Research advancements in palm oil nutrition

Abstract

Palm oil is the major oil produced, with annual world production in excess of 50 million tonnes. About 85% of global palm oil produced is used in food applications. Over the past three decades, research on nutritional benefits of palm oil have demonstrated the nutritional adequacy of palm oil and its products, and have resulted in transitions in the understanding these attributes. Numerous studies have demonstrated that palm oil was similar to unsaturated oils with regards to effects on blood lipids. Palm oil provides a healthy alternative to trans-fatty acid containing hydrogenated fats that have been demonstrated to have serious deleterious effects on health. The similar effects of palm oil on blood lipids, comparable to other vegetable oils could very well be due to the structure of the major triglycerides in palm oil, which has an unsaturated fatty acid in the stereospecific numbers (sn)-2 position of the glycerol backbone. In addition, palm oil is well endowed with a bouquet of phytonutrients beneficial to health, such as tocotrienols, carotenoids, and phytosterols. This review will provide an overview of studies that have established palm oil as a balanced and nutritious oil.

Nutrigenomics and Its Application in Palm Oil Nutrition and Health Research

“…Unlike palmatic acid where the long chain SFA is situated at sn-1 and sn-2 position, in oleic acid it is only situated in the sn-2 position (May and Nesaretnam, 2014). When absorbed into the body, oleic acid induces beneficial effects similar to that of olive oil (Choudhury et al, 1995;Voon et al, 2011).…”

“…However, its antioxidant capacity is said to be 10 times higher compared to vitamin E (May and Nesaretnam, 2014). Coenzyme Q 10 is a small electron carrier needed in several mitochondrial biochemical pathways such as oxidative phosphorylation,…”

Study on the influence of palm oil on blood and liver biochemical parameters, beta-carotene and tocochromanols content as well as antioxidant activity in rats

“…This was further confirmed by Manjeshwar, D'Souza, Bhat, Bhat, and Arunkumar () who observed significant decrease in serum TC, LDL, and Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol in rats fed with a high‐cholesterol diet with different vegetable oils including palm oil. Moreover, due to favorable oleic acid position in palm oil it has been appropriately considered as promoting health as olive oil (WHO HQ, ; May & Nesaretnam, ).…”

Bioavailability of Palm Oil Carotenoids Consumed from Different Foods

“…Preformed vitamin A from animal products are not always available (less than 20%) or accessible for people living in developing countries, while provitamin A carotenoids from certain plant products are generally more available (more than 80%) and cheaper (Souganidis, Laillou, Leyvraz, & Moench-Pfanner, 2013;Grant, 2015). This is the case of the crude palm oil (CPO) extracted from the pulp of Elaeis guineensis, which has traditionally been an important cooking oil in the diet of the populations living in or near CPO production regions (Choo & Kalanithi, 2014).…”