Palm-Pressed Mesocarp Fibre Oil as an Alternative Carrier Oil in Emulsion

Abstract

Refined palm-pressed mesocarp fibre oil (PPFO), which can be obtained from one of the by-products of palm oil milling, palm-pressed mesocarp fibre, is categorized as palm sludge oil. So far, it has been given less attention and underutilized until some recent scientific reports revealing its high content of phytonutrients, carotenoids and vitamin E, which have been proven scientifically to possess anti-oxidant activity. The study evaluated the stability of PPFO as a carrier for plant-based emulsion. PPFO was extracted and examined for its positional distribution of fatty acids, saturation levels and iodine value (IV) using NMR spectroscopy. The PPFO-based emulsion was then prepared and subjected to stability tests, including temperature variation, centrifuge test, cycle test, pH and slip melting point for 28 days. Phase separation was observed from PPFO-based emulsion stored at 40℃ from day-21 onwards while no creaming found in all the palm olein-based emulsions stored at the three storage temperatures. Nevertheless, results indicated that the PPFO-based emulsion passed all the tests above showing insignificant phase separation (p > 0.05) compared with those of palm olein commonly used in emulsion preparation. The findings suggested that PPFO enriched with valuable phytonutrients could be used as an alternative carrier oil in emulsion formulation, which is an important component in personal care products.