palm kernel oil - palm kernel oil

Palm kernel oil is an edible plant oil derived from the kernel of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis.[1] It should not be confused with the other two edible oils derived from palm fruits: coconut oil, extracted from the kernel of the coconut, and palm oil, extracted from the pulp of the oil palm fruit.[2]

DETAILED DESACRIPTION

Palm kernel oil is an edible plant oil derived from the kernel of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis.[1] It should not be confused with the other two edible oils derived from palm fruits: coconut oil, extracted from the kernel of the coconut, and palm oil, extracted from the pulp of the oil palm fruit.[2]
Palm kernel oil, coconut oil, and palm oil are three of the few highly saturated vegetable fats. Palm kernel oil, which is semi-solid at room temperature, is more saturated than palm oil and comparable to coconut oil. Like all vegetable oils, these three palm-derived oils do not contain cholesterol (found in unrefined animal fats),[3][4] although saturated fat intake increases both LDL[5] and HDL[6] cholesterol.
Palm kernel oil is a common cooking ingredient; its increasing use in the commercial food industry throughout the world is buoyed by its lower cost, the high oxidative stability (saturation) of the refined product when used for frying, and its lack of cholesterol and trans fatty acids, both viewed as being heart-healthy attributes.
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History
Oil from the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis has long been recognized in West African countries. European merchants trading with West Africa occasionally purchased palm kernel oil for use in Europe, but since the oil was bulky and cheap, palm kernel oil remained rare outside West Africa.[citation needed] In the Asante Confederacy, state-owned slaves built large plantations of oil palm trees, while in the neighbouring Kingdom of Dahomey, King Ghezo passed a law in 1856 forbidding his subjects from cutting down oil palms.
Palm kernel oil became a highly sought-after commodity by British traders, for use as an industrial lubricant for machinery during Britain's Industrial Revolution[citation needed]. Oil from the oil palm formed the basis of soap products, such as Lever Brothers' (now Unilever) "Sunlight soap", and the American Palmolive brand.[7] By c. 1870, palm kernel oil constituted the primary export of some West African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria, although this was overtaken by cocoa in the 1880s.[citation needed]
In December 2006, the Malaysian government initiated merger of Sime Darby Berhad, Golden Hope Plantations Berhad and Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad to create the world’s largest listed oil palm plantation player.[8] In a landmark deal valued at RM31 billion, the merger involved the businesses of eight listed companies controlled by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). A special purpose vehicle, Synergy Drive Sdn Bhd, offered to acquire all the businesses including assets and liabilities of the eight listed companies. With 543,000 hectares of plantation landbank, the merger resulted in the new oil palm plantation entity that could produce 2.5 million tonnes of palm oil or 5% of global production in 2006. A year later, the merger completed and the entity was renamed Sime Darby Berhad.[9]
The USDA has published historical production figures for palm kernel oil for years beginning October 1 and ending September 30:[10]
Year Production, Million Tonne
2005/06 4.40
2006/07 4.48
2007/08 4.90
2008/09 5.00
Research
In the 1960s, research and development (R&D) in oil palm breeding began to expand after Malaysia's Department of Agriculture established an exchange program with West African economies and four private plantations formed the Oil Palm Genetics Laboratory.[11] The government also established Kolej Serdang, which became the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) in the 1970s to train agricultural and agro-industrial engineers and agro-business graduates to conduct research in the field.
In 1979, following strong lobbying from oil palm planters and support from the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and UPM, the government set up the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (Porim).[12] B.C. Sekhar was instrumental in Porim's recruitment and training of scientists to undertake R&D in oil palm tree breeding, oil palm nutrition and potential oleochemical use. Sekhar, as founder and chairman, strategised Porim to be a public-and-private-coordinated institution. As a result, Porim (renamed Malaysian Palm Oil Board in 2000) became Malaysia's top research entity with the highest technology commercialisation rate of 20% compared to 5% among local universities.[citation needed] While MPOB has gained international prominence, its relevance is dependent on it churning out breakthrough findings in the world's fast-changing oil crop genetics, dietary fat nutrition and process engineering landscape.
Nutrition
Many processed foods contain palm kernel oil as an ingredient.
Palm kernel oil is composed of fatty acids, esterified with glycerol just like any ordinary fat. It is high in saturated fatty acids, about 80%. The oil palm gives its name to the 16-carbon saturated fatty acid palmitic acid found in palm kernel oil, palm oil, and coconut oil.
Further information: palmitic acid
The approximate concentration of fatty acids (FAs) in palm kernel oil is as follows:[13]
Fatty acid content of palm kernel oil
Type of fatty acid pct
Lauric saturated C12
  48.2%
Myristic saturated C14
  16.2%
Palmitic saturated C16
  8.4%
Capric saturated C10
  3.4%
Caprylic saturated C8
  3.3%
Stearic saturated C18
  2.5%
Oleic monounsaturated C18
  15.3%
Linoleic polyunsaturated C18
  2.3%
Other/Unknown   0.4%
red: Saturated; orange: Monounsaturated; blue: Polyunsaturated
Uses
Splitting of oils and fats by hydrolysis, or under basic conditions saponification, yields fatty acids, with glycerin (glycerol) as a byproduct. The split-off fatty acids are a mixture ranging from C4 to C18, depending on the type of oil/fat.[14][15]
Resembling coconut oil, palm kernel oil is packed with myristic and lauric fatty acids and therefore suitable for the manufacture of soaps, washing powders and personal care products. Lauric acid is very important in soap making. A good soap must contain at least 15 per cent laurate for quick lathering, while soap made for use in sea water is based on virtually 100 per cent laurate.[16]
Derivatives of palmitic acid were used in combination with naphtha during World War II to produce napalm (aluminum naphthenate and aluminum palmitate).[17]
Biodiesel, biomass and biogas
Palm kernel oil, like other vegetable oils, can be used to create biodiesel for internal combustion engines. Biodiesel has been promoted as a renewable energy source to reduce net emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Therefore, biodiesel is seen as a way to decrease the impact of the greenhouse effect and as a way of diversifying energy supplies to assist national energy security plans.