Abstract
Hybrid palm oil has been recently proved to have interesting chemical and nutritional characteristics. However, there is rather limited information on the chemical composition changes of hybrid palm oil during fruit ripening. In this paper we present for the first time a detailed chemical characterization of O × G interspecific hybrid palm oil extracted from fruits of Coari × La Mé cultivar, planted in the region of Llanos Orientales (Colombia) during the last 6 wk of fruit ripening (18–24 wk after anthesis [WAA]). It was found that during fruit development a progressive and significant decrease of the saturated fatty acids (SFAs) palmitic and stearic, and a corresponding increase in the relative percentage of the unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) oleic and linoleic occurred: the SFAs/UFAs ratio decreased from 0.84 to 0.58. Statistically significant changes in triacylglycerol species between 18 and 24 WAA were also observed. On the contrary, total unsaponifiable matter content ranged from 0.87 to 1.05 g/100 g oil sample, without any significant difference due to harvest time. However, a trend of increase in total tocol content was also observed, with a final value at 24 WAA of more than 26 ppm.Practical applications: The understanding of palm fruit development may be useful for setting both optimal harvest time and breeding purposes: the results of this study reveal that a better concentration of phytonutrients (tocols), together with a higher degree of unsaturation of glycerides, can be obtained at 24 WAA, which therefore represents the optimal harvest time for both quantitative (i.e., extraction rate, industrial applications, etc.) and qualitative (i.e., nutritional properties) characteristics of the O × G interspecific hybrid oil.Hybrid palm oil has interesting chemical and nutritional characteristics. During fruit development, a progressive and significant decrease of the saturated fatty acids palmitic and stearic acid, and a corresponding increase in the relative percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, oleic and linoleic acid occurred, along with changes in triacylglycerol species. Furthermore, a trend of increase in phytonutrient (tocol) levels was also observed.
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