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Palm oil is frequently confused with alm kernel oil, to the extent that their names are often
interchanged!. Palm oil and palm kernel oil have different chemical and hysical roerties,
different nutritional and metabolic properties, and come from different parts of the oil palm!

The major difference between palm oil and palm kernel oil is in their fatty acid content. The
main ¬  ¬

are
 
 

  . In contrast the main ¬ 
¬
 

are
   
 
. Note that amongst these fatty
acids, lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic are saturated fatty acids (12, 14, 16 and 18 carbons,
respectively). Oleic acid is monunsaturated (18 carbons, 1 double bond) while linoleic acid is
polyunsaturated (18 carbons, 2 double bonds) .

Despite these major differences, people are often surprised to learn that palm oil and palm kernel
oil are produces of a single oil crop - G ! However, while palm oil is extracted
from the carotene and Vitamin E-rich mesocarp of the palm fruitlets, palm kernel oil is extracted
from the kernel (or seed) that is encased in a shell in the center of the fruitlet.

Palm oil is also at times confused with coconut oil - extracted from the coconut fruit of ›  
 
Πan oil crop that is widely grown in the Philippines and Indonesia. Actually, coconut oil
has a fatty acid profile that is almost identical to that of palm kernel oil. Since palm kernel oil
and coconut oil have very high contents of lauric acid, they are referred to as lauric oils.

Palm Oil is also known as palm fruit oil. It is an Y YYYY 


 obtained from sun-
basked fresh fruit bunches of the non-GM (genetically modified) oil palm (G ).
Virgin palm oil is rich in carotenoids (pro Vitamin A), tocotrienols and tocopherols J



Y YY Y


 Y Y YY Furthermore, it contains no trans fatty acids.

Palm oil is not to be confused with palm kernel oil and coconut oil. They are nutritionally,
compositionally and functionally distinct.

Palm oil contains palmitic acid (a fatty acid made by your body), the monounsaturated oleic
acid, polyunsaturated linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid) and stearic acid. The typical blend in
palm oil is 45% palmitic, 40% oleic, 10% linoleic and 5% stearic. Palm oil's naturally balanced
fatty acid composition offers food manufacturers greater latitude to formulate hydrogenated fat-
free and trans fat-free products.

Palm oil is the second largest edible oil and accounts for approximately 23 per cent of the world's
fats and oil supply. Since 80 percent of palm produced is used in food - its nutritional properties
are of extreme importance. An extensive scientific literature exists on palm oil's effects on
various aspects of human health.

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