Chemical Sciences A comparative study of triglyceride and fatty acid compositions of palm oils from

Abstract

Triglyceride and fatty acid composition were determined for palm oils from three different oil palm plantations in South-Eastern Nigeria. Each of the plantations belong to slightly different vegetation belts. The red fruits if the Tenera variety exhibited significant variations (P < 0.5) across the locations. Much of the variations occurred in triglycerides with two or more unsaturated fatty acids in their molecules (P00,000 and OLL) with P00 showing greater differences than the others. Most of the constituent unsaturated fatty acids were observed to vary in their concentrations across locations. Both the locations and varietal source appear to affect the mean total unsaturation of the oil samples.

Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences Volume , No 1 January (2001) pp. 61-66



KEY WORDS:

oil palm, palm oil, Elaeis guineensis, Location, varieties, triglycerides, fatty acids, Dura, Tenera.