Hybrid palm oil (Elaeis oleifera×Elaeis guineensis) supplementation improves plasma antioxidant capacity in humans

Hybrid palm oil obtained from interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera × Elaeis guineensis palm (HPO) has been recently proved to have a favorable impact on human plasma lipids related to cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the present work, we describe for the first time, the functional effect of crude HPO supplementation on human antioxidant plasma/serum status as assessed by the total phenolic content (Folin–Ciocalteu), ORAC and TEAC assays. One hundred sixty eligible participants (>50 years) were randomized and assigned to one of the two treatments: 25 mL hybrid palm oil (HPO group) or 25 mL extra virgin olive oil (EVOO group) daily for 3 months. This study showed that supplementation of 25 mL of HPO for a period of 3 months significantly increased (p < 0.01) the total phenolic content (19.2%) as well as the antioxidant capacity of human plasma measured by both ORAC (92.1%) and TEAC (42.9%) methods. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between HPO and EVOO groups in a repeated measures analysis of variance for TPC (p = 0.344), TEAC (p = 0.217), and ORAC (p = 0.318) values. These results confirm that HPO can be considered a promising tropical edible oil with potential beneficial health effects.