Recovery and Utilization of Palm Oil Mill Effluent Source as Value-Added Food Products.

The environmental impacts of palm oil mill effluent (POME) have been a concern due to the water pollution and greenhouse gases emissions. Thus, this study was conducted to recover the value-added products from POME source before being discharged. The samples, before (X) and after (Y) the pre-recovery system in the clarification tank were sampled and analysed and proximate analysis indicated that both samples are energy rich source of food due to high contents of fats and carbohydrates. GCMS analysis showed that the oil extracts contain predominantly palmitic, oleic, linoleic and stearic acids. Regiospecific analysis of oil extracts by quantitative 13C-NMR spectroscopy demonstrated that both oil extracts contain similar degree of saturation of fatty acids at sn-2 and sn-1,3 positions. The samples are rich in various phytonutrients, pro-vitamin A, vitamin E, squalene and phytosterols, thus contributing to exceptionally high total flavonoid contents and moderate antioxidant activities. Overall, samples X and Y are good alternative food sources, besides reducing the environmental impact of POME.

Incorporation of Palmitic Acid or Stearic Acid into Soybean Oils Using Enzymatic Interesterification.

Incorporations of nature fatty acids which were palmitic acid and stearic acid into the end positions of soybean oils were done using sn-1,3 specific immobilised lipase from Rhizomucor miehei at different ratios in order to produce symmetrical triglycerides without changing the fatty acids at sn-2 position. The optimum ratio for the process was 25:75 w/w. There were 19.2% increase of SFA for P25 and 16% increase for S25 at the sn-1,3 positions. The research findings indicated that the structured lipids produced from enzymatic interesterification possessed a higher oxidative stability than soybean oil. The newly formed structured lipids (SUS type) could be good sources for various applications in food industry.