Abstract
The consumers’ opinion concerning conventional palm (Elaeis guineensis) oil is negatively affected by environmental and nutritional issues. However, oils extracted from drupes of interspecific hybrids Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis are getting more and more interest, due to their chemical and nutritional properties. Unsaturated fatty acids (oleic and linoleic) are the most abundant constituents (60%–80% of total fatty acids) of hybrid palm oil (HPO) and are mainly acylated in position sn-2 of the glycerol backbone. Carotenes and tocotrienols are the most interesting components of the unsaponifiable matter, even if their amount in crude oils varies greatly. The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils recently provided HPO the “dignity” of codified fat substance for human consumption and defined the physical and chemical parameters for genuine crude oils. However, only few researches have been conducted to date on the functional and technological properties of HPO, thus limiting its utilization in food industry. Recent studies on the nutritional effects of HPO softened the initial enthusiasm about the “tropical equivalent of olive oil”, suggesting that the overconsumption of HPO in the most-consumed processed foods should be carefully monitored.
Highlights
Palm oil (PO) is obtained from the reddish mesocarp of the African palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)(Eg) drupes and, to a much lesser extent, of the South American palm (Elaeis oleifera (H.B.K.) Cortés)(Eo) fruits
The same findings were confirmed by Sales et al [89] in mice. These results suggest that the overconsumption of hybrid palm oil (HPO) through the most-consumed processed foods should be carefully monitored, as it could involve important alterations to hepatic metabolism
The interspecific cross-breeding between the cultivated African palm and its wild South American relative produces oil palms that bring together several interesting properties like: better oil quality due to higher oleic acid percentage than conventional palm oil; longer productive life and shorter trunk than African palm; low lipolytic activity of fruit tissues; and resistance to the main diseases affecting palms
Summary
Palm oil (PO) is obtained from the reddish mesocarp of the African palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). 50%–70%, linoleic acid (L) ranges from 10%–20%, and ‘P’ accounts only for 15%–20% of total SFA in the oil of Eo fruits [9,10] Despite their functional and technological properties, the reputation of palm oils is getting worse among a wide range of consumers, especially in some European countries (France, Italy, and Spain), in parallel with increasing health and environmental awareness. The devastating spread of the bud rot disease in Central and South America is giving a new boost to the implementation of molecular breeding programs, in order to improve both the oil production traits (fruit morphology, bunch number and weight, oil yield) and the oil quality traits (triacylglycerol composition, tocols and carotenoids content) of hybrids [2,20,21,22,23,24,25]. The unique composition of HPO (fatty acid and glyceride composition and structure, unsaponifiable matter constituents), its changes during fruit ripening, and the available data concerning the technological and nutritional properties of HPO are the scope of this review
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