Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 30 (3) September 2018, p. 464-471

A PROCESS TO SIMULTANEOUSLY PRODUCE A HIGH DIACYLGLYCEROL OIL AND A CAROTENES-ENRICHED TRIACYLGLYCEROL OIL FROM OIL PALM FRESH FRUIT BUNCHES

NABILAH KAMALIAH MUSTAFFA*; HARRISON LIK NANG LAU* and SOH KHEANG LOH*

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21894/jopr.2018.0041
Published Online: 7 September 2018
ABSTRACT

Diacylglycerol (DAG) oil has great potential in overcoming the obesity problem and weight-related disorders. This article attempted to produce high DAG oil directly from the oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB). The FFB were cut into smaller portions and subjected to different storage conditions. After a fiveday storage, the oil was extracted and partially refined, and then subjected to two stages of multistage short path distillation at a pressure of <10 mTorr and a temperature of >120°C. At the end of these processes, two different oil fractions were obtained, i.e. the final distillate which contained 60 wt% of DAG, and the residual oil which was equivalent to the refined palm oil but enriched with carotenes.

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* Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 6 Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
E-mail: nabilah@mpob.gov.my