About
PALM OIL
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil, high in saturated fats, derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree. It is grown commercially in several tropical countries but mainly in Indonesia and Malaysia, which account for 85% of global palm oil production.
The palm fruit yields two distinct oils – palm oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit, is edible and used primarily in food products. Palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed of the fruit and is used mainly in the manufacture of soaps and cosmetics, while palm kernel expeller (PKE) is used as a feed for livestock and as biofuel for generating electricity.
Oil palm is highly productive, capable of yielding more oil from less land than any other vegetable oil, with relatively modest inputs. As a result, palm oil production has become an important source of income and a major part of the economy in the regions where it is grown, providing livelihoods for local communities and helping to lift people out of poverty.
Human use of oil palms may date as far back as 5,000 years; in the late 1800s, archaeologists discovered a substance that they concluded was originally palm oil in a tomb at Abydos dating back to 3,000 BCE. It is believed that Arab traders brought the oil palm to Egypt.
Palm oil became a highly sought-after commodity by British traders, for use as an industrial lubricant for machinery during Britain's Industrial Revolution.
Palm oil formed the basis of soap products. Composition Fatty acids
Palm oil, like all fats, is composed of fatty acids, esterified with glycerol. Palm oil has an especially high concentration of saturated fat, specifically, of the 16-carbon saturated fatty acid palmitic acid, to which it gives its name. Monounsaturated oleic acid is also a major constituent of palm oil. Unrefined palm oil is a large natural source of tocotrienol, part of the vitamin E family.
The approximate concentration of fatty acids in palm oil is:
FATTY ACID CONTENT OF PALM OIL
| TYPE OF FATTY ACID |
PCT |
| MYRISTIC SATURATED C14 |
1.0% |
| PALMITIC SATURATED C16 |
43.5% |
| STEARIC SATURATED C18 |
4.3% |
| OLEIC MONOUNSATURATED C18 |
36.6% |
| LINOLEIC POLYUNSATURATED C18 |
9.1% |
| OTHER/UNKNOWN |
5.5% |
The approximate concentration of fatty acids (FAs) in palm kernel oil is as follows:
FATTY ACID CONTENT OF PALM KERNEL OIL
| TYPE OF FATTY ACID |
PCT |
| LAURIC SATURATED C12 |
48.2% |
| MYRISTIC SATURATED C14 |
16.2% |
| PALMITIC SATURATED C16 |
8.4% |
| CAPRIC SATURATED C10 |
3.4% |
| CAPRYLIC SATURATED C8 |
3.3% |
| STEARIC SATURATED C18 |
2.5% |
| OLEIC MONOUNSATURATED C18:1 |
15.3% |
| LINOLEIC POLYUNSATURATED C18:2 |
2.3% |
| OTHER/UNKNOWN |
0.4% |
PALM OIL
Plantation
Product
Application
Palm oil is a common ingredient of margarines, biscuits, breads, breakfast cereals, instant noodles, shampoos, lipsticks, candles, detergents, chocolates and ice creams.
The list of products that rely on the unique properties of palm oil is long, with one estimate suggesting that about a half of all packaged items found in supermarkets contain it.
In fact, palm oil is now the most widely used vegetable oil on the planet, accounting for 65 per cent of all vegetable oil traded internationally.
By 2020, the use of palm oil is expected to double, as the world’s population increases and as people – especially in countries like China and India – become more affluent and consume more manufactured goods containing palm oil.