355



























Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr 2003;12 (3): 355-362






Review Article

Palm fruit chemistry and nutrition*

Kalyana Sundram PhD, Ravigadevi Sambanthamurthi PhD and Yew-Ai Tan PhD

Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), P.O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia





The palm fruit (Elaies guineensis) yields palm oil, a palmitic-oleic rich semi solid fat and the fat-soluble minor
components, vitamin E (tocopherols, tocotrienols), carotenoids and phytosterols. A recent innovation has led to
the recovery and concentration of water-soluble antioxidants from palm oil milling waste, characterized by its
high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids. These natural ingredients pose both challenges and oppor-
tunities for the food and nutraceutical industries. Palm oil’s rich content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty
acids has actually been turned into an asset in view of current dietary recommendations aimed at zero trans
content in solid fats such as margarine, shortenings and frying fats. Using palm oil in combination with other
oils and fats facilitates the development of a new generation of fat products that can be tailored to meet most
current dietary recommendations. The wide range of natural palm oil fractions, differing in their physico-
chemical characteristics, the most notable of which is the carotenoid-rich red palm oil further assists this. Palm
vitamin E (30% tocopherols, 70% tocotrienols) has been extensively researched for its nutritional and health
properties, including antioxidant activities, cholesterol lowering, anti-cancer effects and protection against
atherosclerosis. These are attributed largely to its tocotrienol content. A relatively new output from the oil
palm fruit is the water-soluble phenolic-flavonoid-rich antioxidant complex. This has potent antioxidant
properties coupled with beneficial effects against skin, breast and other cancers. Enabled by its water
solubility, this is currently being tested for use as nutraceuticals and in cosmetics with potential benefits against
skin aging. A further challenge would be to package all these palm ingredients into a single functional food for
better nutrition and health.

Key words: palm oil, fatty acids, cardiovascular disease, cancer, vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids



Introduction
The oil palm is a monocotyledon belonging to the genus
Elaeis. It is a perennial tree crop and the highest oil
producing plant, yielding an average of 3.7 tonnes of oil
per hectare per year in Malaysia. The crop is unique in
that it produces two types of oil. The fleshy mesocarp
produces palm oil, which is used mainly for its edible
properties and the kernel produces palm kernel oil, which
has wide application in the oleochemical industry. The
genus Elaeis comprises two species, namely E. guineensis
and E. oleifera.1 E. guineensis originates from West Africa
and the commercial planting material is mainly of this
species. E. oleifera is a stumpy plant of South American
origin and its oil is characterised by a high oleic acid
content. Currently, most of the world’s production of palm
oil comes from South-East Asia, in particular Malaysia
and Indonesia. Malaysian crude palm oil production
increased from 8.3 million tonnes in 1998 to 11.2 million
tonnes in 2002, maintaining the country’s position as the
world’s largest supplier of palm oil. Currently palm oil
accounts for about 13% of the total world production of
oils and fats and is expected to overtake soybean oil as the
most important vegetable oil.

Origin
Elaies guineensis originating from West Africa was first
introduced to Brazil and other tropical countries in the




15th Century by the Portuguese.2 However, its ropagation
did not take off until the 19th Century when the Dutch
brought seeds from West Africa to Indonesia resulting in
four seedlings planted in Bogor, Indonesia in 1848. The
palms were dura and the progenies from these seedlings
were planted as ornamentals in Deli and became known as
Deli Dura. From there the oil palm was sent to the
Botanical Gardens in Singapore in 1875, and subsequently
brought to Malaya (as West Malaysia was then known) in
1878. The oil palm was initially planted in Malaya as an
ornamental and the first commercial planting was only in
1917.
Elaeis oleifera from South America has higher oleic
and linoleic acid content and lower content of palmitic and
other saturated acids. The iodine value ranges from 78-80.
The current main interest in E. oleifera is in the potential
of transmitting its useful characters to inter-specific
hybrids with E. guineensis. The oil palm fruit is a drupe,
which forms in a tight bunch.

Correspondence address: Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB),
P.O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 603-8922 2509; Fax: 603-8925 9446
Email: kalyana@mpob.gov.my

Accepted 30 June 2003
*Presented at Symposium on "North & West African Foods and
Health" February 8th 2003, Marrakech, Morocco

K Sundram, R Sambanthamurthi and YA Tan 356
The pericarp comprises three layers: the exocarp (skin);
mesocarp (outer pulp containing palm oil); and endocarp
(a hard shell enclosing the kernel (the endosperm) which
contains oil and carbohydrate reserves for the embryo).
Fruit development starts at approximately two weeks after
anthesis (WAA). Oil deposition in the endosperm starts
at approximately 12 WAA and is almost complete by 16
WAA.3 During this period the endosperm and endocarp
slowly harden and by 16 WAA the endocarp is a hard
shell enclosing a hard white endosperm – the kernel. Oil
deposition in the mesocarp starts at approximately 15
WAA and continues until fruit maturity at about 20
WAA. The fruits on a bunch do not ripen simultaneously
owing to slight variation in the time of pollination. Fruits
at the end of each spikelet ripen first and those at the base
last. Fruits on the outside of the bunch are large and deep
orange when ripe while the inner fruits are smaller and
paler.
In the commercial Malaysian tenera variety, the
neutral lipids, especially triacylglycerols (TG), increase
Chemistry of palm oil
Like all oils, TGs are the major constituents of palm oil.
Over 95% of palm oil consists of mixtures of TGs, that is,
glycerol molecules, each esterified with three fatty acids.
During oil extraction from the mesocarp, the hydrophobic
TGs attract other fat- or oil-soluble cellular components.
These are the minor components of palm oil such as
phosphatides, sterols, pigments, tocopherols, tocotrienols
and trace metals. Other components in palm oil are the
metabolites in the biosynthesis of TGs and products from
lipolytic activity. These include the monoacylglycerols
(MGs), diacylglycerols (DGs) and free fatty acids (FFAs).
The fatty acids belong to the class of aliphatic acids,
such as palmitic (16:0), stearic (18:0) and oleic (18:1) in
animal and vegetable fats and oils. The major fatty acids
in palm oil are myristic (14:0), palmitic (16:0), stearic
(18:0), oleic (18:1) and linoleic (18:2).5 The typical fatty
acid composition of palm oil from Malaysia is presented
in Table 1. Palm oil has saturated and unsaturated fatty
acids in approximately equal amounts. Most of the fatty rapidly from 16 WAA onwards, along with the parallel
accumulation of total lipids, reaching their maximum at
20 WAA. The polar lipids simultaneously decrease to
less than 1% of the total lipids at 20 WAA. The Nigerian
dura variety follows a similar pattern except that rapid TG
accumulation occurs between 18-22 WAA. Palmitoleic
and linolenic acids are present in significant amounts in
the early stages of lipid synthesis. These are typical
chloroplast and membrane fatty acids, reflecting a high
ratio of chloroplast and cellular synthesis to storage lipid
synthesis. These fatty acids however are undetectable
after 16 WAA, probably greatly diluted by the accumu-
lation of storage lipids. The immature mesocarp contains
large amounts of chlorophyll which decline by about 17
WAA, accompanied by a massive accumulation of caro-
tenes as the fruit ripens.4 Also characteristic of the
immature green mesocarp are large amounts of sterols.
As the fruit matures, the sterols decrease as a conse-
quence of dilution by the tremendous amount of TG
synthesised.























acids are present as TGs. The different placement of fatty
Table 2. Triacylglycerol composition (%) of Malaysian tener
No Double Bond 1 Double Bond 2 Double Bo
MPP
PMP
PPP
PPS
PSP







Others
0.29
0.22
6.91
1.21
0.12
-






0.16
MOP
MPO
POP
POS
PMO
PPO
PSO
SOS
SPO




0.83
0.15
20.02
3.50
0.22
7.16
0.68
0.15
0.63



0.34
MLP
MOO
PLP
PLS
PPL
OSL
SPL
POO
SOO
OPO
OSO
PSL

2
Total 9.57 33.68
Kifli (1981)6 M, myristic; P, palmitic, S, stearic; O, oleic; L, linoleic

















Table 1. Typical fatty acid composition (%) of palm oil
Fatty acid
chain length
Mean Range
observed
Standard
deviation
12:0 0.3 0 - 1 0.12
14:0 1.1 0.9 – 1.5 0.08
16:0 43.5 39.2 – 45.8 0.95
16:1 0.2 0 – 0.4 0.05
18:0 4.3 3.7 – 5.1 0.18
18:1 (n-9) 39.8 37.4 – 44.1 0.94
18:2 (n-6) 10.2 8.7 – 12.5 0.56
18:3 0.3 0 – 0.6 0.07
20:0 0.2 0 – 0.4 0.16





















a palm oil
nds 3 Double Bonds >4 Double Bonds
0.26
0.43
6.36
1.11
1.17
0.11
0.10
0.54
1.81
1.86
0.18
-
0.19
MLO
PLO
POL
SLO
SOL
OOO
OPL
MOL
0.14
6.59
3.39
0.60
0.30
5.38
0.61
-




0.15
PLL
OLO
OOL
OLL
LOL
1.08
1.71
1.76
0.56
0.14







0.22
34.12 17.16 5.47