The component acids of the testa and kernel fats of the oil palm

Abstract

AbstractThe fat in the thin brown testa of the palm kernel (Elœis guineensis) contains more oleic and linoleic acids, and less lauric acid, than that of the endosperm; linoleic acid amounts to 5% or more, and oleic acid to 20–25%, of the total fatty acids (the corresponding proportions in the endosperm fat being about 1% and 11–12%). The proportion of free fatty acids in the testa fat was about three times that in the enclosed kernels or endosperm, but the proportions of the component acids in the acidic part of the fat did not differ sensibly from those in the neutral testa fat. The higher proportion of free fatty acids is probably due to the testa fat being more accessible to lipolytic enzymes introduced from moulds at the outer surface of the kernels.