Abstract
Coconut oil (Cocos nucifera L.) has a unique role in the diet as an important physiologically functional food. The health and nutritional benefits that can be derived from consuming coconut oil have been recognized in many parts of the world for centuries. The aim of this study was to compare the quality parameters of coconut oil under different common extraction techniques. Six different techniques of coconut oil extraction were employed to produce virgin coconut oil (VCOs) and refined coconut oil (RCO). VCOs were produced using enzymatic, chilling and thawing, centrifugation, natural-fermentation and induced-fermentation processes. The highest oil yield (83%) was from RCO and also RCO had a significantly higher peroxide value (1.06 meq/kg oil) than VCO samples. Antioxidant activity of RCO was significantly (p<0.5) lower than those of VCO samples, with induced-fermentation having the highest antioxidant activity of 28.3%. Interestingly, enzymatic extraction resulted in higher quantity of short-chain triglycerides. Although, there was no method which could result significantly in high quantity of all the tested parameters, induced-fermentation showed relatively high oil yield and antioxidant activity. Key words: Antioxidants, coconut oil, extraction, fatty acids, quality.
Highlights
Coconut oil is a vegetable oil extracted from coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.)
The higher yeild of oil from refined coconut oil (RCO) may be due to the use of hexane which is a non-polar solvent capable of dissolving fats coupled with prolonged exposure to heat, that is, 80°C for 8 h
The triglyceride of coconut oil extracted from enzymatic, centrifugation, natural fermentation, induced fermentation, chilling and thawing and refined coconut oil is relatively similar
Summary
Coconut oil is a vegetable oil extracted from coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.). Coconut is the most extensively grown and used palm in the world with approximately 12 million hectare in cultivation (FAO, 2014) serving as a major source of income and food for about 10 million families from over 80 countries (Perera et al, 2010). Several methods to produce VCO are found to measure up with the definition of the VCO (Marina et al, 2009a; Bawalan and Chapman, 2006; Nevin and Rajamohan, 2010; Raghavendra and Raghavarao, 2010). These methods can be largely divided into wet and dry methods. While saponification value and fatty acid profile are identification parameters These parameters can be used to compare oil to determine how extraction conditions impacts on quality
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