Environmentally friendly production method of virgin coconut oil using enzymatic reaction

Abstract

Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) has been known in Indonesia since a decade ago. This oil is made from coconut milk using unheated method, such as enzymatic, physical, and chemical method. The VCO has been proofed to have many health benefits such as for treatment of hyper-cholesterol, diabetes, viral and bacterial infections. Also, the oil has been utilized in the cosmetics industry for beauty skin care. In the increase of VCO demand for pharmaceutical industry, this study was conducted to find the method for VCO production using an environmentaly friendly process. The environmentally friendly process was conducted to maintain the sustainable environment. This paper deals with the enzymatic method of VCO production. The enzyme was obtained from fresh pineapple juice that is proofed contain bromelin. The enzyme will cleave the polypeptide bond of emulsifying agent in the coconut milk. Further, the oil will be separated and then collected as the VCO. During this work, the amount of the fresh pineapple juice varied to measure the rate of VOC production. Based on the observation during the production, it is found that the increase of fresh pineapple juice added increases the VCO production.