Quality evaluation of virgin coconut oil extracted from different processing methods

Abstract

Virgin coconut oil (VCO), the purest form of coconut oil, is growing in popularity as a functional food. VCO is extracted from different cold and hot methods. In this study, VCO was extracted from fresh and mature kernels of west coast tall (WCT) coconut variety using hot, cold centrifugation and enzymatic methods. Based on the organoleptic evaluation, VCO extracted from the hot process showed the maximum mean score of 8.99 for overall acceptability. Physicochemical properties of VCO were statistically analysed and compared with the guidelines for edible oils established by the Asian Pacific Coconut Community (APCC). The results showed that there was a significant difference in oil recovery, moisture content, saponification value, iodine value, fatty acid profile, tocopherol, total phenol content and total antioxidant activity of VCO extracted from hot (HVCO), cold centrifugation (CCVCO) and enzymatic methods (EVCO). The oil recovery was higher in EVCO and lowest moisture content was detected in HVCO. Fatty acid profile demonstrated that lauric acid was the major fatty acid present in VCOs with a range of 45.05 to 47.05%. CCVCO contained more lauric acid (47.05%), tocopherol (27.68 μg/g), total phenol content (9.97 GAE μg/g) and total antioxidant activity (μg/mg) than EVCO and HVCO.