Palm Oil Samples Research Articles

VALIDASI MODIFIKASI METODE WEIßHAAR UNTUK ANALISIS 3-MCPD ESTER DALAM MINYAK GORENG SAWIT [Validation of Modified Weißhaar’s Method for 3-MCPD Esters Analysis in Palm Oil

The 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) and 3-MCPD esters were found in any type of refined vegetable oil - mostly produced during the refining process - and recognized as emerging food contaminants . Several analytical methods have been developed and one of which was a Weishaar's method. The study aims to validate the modified Weishaar's method for analysis of 3-MCPD and 3-MCPD esters in refined palm oil. Ion fragments were used for identification and quantification of 3-MCPD and 3-MCPD-d 5 . 3-MCPD was determined by GC-MS after released from its ester by transesterification with sodium methoxide and derivatized with phenylboronic acid. The validation showed that liniarity response (r=0.994) was observed from a linear regression by using external standard and internal standard at a concentration range of 0.008 and 0.377 µg mL -1 . The LOD of the validated method was 0.06 µg g -1 while its LOQ was 0.20 µg g -1 , precision (relative standard deviation, RSD) was 6.16%, and accuracy (as percentage of recovery) was in the range of 95.83-113.27 %. This results indicated that the modified method was valuable and sensitive for detection of 3-MCPD and 3-MCPD esters. Using the validated method , 3-MCPD esters content of a commercial palm oil sample was determined and calculated as the difference between total 3-MCPD and free 3-MCPD, which was 13.24 µg g -1 . Total 3-MCPD content of several palm oils were at a concentration range of 13.94-34.52 µg g -1 . These results also showed that there was a correlation between 3-MCPD with diacylglyceride (DAG). Samples with DAG content gave a high test results of 3-MCPD with a coefficient of correlation of r=0.752.

Effect of Palm Oil Enzymatic Interesterification on Physicochemical and Structural Properties of Mixed Fat Blends

AbstractThe physicochemical properties of binary and ternary fat systems made of commercial samples of palm oil (PO) blended with anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and/or rapeseed oil (RO) were studied. Physical properties such as solid fat content by pulsed‐Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (p‐NMR), melting profile by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polymorphism of the blends were investigated. Palm oil was then batch enzymatically interesterified for 27 h, using Lipozyme® TL IM as biocatalyst, and further blended with AMF and/or RO in the same way. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the effect of batch enzymatic interesterification (B‐EIE) of palm oil on physical characteristics of the investigated fat blends. For that purpose, iso‐solid diagrams have been constructed from p‐NMR data. It was shown that B‐EIE of palm oil modifies its melting behaviour, but also its polymorphic stability and miscibility with other fats. Under dynamic conditions, after B‐EIE, the non‐ideal behaviour (eutectic) detected at low temperatures in the ternary PO/AMF/RO system disappears in the corresponding EIE‐PO/AMF/RO. After static crystallization followed by a tempering, the hardness of palm oil is increased after B‐EIE, as well as the hardnesses of the blends containing this fat compared to the native one. Polymorphism stability of the binary and ternary fat systems is also modified after B‐EIE compared to the corresponding native systems.

Optimization of Pd-B/γ-Al2O3 catalyst preparation for palm oil hydrogenation by response surface methodology (RSM)

Response surface methodology was used to design and evaluate the experimental variables for Pd-B/γ-Al2O3 catalyst preparation. The catalyst was prepared by impregnation and chemical reduction. Thirteen different samples of the catalyst were prepared at different KOH concentrations and annealed at various temperatures, before applying them in palm oil hydrogenation. Hydrogenation was performed on a 0.12% Pd-B/γ-Al2O3 catalyst at a temperature of 393 K, hydrogen pressure of 500 kPa and agitation of 500 rpm for 1 h. The iodine value (IV) and trans fatty acids (TFAs) content responses were measured for each hydrogenated palm oil sample. The predicted models were verified for both responses and found to be statistically adequate. An optimization study was performed on the catalyst preparation variables for minimizing both IV and TFAs content. The Pd-B/γ-Al2O3 prepared under optimized conditions exhibited 47% higher conversion and 22% lower trans-isomerization selectivity than Escat 1241 commercial catalyst. The Pd-B/γ-Al2O3 catalyst preparation variables have a noticeable effect on palm oil hydrogenation conversion and trans-isomerization selectivity.

Total Carotenoids, Tocopherols and Free fatty Acids Levels of Palm Oils Produced from small Scale Mills in Ovia - North East Local Government area of Edo State-Nigeria

This research was conducted to determine the total carotenoids, tocopherols and Free Fatty Acid(FFA) levels of oils produced from small scale mills and to evaluate their antioxidant effects. The study areas were located in Ovia-North East Local Government area of Edo State. The methods of harvesting, processing of the fruits and the storage of the oils were observed because of the positive effects the latter have on quality. Samples of palm oil were collected in duplicates with 100ml screw cap glass sample bottles from the storage drums of the ten (10) small scale mills.The total tocopherols and carotenoids of the oil samples were determined by the AOCS methods. The moisture content of the oils was determined with an electronic moisture analyser.The Free Fatty Acid was determined by the titrimetric method of sodium hydroxide. The results indicated that most of the oils were prone to oxidation and hydrolysis as their moisture (between 0.15 ± 0.01% and 0.53 ± 0.03%), tocopherols (between19.50 ± 0.10mg/100g and 51.0 ± 0.00mg/100g) and carotenoids (between 24.40 ± 0.10mg/100g and 65.0 ± 0.20mg/100g) values suggest. Statistical analysis revealed that significant difference exists between the mean of each of the parameters of the oil sample analyzed. The FFA results indicated that the oils were oxidized which suggested that the the carotenoids and tocopherols did not play their expected roles because their antioxidant limit exceeded. Keywords: Carotenoids, Tocopherols, Moisture, Free FattyAcids, Small Scale Mills, Palm oil

Validation of a HPLC method for determination of hydroxymethylfurfural in crude palm oil

For the first time 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (HMF) was separated from crude palm oil (CPO), and its authenticity was determined using an RP-HPLC method. Separation was accomplished with isocratic elution of a mobile phase comprising water and methanol (92:8 v/v) on a Purospher Star RP-18e column (250mm×4.6mm, 5.0μm). The flow rate was adjusted to 1ml/min and detection was performed at 284nm. The method was validated, and results obtained exhibit a good recovery (95.58% to 98.39%). Assessment of precision showed that the relative standard deviations (RSD%) of retention times and peak areas of spiked samples were less than 0.59% and 2.66%, respectively. Further, the limit of detection (LOD) and LOQ were 0.02, 0.05mg/kg, respectively, and the response was linear across the applied ranges. The crude palm oil samples analysed exhibited HMF content less than 2.27mg/kg.

Determination of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls in vegetable oils by double clean-up-gas chromatography

To investigate the residues of seven indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in vegetable oils, a method was established for the determination of trace PCBs in vegetable oils by double clean-up coupled with gas chromatography (GC). After extracted with acetonitrile, the sample extract was concentrated to dryness followed by re-dissolving with hexane. And the solution was pretreated by adding concentrated sulfuric acid followed cleaned-up with silica gel in dispersive solid-phase extraction protocol, then analyzed by GC with external standard meth- od. Under the optimized chromatographic conditions, the analysis was carried out with a capillary column (HP-5, 30 m x 0.32 mm x 0.25 μm) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min, and the sample volume was 1.00 μL. Monitoring with an electron-capture detector, all the target analytes were separated by temperature-programming of the column. Good linearities were obtained in the range of 10-500 μg/L for the seven indicator PCBs with the correlation coefficients greater than 0. 999. For different matrices, the limits of detection (S/N = 3) and limits of quantitation (S/N = 10) were in the range of 1.8-8.9 pg/kg and 5.9-29.8 μg/kg, respectively. At three spiked levels of 10, 20 and 100 μg/kg of the seven indicator PCBs in olive oil, palm oil and peanut oil blank samples, the average recoveries ranged from 71.0% to 105.5% with the RSDs of 4.0%-11.3%. The method is simple, rapid and accurate, and can be used for the routine analysis of the indicator PCBs in vegetable oils.

Slip Points and Absorbance of Tenera and Dura Palm Oil Blends with Coconut Oil

The slip points and absorbance of tenera, dura palm oils and coconut oil as well as the blends of the two varieties of palm oil with coconut oil have been determined. The result of the study show that slip point decreased with increase coconut oil concentration for both unexposed tenera and dura oil blends, while increased in slip point with increase in coconut oil concentration were observed for the exposed tenera and dura oil blend samples. The slip point of unexposed tenera and dura palm oils were greater than the slip point of coconut oil. The slip points of both exposed and unexposed tenera and dura oils blends were the same when the coconut oil percent in the blends was 50%. On the other hand, the absorbance of exposed tenera palm oil at 350 nm and 450 nm wavelength were 1.130 and 1.525 respectively, while those of unexposed samples of 1.107 and 1.520 respectively were observed to be greater than those of the former. Reverse observation was made for dura palm oil sample. The absorbance of exposed tenera and dura oil blends were observed to be greater than those of unexposed samples at 350 nm wavelength. No significant difference was observed at 450 nm wavelength.

Occurrence of 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters in edible oils in the United States

Fatty acid esters of 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD) and glycidol are processing contaminants found in a wide range of edible oils. While both 3 MCPD and glycidol have toxicological properties that at present has concerns for food safety, the published occurrence data are limited. Occurrence information is presented for the concentrations of 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters in 116 retail and/or industrial edible oils and fats using LC-MS/MS analysis of intact esters. The concentrations for bound 3-MCPD ranged from below the limit of quantitation (<LOQ) to 0.09 mg kg−1 (ppm) in 22 unrefined oils and from 0.005 to 7.2 mg kg−1 (ppm) in 94 refined oils. The concentrations for bound glycidol ranged from <LOQ to 0.03 mg kg−1 (ppm) in unrefined oil samples and from <LOQ to 10.5 mg kg−1 (ppm) in processed oil samples. The highest concentrations for both 3-MCPD and glycidol were seen in refined palm oil and palm olein samples. Palm olein samples also contained a higher percentage of 3-MCPD in mono-ester form than any other type of oil.

Determination of Free Fatty Acids in Palm Oil Samples by Non-Aqueous Flow Injection Using Salicyaldehyde-2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazone as Colorimetric Reagent

The free fatty acids (FFA) in palm oil were determined by flow injection titrimetric method using salicyladhyde-2,4-dinitrophenylphenylhydrazone (SDPH) as a new coloring reagent. The compound was synthesized and its structure was established using different spectroscopic data. It exhibited sensitive colour changes in basic medium and absorb at 482 nm. Single-line manifold using SDPH as indicator was developed. Flow injection operating parameters such as carrier, reagent concentration, flow rate, size of mixing chamber and injection volume were optimized. The method is recommended for the determination of oil samples with acidity degree (a.d.) higher than 0.5 a.d. Twelve oil samples were tested using the appropriate FIA manifold and the obtained results were compared to the standard PORIM method. Good correlation (r2 = 0.99) between the two methods was obtained.

Letter to the Editor regarding “Determination of the fatty acid profile by 1H NMR spectroscopy”

1H NMR spectrum of palm oil. In 2004, Knothe and Kenar 1 published a research paper regarding the determination of the fatty acid profile by 1H NMR spectroscopy in this journal. The procedure was deduced in detail, by using the integration values of the signals of protons specific for different common fatty acids in many vegetable oils. It offered a novel alternative to analyze fatty acid profile as compared with the traditional GC method. However, at the end of Section 3.2 which quantifies saturated fatty acids, there are three typeset errors maybe caused by reediting. We have not yet detected it until we applied the integration values of my 1H NMR spectrum of a palm oil sample to this calculation process and encountered abnormal results contradicting those obtained from GC-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Although they have little interference with the general principle of the determination method for fatty acid profile, it becomes confusing that we should reconsider them before referring to it and applying the calculation process to our recent research on glycidyl fatty acid esters. And faithfully, this useful determination scheme has made great contribution to the improvement of our research. Thus here we do some analysis by comparing the result with that of GC-MS determination, and correct them through chemical and mathematical approaches. We believe that the modified version will not have a negative impact to its original principle but make it much more versatile in its popularization. The typeset errors begin with Eq. (24), in which IC18:0–C16:0 should equal the sum of Idiff,CH2,C18:0 and Idiff,CH2,C16:0 rather than their difference. This is clear when relating Eq. (22) to (23). The remaining two appear in the subsequent Eq. (25), where the dividend Idiff,CH2,C16:0 in the bracket should be replaced by Idiff,CH2,C18:0, and the following multiplier Aunsat should be rectified to its counterpart Asat. The above typeset errors and corrections seem abstract, but the theories behind them, in fact, are easy to understand. Finally, multiplication of x and y with the amount of saturates Asat yields the proportion of C16:0 and C18:0 in the oil sample. The modified scheme was validated by chromatographic analysis. The fatty acid profile of a palm oil sample was determined by GC-MS (Agilent 7890A GC-5975C MS), equipped with a capillary column (J&W DB-WAX, 10 m × 0.1 mm i.d., 0.25 µm in film thickness). Palm oil was transesterified into FAMEs, and the FAMEs were analyzed according to the method in our previously published work 2. The fatty acid composition was based on peak area response, which indicated the mass ratios of different FAMEs. The data of the sample analyzed in triplicate were recorded as means ± SD. As the chromatographic signals are based on mass, it is necessary to transform the mass ratios into molar ratios via the molecular weights of different FAMEs in order to compare the chromatographic results with the 1H NMR ones on the same metric unit. The molar ratios are listed in the last column of Table 1. 1H NMR spectrum (500 MHz) of palm oil was obtained under ambient conditions on a Bruker (Billerica, MA, USA) BioSpin GmbH spectrometer using d-chloroform as solvent. The assignment to the chemical shifts of the signals of components in TAGs and different fatty acids has been well known in the literature 3. Figure 1 demonstrates the assignment to protons of different functional groups and their intensities relative to the reference signal of glyceryl protons A whose intensity is defined as 2.00. The integration value for each signal is annotated underneath the baseline. The above results obtained from 1H NMR and the modified quantification scheme are very close to those from GC-MS method in Table 1. Note that if calculated by following the original quantification scheme, the molar percentages of C16:0 and C18:0 are 4.04 and 48.71%, respectively, which is obviously reversed. In conclusion, with the minor typeset errors revised, in this work, the authors have successfully applied the novel method built by Knothe and Kenar to determine the fatty acid profile by 1H NMR spectroscopy.

VEGETABLE OILS FOR HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATION BY

This paper discusses the findings of the study of the possibility of using some vegetable oils as high voltage insulation materials. Samples of palm oil (elaeis guineensis), palm kernel oil (elaeis guineensis), coconut oil (cocos nucifera), groundnut oil(Arachis hypogea) and local pear oil(dacryodes edulis) were obtained from Ekwulobia town, processed and tested. The results obtained showed exciting performance for palm oil, palm kernel oil and groundnut oil. Investigation on the dielectric strength of local pear oil (dacryodes eduli) is inconclusive because the sample collected was not sufficient for the tests.

Authentication of geographical origin of palm oil by chromatographic fingerprinting of triacylglycerols and partial least square-discriminant analysis

Main goals of the present work were to develop authentication models based on liquid and gas chromatographic fingerprinting of triacylglycerols (TAGs) from palm oil of different geographical origins in order to compare them. For this purpose, a set of palm oil samples were collected from different continents: South eastern Asia, Africa and South America. For the analysis of the information in these fingerprint profiles, a pattern recognition technique such as partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to discriminate the geographical origin of these oils, at continent level. The liquid chromatography, coupled to a charged aerosol detector, (HPLC–CAD) TAGs separation was optimized in terms of mobile phase composition and by means of a solid silica core column. The gas chromatographic method with a mass spectrometer was applied under high temperature (HTGC–MS) in order to analyze the intact TAGs. Satisfactory chromatographic resolution within a short total analysis time was achieved with both chromatographic approaches and without any prior sample treatment. The rates of successful in prediction of the geographical origin of the 85 samples varied between 70% and 100%.

Crude palm oil from interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera × Elaeis guineensis: Fatty acid regiodistribution and molecular species of glycerides

The composition and structure of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and partial glycerides of crude palm oil obtained from interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera×Elaeis guineensis, grown in Colombia, were fully characterised and compared to data obtained by analysing crude African palm oil. Hybridisation appears to substantially modify the biosynthesis of fatty acids (FAs) rather than their assembly in TAGs. In fact, total FAs analysis showed significant differences between these two types of oil, with hybrid palm oil having a higher percentage of oleic acid (54.6±1.0 vs 41.4±0.3), together with a lower saturated fatty acid content (33.5±0.5 vs 47.3±0.1), while the percentage of essential fatty acid, linoleic acid, does not undergo significant changes. Furthermore, 34 TAG types were identified, with no qualitative differences between African and E. guineensis×E. oleifera hybrid palm oil samples. Short and medium chain FAs (8:0, 10:0, 12:0, 14:0) were utilised, together, to build a restricted number of TAG molecular species. Oil samples from the E. guineensis×E. oleifera hybrid showed higher contents of monosaturated TAGs (47.5–51.0% vs 36.7–37.1%) and triunsaturated TAGs (15.5–15.6% vs 5.2–5.4%). The sn-2 position of TAGs in hybrid palm oil was shown to be predominantly esterified with oleic acid (64.7–66.0mol% vs 55.1–58.2mol% in African palm oil) with only 10–15% of total palmitic acid and 6–20% of stearic acid acylated in the secondary position. The total amount of diacylglycerols (DAGs) was in agreement with the values of free acidity; DAG types found were in agreement with the representativeness of different TAG species.

Effect of palm oil replacement with monoglyceride organogel and hydrogel on sweet bread properties

The potentialities of monoglyceride (MG) organogel and hydrogel containing sunflower oil in replacing palm oil were studied in sweet breads. This substitution was addressed to reduce the total saturated fat content of the product. The effects of the palm oil substitution were determined by assessing bread specific volume, moisture, crumb grain, firmness, and proton density/mobility by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Sweet bread prepared with hydrogel has quality characteristics comparable to that of control palm oil sample. This result was attributed to the capacity of MG crystallized lamellas to favor oil spreading over flour, replacing the typical functionality of triacylglycerol crystal networks. On the contrary, when oil was embedded in the organogel structure, less leavened and firmer bread with inhomogeneous lipid distribution was obtained. In this case, monoglycerides were probably engaged in oil networking and were less available to interact with other ingredients and exert their softening and anti-staling activities.

Plant Sterols and Tocols Profile of Vegetable Oils Consumed in Egypt

The aim of this study was to quantify specific phytosterols/-stanols (campesterol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, β-sitostanol, and campestanol) and tocols (tocopherol and tocotrienol) in the vegetable oils (corn oil, sunflower oil, blended oil, and palm oil) available in the Egyptian market. Gas-liquid chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography procedures were applied to 12 vegetable oils. The best source of phytosterols was the corn oil (4814 μg/g oil) samples while palm oil samples had the lowest phytosterols level (660 μg/g). The mean value of total phytosterols was 2872 and 3443 μg/g for sunflower and blended oil samples, respectively. β-Sitosterol was the dominant phytosterol (ca. 70% of the total phytosterols), followed by campesterol (ca. 16%) and stigmasterol (ca. 9.4%), while β-sitostanol and campestanol were detected in some oils in small amounts or traces. The levels of mean total tocols in corn, sunflower, blended, and palm oil samples were 891.4, 716.1, 707.5, and 311.8 μg/g, respectively. In sunflower and blended oil samples, α-tocopherol was the main tocol, which accounted for more than 80% of total tocols, while α-tocopherol was found in lower levels in corn and palm oils accounting for ca. 40% of total tocols.

Geographical provenance of palm oil by fatty acid and volatile compound fingerprinting techniques

Analytical methods are required in addition to administrative controls to verify the geographical origin of vegetable oils such as palm oil in an objective manner. In this study the application of fatty acid and volatile organic compound fingerprinting in combination with chemometrics have been applied to verify the geographical origin of crude palm oil (continental scale). For this purpose 94 crude palm oil samples were collected from South East Asia (55), South America (11) and Africa (28). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to develop a hierarchical classification model by combining two consecutive binary PLS-DA models. First, a PLS-DA model was built to distinguish South East Asian from non-South East Asian palm oil samples. Then a second model was developed, only for the non-Asian samples, to discriminate African from South American crude palm oil. Models were externally validated by using them to predict the identity of new authentic samples. The fatty acid fingerprinting model revealed three misclassified samples. The volatile compound fingerprinting models showed an 88%, 100% and 100% accuracy for the South East Asian, African and American class, respectively. The verification of the geographical origin of crude palm oil is feasible by fatty acid and volatile compound fingerprinting. Further research is required to further validate the approach and to increase its spatial specificity to country/province scale.

Liquid‐Liquid Extraction/Low‐Temperature Purification (LLE/LTP) Followed by Dispersive Solid‐Phase Extraction (d‐SPE) Cleanup for Multiresidue Analysis in Palm Oil by LC‐QTOF‐MS

An evaluation of the extraction of multiresidue pesticides from palm oil by liquid‐liquid extraction/low‐temperature purification (LLE/LTP) coupled with dispersive solid‐phase extraction (d‐SPE) as the cleanup procedure with the determination by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry using electrospray as the ionization source (LC‐ESI‐MS) was carried out. Optimization approaches were studied in terms of d‐SPE to select efficiency of type and mass of adsorbents to obtain the highest recovery yield of pesticides and the lowest coextract fat residues in the final extract. The optimal conditions of d‐SPE were obtained using 3 g of palm oil, 4 g anhydrous MgSO4, 150 mg of PSA, and 50 mg of GCB (PSA: GCB (3 : 1 w/w)). Recovery study was performed at three concentration levels (25, 50, and 100 ng kg−1), yielding recovery rates between 71.8 and 112.4% except diuron with relative standard deviations of 3.2–15.1%. Detection and quantification limits were lower than 2.7 and 8.2 ng kg−1, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of market‐purchased palm oil samples from two different brands collected in Kuala Lumpur, showing its potential applicability and revealing the presence of some of the target species in the ng g−1 range.

A Survey on the Fatty Acid Composition of Commercial Palm Oil in Thailand

Seven commercially available palm oils in Thailand were studied to evaluate their fatty acid composition using the GC-MS tandem. Seven to eight different fatty acids distributed in varying proportion were identified in each sample. Saturated fatty acids accounted for 24.82 to 44.65% of the total fatty acids. Hexadecanoic acid contributed the highest percentage among the saturated fatty acids identified. This was followed by octanoic acid. Dodecanoic, tetradecanoic and eicosanoic acids were also observed in trace amount. The percentage distribution of unsaturated fatty acids with a range of 55.35-75.18% was determined to be higher than the percentage of saturated fatty acids. 9-Octadecenoic acid largely contributed to the high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids in the palm oil samples. This was followed by 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid. A trace amount of 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid was also detected but only in two palm oil samples.

Comparative study of different clean-up techniques for the determination of λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in palm oil matrices by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

Solid phase extraction (SPE) and dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) were compared and evaluated for the determination of λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in palm oil matrices by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Several SPE sorbents such as graphitised carbon black (GCB), primary secondary amine (PSA), C(18), silica, and florisil were tested in order to minimise fat residues. The results show that mixed sorbents using GCB and PSA obtained cleaner extracts than a single GCB and PSA sorbents. The average recoveries obtained for each pesticide ranged between 81% and 114% at five fortification levels with the relative standard deviation of less than 7% in all cases. The limits of detection for these pesticides were ranged between 0.025 and 0.05 μg/g. The proposed method was applied successfully for the residue determination of both λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in crude palm oil samples obtained from local mills throughout Malaysia.

Environmental and fungal contamination of palm oil sold in Anyigba Market, Nigeria

In this present study, the environmental and fungal contamination of palm oil collected from Anyigba market, Nigeria was investigated. Results revealed the presence of 0.3% moisture, 0.2% impurity and 6.0% free fatty acid. These values were higher than the acceptable values for palm oil as recommended by the Nigerian Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) Research. Microbial content of the palm oil samples showed the following isolates Phialophora jeanselmei , Trichophyton schoeuleinii and Microsporum canis . The presence of these potentially harmful microorganisms in the palm oil samples portrays a relative health hazards to the consumers of the product. The quality of palm oil may thus be affected by environmental and fungal content. Consequently, an improved method of handling, processing and storage is advocated.