface was more delicate and smoother. However, the higher ultrasonic intensity (200 W) was not conducive to the preparation of the spread. Although the ultrasound with excessive intensity promoted the formation of small crystals, it would also lead to the aggregation of small crystals. These small crystals cannot form a uniform crystal network, which increases the fluidity of emulsions.

Fumaric acid production by Rhizopus species from acid hydrolysate of oil palm empty fruit bunches.

The hemicellulosic fraction of lignocellulosic biomass is a very important material, due to the significant concentration of pentoses present in its composition and that can be used sustainably in biotechnological processes such as the production of fumaric acid. Research efforts are currently being promoted for the proper disposal and valorization of empty fruit bunches (EFB) from oil palm. In this work, seventeen Rhizopus species were evaluated in a fermentation medium with EFB hydrolyzate, without detoxification, as a carbon source for fumaric acid production. Rhizopus circicans 1475 and Rhizopus 3271 achieved productions of 5.65 g.L-1 and 5.25 g.L-1 of fumaric acid at 30 °C, 120 rpm for 96 h, respectively. The percentage of consumed sugars, mainly pentoses, was 24.88% and 34.02% for R. circicans 1475 and R 3271, respectively. Soy peptone and ammonium sulfate were evaluated as nitrogen sources, where soy peptone stimulated the formation of biomass pellets while ammonium sulfate produced mycelia and clamps.

Influences of superfine-grinding and enzymolysis separately assisted with carboxymethylation and acetylation on the in vitro hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities of oil palm kernel expeller fibre.

The synergistic effects of ultrafine grinding and enzymolysis (cellulase and Laccase hydrolysis) alone or combined with carboxymethylation or acetylation on the hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities of oil palm kernel fibre (OPKEF) were studied for the first time. After these synergistic modifications, the microstructure of OPKEF became more porous, and its soluble fibre and total polyphenols contents, and surface area were all improved (P < 0.05). Superfine-grinding and enzymolysis combined with carboxymethylation treated OPKEF exhibited the highest viscosity (13.9 mPa∙s), inhibition ability to glucose diffusion (38.18%), and water-expansion volume (3.58 mL∙g-1). OPKEF treated with superfine-grinding and enzymolysis combined with acetylation showed the highest surface hydrophobicity (50.93) and glucose adsorption capacity (4.53 µmol∙g-1), but a lower α-amylase-inhibition ability. Moreover, OPKEF modified by superfine-grinding and enzymolysis had the highest inhibiting activity against α-amylase (25.78%). Additionally, superfine-grinding and enzymolysis combined with carboxymethylation or acetylation both improved the content and antioxidant activity of OPEKF's bounding polyphenols (P < 0.05).

Topical Nanoemulsion Hydrogel Formulated from Supercritical Fluid Extracted Palm-Pressed Fiber Oil and Virgin Coconut Oil with Antioxidant and Antibacterial Effects.

Skincare industries are growing rapidly around the globe but most products are formulated using synthetic chemicals and organic solvent extracted plant extracts, thus may be hazardous to the users and incur higher cost for purification that eventually leads to phytonutrient degradation. Therefore, this study aimed to formulate a stable natural formulation with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) extracted palm-pressed fiber oil (PPFO) as an active ingredient with virgin coconut oil (VCO) as a formulation base. PPFO was extracted from fresh palm-pressed fiber (PPF) while VCO was from dried grated coconut copra using SC-CO 2 before being subjected to the analyses of physicochemical properties, phytonutrient content and biological activities including antioxidant and antimicrobial. The nanoemulgel formulations were then developed and examined for their stability through accelerated stability study for 3 months by measuring their pH, particle size, polydispersity index and zeta potential. The results showed that PPFO contained a high amount of phytonutrients, especially total carotenoid (1497 ppm) and total tocopherol and tocotrienol (2269 ppm) contents. The newly developed nanoemulgels maintained their particles in nano size and showed good stability with high negative zeta potentials. Sample nanoemulgel formulated with 3% PPFO diluted in VCO as effective concentration showed significantly stronger antioxidant activity than the control which was formulated from 3% tocopheryl acetate diluted in mineral oil, towards DPPH and ABTS radicals, with IC 50 values of 67.41 and 44.28 µL/mL, respectively. For the antibacterial activities, the sample nanoemulgel was found to inhibit Gram positive bacteria S. aureus and S. epidermidis growth but not the Gram negative strain E. coli. Overall, this study revealed the potential of SF-extracted PPFO as an active ingredient in the antioxidant topical formulations thus future study on in vitro skin cell models is highly recommended for validation.

Underutilised palm stearin as hard stock for deep-frying medium and its performance for oil uptake in instant noodles.

BACKGROUND: As a by-product of the palm oil industry, palm stearin is often overlooked despite having several beneficial properties, such as excellent stability, which is critically essential to meet the demand of the global food trend in producing safer processed food. Specifically, deep frying of food is often associated with the production of toxic compounds that could potentially migrate into the food system when oils are degraded under continuous heating. The incorporation of palm stearin is regarded as a cost-effective and efficient method to modify the fatty acid composition of oils, enhance the frying qualities and lower the degradation rate. RESULTS: This study blended 5% and 10% palm stearin into palm oil to investigate the deep-frying performance and impact on food quality. Increasing the palm stearin content improved the frying oil's oxidative and hydrolytic stability, evidenced by reduction of total polar material, free fatty acid and total oxidation value. Addition of palm stearin increased the slip melting point which improved the oil's oxidative stability but no significant increase in oil content of instant noodles was observed. Scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy showed the formation of larger pores in the noodle structure that facilitated oil retention. CONCLUSION: Blending palm stearin into frying oil enhanced the frying stability and minimally affected the oil uptake in instant noodles. This article presents the viability of blending palm stearin into frying oils to develop longer-lasting frying oils. © 2024 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Resveratrol-Loaded Attalea funifera Oil Organogel Nanoparticles: A Potential Nanocarrier against A375 Human Melanoma Cells.

This study aimed to evaluate Attalea funifera seed oil with or without resveratrol entrapped in organogel nanoparticles in vitro against A375 human melanoma tumor cells. Organogel nanoparticles with seed oil (SON) or with resveratrol entrapped in the seed oil (RSON) formed functional organogel nanoparticles that showed a particle size <100 nm, polydispersity index <0.3, negative zeta potential, and maintenance of electrical conductivity. The resveratrol entrapment efficiency in RSON was 99 ± 1%. The seed oil and SON showed no cytotoxicity against human non-tumor cells or tumor cells. Resveratrol at 50 µg/mL was cytotoxic for non-tumor cells, and was cytotoxic for tumor cells at 25 µg/mL. Resveratrol entrapped in RSON showed a decrease in cytotoxicity against non-tumor cells and cytotoxic against tumor cells at 50 µg/mL. Thus, SON is a potential new platform for the delivery of resveratrol with selective cytotoxic activity in the treatment of melanoma.

Structured lipids produced from palm-olein oil by interesterification: A controllable lipase-catalyzed approach in a solvent-free system.

Palm olein (POL) was modified by enzymatic interesterification with different degrees of acyl migration in a solvent-free packed bed reactor. The fatty acid and acylglycerol composition, isomer content, thermodynamic behavior, and relationship between crystal polymorphism, solid fat content (SFC), crystal microstructure, and texture before and after modification were studied. We found that the increase in sn-2 saturation interesterification was not only due to the generated tripalmitin (PPP) but also caused by acyl migration, and the SFC profiles were changed accordingly. The emergence of high melting point acylglycerols was an important factor accelerating the crystallization rate, further shortening the crystallization induction time, leading to the formation of large crystal spherulites, thereby reducing the hardness. The transformation from the ß' to the ß form occurred during post-hardening during storage. The isomer content also affected the physicochemical properties of the modified POL.

Crystallization and phase behavior in mixture systems of anhydrous milk fat, palm stearin, and palm oil: Formation of eutectic crystals.

The comparison between the crystallization and phase behavior of binary blends of anhydrous milk fat (AMF)/palm stearin (POs) and POs/palm oil (PO) was investigated. POs/POs blends showed good compatibility, while the compatibility of AMF/POs blends showed no ideal and was dominated by eutectic behavior. And the eutectic growth of blends was found to be a phenomenon that the triacylglycerol (TAG) of AMF grew on the peripheral of POs seed crystals. In binary blends, the addition of POs not only increased the liquid phase transition temperature but also induced the formation of ß crystal forms in more than 70% POs. The addition of soybean oil to binary blends could improve the compatibility of the ternary system. It eventually provided potential formulations for the production of non-hydrogenated puff pastry margarine.

Synthesis of magnetic nanocarbon using palm oil as the green precursor via microwave-assisted arc for wastewater treatment.

The presence of metal with microwave irradiation has always invited controversial arguments as the metal will catch on fire easily. But interestingly, researchers found that arc discharge phenomena provide a promising way for molecule cracking to synthesize nanomaterials. This study developed a single-step yet affordable synthesis approach that combines microwave heating and arcing in transforming crude palm oil into magnetic nanocarbon (MNC), which can be considered a new alternative for the palm oil sectors. It involves synthesizing the medium at a partial inert condition with constant coiled stainless steel metal wire (dielectric media) and ferrocene (catalyst). This approach successfully demonstrates heating at a temperature ranging from 190.9 to 472.0 °C with different synthesis times (10-20 min). The produced MNC shows formations of spheres with average sizes of 20.38-31.04 nm, mesoporous structure (SBET: 14.83-151.95 m2/g), and high content of fixed carbon (52.79-71.24wt%), and the ratio of the D and G bands (ID/IG) is 0.98-0.99. The formation of new peaks in the FTIR spectra (522.29-588.48 cm-1) supports the appearance of the FeO compounds from the ferrocene. The magnetometer shows high magnetization saturation (22.32-26.84 emu/g) in ferromagnetic materials. The application of the MNC in wastewater treatment has been demonstrated by evaluating their adsorbent capability with Methylene Blue (MB) adsorption test at a different concentrations varying between 5 and 20 ppm. The MNC produced at synthesis time (20 min) shows the highest adsorption efficiency (10.36 mg/g) compared to others, with 87.79% removal of MB dye. As a result, the value for Langmuir is not promising compared to Freundlich, with R2 being around 0.80, 0.98, and 0.99 for MNC synthesized at 10 min (MNC10), 15 min (MNC15), and 20 min (MNC20), respectively. Hence, the adsorption system is in a heterogeneous condition. The microwave-assisted arcing thereby presents a promising approach to transforming CPO into MNC that could remove the hazardous dye.

Thermal Properties, Microstructure and Crystallization of Blends of Leaf Lard and Cottonseed Oil Stearin.

Blend oils composed by leaf lard (LL) and cottonseed oil stearin (COS) were prepared and the thermal property, microstructure and crystallization of these blends were investigated in the present study. Solid fat content (SFC), thermal behaviors, triacylglycerols composition, crystal structure and morphology of the LL and COS blends were determined by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (pNMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and polarized light microscope (PLM), respectively. SFC profiles and iso-solid diagrams indicated that SFCs of all blends were almost close to the weighted averages of the fat components at temperatures beyond 20°C; however, below 20°C, SFCs of blends exhibited higher than those of the weighted averages of the fat components. With the content of COS increasing, palmitic acid and linoleic acid in the blends increased, while stearic acid and oleic acid decreased; monounsaturated-disaturated (USS) and triunsaturated (UUU) glycerides in the blends enhanced, while monosaturated-diunsaturated (UUS) glycerides declined. The melting temperature of the blends decreased with the increase of COS content. The crystal forms in LL were ß' and ß, and the packing pattern was double and triple chain length (2L and 3L). With COS in blends increasing, ß' form crystals and 3L pattern reduced. Polarized light micrographs showed that the number of crystal particles in the blends raised with the increase of COS content, meanwhile, the grainsize of the sample gradually decreased. Visual appearances of the blends indicated that blending LL with COS could efficiently reduce the graininess of LL. The addition of COS had a significant effect on the crystallization behavior of LL. LL presented one-step crystallization at 10°C and 20°C, while COS showed two-step crystallization at 10°C and one-step crystallization at 20°C. However, the blends exhibited obvious two-step crystallization at 10°C, one-step or slight two-step crystallization at 20°C.

Towards an alcohol-free process for the production of palm phytonutrients via enzymatic hydrolysis of crude palm oil using liquid lipases.

BACKGROUND: Crude palm oil (CPO) is rich with phytonutrients such as carotenoids and tocols which possesses many health benefits. The aim of this research was to develop a methanol-free process to produce palm phytonutrients via enzymatic hydrolysis. In this work, triacylglycerol was hydrolyzed into free fatty acids (FFAs) using three different types of liquid lipases derived from Aspergillus oryzae (ET 2.0), Aspergillus niger (Habio) and Candida antartica (CALB). RESULTS: ET 2.0 was found to be the best enzyme for hydrolysis. Under the optimum condition, the FFA content achievable was 790 g kg-1 after 24 h of reaction with 1:1 water-to-oil mass ratio at 50 °C and stirring speed of 9 × g. Furthermore, with the addition of 2 g kg-1 ascorbic acid, it was found that 98% of carotenoids and 96% of tocols could be retained after hydrolysis. CONCLUSION: This work shows that enzymatic hydrolysis, which is inherently safer, cleaner and sustainable is feasible to replace the conventional methanolysis for the production of palm phytonutrients. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Fraud detection in crude palm oil using SERS combined with chemometrics.

Edible crude palm oil (CPO) is a vital oil utilized in various industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, and domestic cooking. Unfortunately, reports of CPO adulteration with harmful Sudan dyes have surfaced over the years. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and chemometrics were employed to detect Sudan dyes adulteration in CPO within 900 - 1800 cm- 1 Raman peak. The concentration of Sudan dyes detected in CPO samples ranged between 0.005 and 4 ppm. The principal component analysis (PCA) model detected Sudan II and Sudan IV in CPO with 99.88 and 99.90% accuracy. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) also recorded high detection rates of Sudan II and IV dyes in CPO. Sudan II and IV dyes could be detected at 0.0028 ppm and 0.0019 ppm by this sensor. The performance of the Au@Ag SERS sensor was comparable to that of HPLC. This study proved SERS and chemometrics can be used to authenticate edible CPO.

Production of Cocoa Butter Substitute via Enzymatic Interesterification of Fully Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil and Fully Hydrogenated Palm Stearin Blends.

This research synthesized structure lipids (SL) from blends of fully hydrogenated palm kernel oil (FHPKO), coconut oil (CNO) and fully hydrogenated palm stearin (FHPS) by enzymatic interesterification (EIE)using rProROL, an sn-1,3-specific lipase from Rhizopus oryzae, as a catalyst. Five physical blends of FHPKO:CNO:FHPS were prepared with the following wt. ratios: 40:10:50, 50:10:40, 60:10:30, 70:10:20 and 80:10:10. The EIE reactions were carried out at 60℃ for 6 h in a batch-type reactor using rProROL 10% wt. of the substrate. It was found that EIE significantly modified the triacylglycerol compositions of the fat blends resulting in changes in the crystallization and melting behavior. In particular, SL obtained from EIE of blend 70:10:20 exhibited high potential to be used as a cocoa butter substitute (CBS) because it showed similar solid fat content curve to the commercial CBS and crystallized into fine spherulites and desirable ß' polymorph.

Phosphorus Removal and Phytonutrients Retention in the Refining of Solvent Extracted Palm-Pressed Mesocarp Fiber Oil.

Phosphoric acid is used in the refining of palm oil for the removal of phosphatides. The high concentration of phosphorus in solvent extracted palm-pressed mesocarp fiber oil hinders palm oil mills to recover this phytonutrients-rich residual oil in pressed fiber which typically contains 0.1 to 0.2% of total oil yield. This study aimed to refine the palm-pressed mesocarp fiber oil and determine the optimum dosage of phosphoric acid for acid-degumming of palm-pressed mesocarp fiber oil while retaining its phytonutrients. The refining process was carried out with combination of wet degumming, acid degumming, neutralisation, bleaching and deodorization. The optimum dose of phosphoric acid was identified as 0.05 wt.% by incorporating the wet degumming process. The refined palm-pressed mesocarp fiber oil showed a reduction in phosphorus content by 97% (from 901 ppm to 20 ppm) and 97% free fatty acid content removal (from 6.36% to 0.17%), while the Deterioration of Bleachability Index increased from 1.76 to 2.48, which showed an increment of 41%. The refined oil retained the key phytonutrients such as carotenoids (1,150 ppm) and vitamin E (1,540 ppm) that can be further developed into high-value products. The oil meets the quality specification of refined, bleached, and deodorized palm oil while preserving the heat-sensitive phytonutrients, which in turn provides a new resource of nutritious oil.

Palm Oil-Rich Diet Affects Murine Liver Proteome and S-Palmitoylome.

Palmitic acid (C16:0) is the most abundant saturated fatty acid in animals serving as a substrate in synthesis and ß-oxidation of other lipids, and in the modification of proteins called palmitoylation. The influence of dietary palmitic acid on protein S-palmitoylation remains largely unknown. In this study we performed high-throughput proteomic analyses of a membrane-enriched fraction of murine liver to examine the influence of a palm oil-rich diet (HPD) on S-palmitoylation of proteins. HPD feeding for 4 weeks led to an accumulation of C16:0 and C18:1 fatty acids in livers which disappeared after 12-week feeding, in contrast to an accumulation of C16:0 in peritoneal macrophages. Parallel proteomic studies revealed that HPD feeding induced a sequence of changes of the level and/or S-palmitoylation of diverse liver proteins involved in fatty acid, cholesterol and amino acid metabolism, hemostasis, and neutrophil degranulation. The HPD diet did not lead to liver damage, however, it caused progressing obesity, hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia. We conclude that the relatively mild negative impact of such diet on liver functioning can be attributed to a lower bioavailability of palm oil-derived C16:0 vs. that of C18:1 and the efficiency of mechanisms preventing liver injury, possibly including dynamic protein S-palmitoylation.

Antioxidant Potential of Red Palm-Pressed Mesocarp Olein.

Oxidative stress occurs due to the imbalance amount of the free radicals and antioxidants in human body which often associated with numerous chronic diseases. The antioxidant properties of red palm-pressed mesocarp olein (PPMO) have not been widely studied. Therefore, antioxidant properties of PPMO relative to commercially available edible oils, namely red palm olein (RPO), palm olein (PO), extra virgin olive oil (OO) and extra virgin coconut oil (CNO) were studied. PPMO exhibited significant higher phytonutrients which more than 2-fold compared to the edible oils. Overall, antioxidant screening indicated that PPMO has significantly higher antioxidant activities than RPO, PO and CNO in term of DPPH, H2O2, NO scavenging and FIC; and significantly higher H2O2 and FIC than OO. The outcomes of this study reveal that PPMO is as good as commercially available edible oil, also a good source for food applications and dietary nutritional supplements. More importantly, the utilization of PPMO could mitigate oil palm waste problem and results in positive environmental impact.

Palm Oil Processing and Controversies over Its Health Effect: Overview of Positive and Negative Consequences.

Palm oil is the world's most commonly used vegetable oil and extracted both from fruit and seed of palm tree. However, its high saturated fatty acid content raised controversies over consumption of the oil. Few scientific findings suggest it as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and increased consumer's awareness over healthy diet raised claim over it. So that, this article aimed to review literatures on palm oil extraction process and its positive and negative health consequences and besides suggest strategies for healthy diet. Literature search of relevant articles was conducted by using Google scholar, PubMed, Web of science, MEDLINE, World Health Organization library online catalogue, UNICEF library, Open access thesis and dissertations published between 2009 and 2021 explored. Study reports recommend that palmitic acid from vegetable source has less effect on blood total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol level as compared to palmitic acid from animal source. In contrary tocotrienols of palm oil lowers blood bad cholesterol level by 7-38%. Moreover, palm oil triacylglycerol arrangement does not have a cardiovascular risk and evidences from available in vitro and in vivo studies are not sufficient enough to conclude palm oil as a causative agent for cardiovascular disease. For healthy diet consumers should avoid trans fatty acids, solid and semi solid oils. Finally, further studies recommended on mitigation strategies to minimize process induced toxicants of palm oil to acceptable level.

The critical role of natural forest as refugium for generalist species in oil palm-dominated landscapes.

In Borneo, oil palm plantations have replaced much of natural resources, where generalist species tend to be the principal beneficiaries, due to the abundant food provided by oil palm plantations. Here, we analyse the distribution of the Asian water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) population within an oil palm-dominated landscape in the Kinabatangan floodplain, Malaysian Borneo. By using mark-recapture methods we estimated its population size, survival, and growth in forest and plantation habitats. We compared body measurements (i.e. body weight and body length) of individuals living in forest and oil palm habitats as proxy for the population's health status, and used general least squares estimation models to evaluate its response to highly fragmented landscapes in the absence of intensive hunting pressures. Contrary to previous studies, the abundance of lizards was higher in the forest than in oil palm plantations. Recruitment rates were also higher in the forest, suggesting that these areas may function as a source of new individuals into the landscape. While there were no morphometric differences among plantation sites, we found significant differences among forested areas, where larger lizards were found inhabiting forest adjacent to oil palm plantations. Although abundant in food resources, the limited availability of refugia in oil palm plantations may intensify intra-specific encounters and competition, altering the body size distribution in plantation populations, contrary to what happens in the forest. We conclude that large patches of forest, around and within oil palm plantations, are essential for the dynamics of the monitor lizard population in the Kinabatangan floodplain, as well as a potential source of individuals to the landscape. We recommend assessing this effect in other generalist species, as well as the impact on the prey communities, especially to reinforce the establishment of buffer zones and corridors as a conservation strategy within plantations.

Palm oil supply chain factors impacting chlorinated precursors of 3-MCPD esters.

Chlorinated compounds such as sphingolipid-based organochlorine compounds are precursors for the formation of 3-monochlororopanediol (3-MCPD) esters in palm oil. This study evaluates the effects of several factors within the palm oil supply chain on the levels of sphingolipid-based organochlorine, which in turn may influence the formation of 3-MCPD esters during refining. These factors include application of inorganic chlorinated fertiliser in the oil palm plantation, bruising and degradation of oil palm fruits after harvest, recycling of steriliser condensate as water for dilution of crude oil during oil palm milling, water washing of palm oil and different refining conditions. It was observed that bruised and degraded oil palm fruits showed higher content of sphingolipid-based organochlorine than control. In addition, recycling steriliser condensate during milling resulted in elevated content of sphingolipid-based organochlorine in palm oil. However, the content of sphingolipid-based organochlorine compounds was reduced by neutralisation, degumming and bleaching steps during refining. Although water washing of crude palm oils (CPO) prior to refining did not reduce the content of sphingolipid-based organochlorine, it did reduce the formation of 3-MCPD esters through the removal of water-soluble chlorinated compounds. It was found that the use of inorganic chlorinated fertiliser in plantations did not increase the content of chlorinated compounds in oil palm fruits and extracted oil, and hence chlorinated fertiliser does not seem to play a role in the formation of 3-MCPD esters in palm oil. Overall, this study concluded that lack of freshness and damage to the fruits during transport to mills, combined with water and oil recycling in mills are the major contributors of chlorinated precursor for 3-MCPD esters formation in palm oil.