Crude palm oil from interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis: Alcoholic constituents of unsaponifiable matter

Interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera ×E. guineensis (O×G) palm is currently receiving increasing attention because of its interesting glycerides structure and composition. In this study, the alcoholic constituents of unsaponifiable matter of crude hybrid O×G palm oil were characterized for the first time and compared to data obtained analyzing crude African palm oil (E. guineensis).Total unsaponifiable matter content was 1.18 ± 0.11 g/100 g in O×G hybrid oil and 1.05 ± 0.06 g/100 g in African palm oil. O×G oil was characterized by lower contents of squalene and alcoholic constituents where the main differences concerned 4-desmethylsterols and isoprenoid alcohols: O×G oil was characterized by higher (23.6 ± 6.1 %) contents of isoprenoid alcohols and by a different phytol/geranylgeraniol ratio. The tocol fraction constituted the class of unsaponifiable components on which the genetic exerts the greatest influence: tocol content showed no significant differences between the two oils, however, hybrid palm oil was characterized by higher percentages of γ-tocotrienol (59.7 ± 1.1) and δ-tocotrienol (11.7 ± 0.8) and lower percentages of tocopherols (10.6± 0.3), almost entirely constituted of the α isomer. These results suggest that O×G oil can also be considered an interesting alimentary source of nutraceutical components, especially for bioactive tocotrienols. © AOCS 2015.