In vivo Toxicity Assessment of Refined Red Palm-pressed Mesocarp Olein in Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Refined red palm-pressed mesocarp olein (PPMO) is recovered from palm-pressed mesocarp fiber, which is a by-product from palm oil mill. Its utilization in food industry is extremely limited even though it contains various phytonutrients. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate its toxicity effects by using the male Sprague-Dawley rat model. The rats were administered with a single dose of 2 g/kg PPMO in an acute toxicity study while administered with 2, 1, or 0.5 g/kg PPMO daily for 28 days in a sub-chronic toxicity study. The mortality, oral LD50 value, clinical observation, body and organ weight, hematological and biochemical analyses, pathological and histopathological examinations were assessed. The overall outcomes indicated that PPMO is non-toxic up to 2 g/kg and considered safe to be used in food application, especially as functional food ingredient and supplement attributed to its phytonutrients. Besides, this study provides an insight in alternative utilization of the wastes from palm oil mill.

Rapid Assessment of Quality Changes in French Fries during Deep-frying Based on FTIR Spectroscopy Combined with Artificial Neural Network.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with backpropagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) were utilized for rapid and simultaneous assessment of the lipid oxidation indices in French fries. The conventional indexes (i.e. total polar compounds, oxidized triacylglycerol polymerized products, oxidized triacylglycerol monomers, triacylglycerol hydrolysis products, and acid value), and FTIR absorbance intensity in French fries were determined during the deep-frying process, and the results showed the French fries had better quality in palm oil, followed by sunflower oil, rapeseed oil and soybean oil. The FTIR spectra of oil extracted from French fries were correlated to the reference oxidation indexes determined by AOCS standard methods. The results of BP-ANN prediction showed that the model based on FTIR fitted well (R2 > 0.926, RMSEC < 0.481) compared with partial least-squares model (R2 > 0.876). This facile strategy with excellent performance has great potential for rapid characterization quality of French fries during frying.

Quality assessment of refined red palm-pressed mesocarp olein.

Palm-pressed mesocarp oil has been found to contain plenty of naturally occurring valuable phytonutrients. The application and study of the oil are limited, therefore, quality assessment of refined red palm-pressed mesocarp olein (PPMO) is deemed necessary to provide data in widening the applications as a niche products or raw material for the nutraceutical industry. Results showed that refined PPMO has comparable physicochemical properties and oxidative stability with commercial cooking oil, palm olein (PO). The food safety parameters and contaminants (PAH, 3-MCPD ester, 2-MCPD ester, glycidyl ester and trace metals) analyses proven that refined PPMO is safe to be consumed. Besides, refined PPMO contains remarkably greater concentrations of phytonutrients including carotenoids, phytosterols, squalene and vitamin E than PO, postulating its protective health benefits. The overall quality assessment of refined PPMO showed that it is suitable for human consumption and it is a good source for food applications and dietary nutritional supplements.

Storage Stability Assessment of Red Palm Olein in Comparison to Palm Olein.

Sixty-four bottles of red palm olein and palm olein (constituted as control) samples were stored at permutations of common home setting variables which are: temperature (room temperature (24°C) or 8°C), light (kept in dark or exposure under light) and oxygen (opened or sealed caps). The effects of temperature, oxygen and light on the stability of red palm olein and palm olein were studied over 4 months of storage at simulated domestic conditions. The degree of auto- and photo-oxidations was evaluated by monitoring the following quality parameters: acidity, peroxide and p-anisidine values, fatty acids composition, carotenes and vitamin E. It is noted from the study that opened bottles of red palm olein was found to be stable for 4 months in comparison to its counterpart (palm olein) evidenced from their primary oxidative constituents (peroxides) and hydrolytic behavior (free fatty acids). Opened bottles are better off when stored at 8°C and protected from light for a longer shelf-life. Sealed bottles of palm olein showed better storage stability in the dark at 8°C; whereas sealed bottles of red palm olein was found to be stable at both temperatures studied without the influence of light. After 4 months of varying storage conditions, the fatty acid composition, vitamin E and carotenes of both oils remained unchanged. The phytonutrients in red palm olein rendered better storage stability when compared to palm olein.

Biochemical properties, nutritional values, health benefits and sustainability of palm oil.

Palm oil (PO), although subject of controversies, is the most consumed oil and the first source of oil widely produced. In this review, we discussed its biochemical composition in fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamin E, its phenolic compounds, and its nutritional benefits. We addressed its biochemical properties in relation with the stereospecific distribution of its unsaturated fatty acids at the sn-2 position in triacylglycerols. PO is one of the most stable oils, which help it prolong food storability mostly due not only to its content of saturated fatty acids, but also to its antioxidant compounds. PO plays an important role in the prevention of many pathologies (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and cancers). It is widely use in nutrition especially in the food industry and in biodiesel industry. Faced with attacks from environmentalists who blame PO for destorying biodiversity, there is an urgent need to develop a sustainable PO production plan. Compliance with sustainable PO goals would help ease those controversies. The use and consumption of PO in normal or moderate amounts in a varied, balanced and adequate diet does not present any known health risk. Education campaigns on the nutritional benefits of PO should be promoted.

Residue and Dissipation Kinetics of Metsulfuron-Methyl Herbicide in Soil: A Field Assessment at an Oil Palm Plantation.

A field trial experiment was conducted to investigate the degradation of metsulfuron-methyl at two application dosages, 15 g a.i/ha and 30 g a.i/ha, at an oil palm plantation. Soil samples were collected at ‒1, 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days after treatment (DAT) at the following depths: 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, and 40-50 cm. The results showed rapid degradation of metsulfuron-methyl in the soil, with calculated half-life (t½) values ranging from 6.3 and 7.9 days. The rates of degradation of metsulfuron-methyl followed first-order reaction kinetics (R2 = 0.91-0.92). At the spray dosage of 15 g a.i/ha, metsulfuron-methyl residue was detected at up to 20-30 cm soil depth, at 3.56% to 1.78% at 3 and 7 DAT, respectively. Doubling the dosage to 30 g a.i/ha increased the metsulfuron-methyl residue in up to 30-40 cm soil depth at 3, 7, and 14 DAT, with concentrations ranging from 1.90% to 1.74%. These findings suggest that metsulfuron-methyl has a low impact on the accumulation of the residues in the soil at application dosages of 15 g a.i/ha and 30 g a.i/ha, due to rapid degradation, and the half-life was found to be 6.3 to 7.9 days.

Facile Approach for Ecofriendly, Low-Cost, and Water-Resistant Paper Coatings via Palm Kernel Oil.

Paper-based packaging is widely employed in industries ranging from food to beverages to pharmaceuticals because of its attractive advantages of biodegradability, recyclability, good strength, low cost, and lightweight. However, paper products usually have poor water barrier resistance properties because of paper and fibers porous microstructure. In this study, an ecofriendly water-resistant (hydrophobic) oil from biological origin, namely, palm kernel oil (PKO) was used to coat paper by using a facile and cost-effective dip-casting approach. PKO formulation was prepared by mixing with a solvent and furfuryl alcohol (FA). The water resistance, structural properties, and thermal and mechanical properties of the coated papers obtained under different processing conditions were reported and compared to understand the performance of coated paper. Contact angle (CA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and thermal gravimetry (TGA) were used for analysis and characterization of coated papers. Data from contact angle measurements showed that the PKO formulation could considerably improve the liquid water barrier property of the paper, with a measured water contact angle (CA) of ∼120° and reduce the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) by 22%. This novel, green, low-cost, and water-resistant paper coating made with biological and biodegradable oil is a potential candidate for replacing petroleum-based coatings used in a broad range of applications and will also be able to make an additional full use of the palm kernel oil.

Feasibility study of cadmium adsorption by palm oil fuel ash (POFA)-based low-cost hollow fibre zeolitic membrane.

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is an agricultural waste which was employed in this study to produce novel adsorptive ceramic hollow fibre membranes. The membranes were fabricated using phase inversion-based extrusion technique and sintered at 1150 °C. The membranes were then evaluated on their ability to adsorb cadmium (Cd(II)). These membranes were characterised using (nitrogen) N2 adsorption-desorption analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDX) mapping, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses while adsorptivity activity was examined by batch adsorption studies. The adsorption test results show that the quantity of hollow fibre used and water pH level significantly affected the adsorption performance with the 3-fibre membrane yielding 96.4% Cd(II) removal in 30 min equilibrium time at pH 7. These results are comparable to those reported by other studies, and hence demonstrate a promising alternative of low-cost hollow fibre adsorbent membrane. Graphical abstract Figure of FESEM image of the hollow fibre, proposed mechanism and the graph of percentage removal of Cd(II) using POFA.