Coconut (Cocos nucifera) contains 55-65% oil, having C12

Testa, a by-product from the coconut processing industry is getting wasted. A study was carried out to utilize testa as a source of edible oil. The composition of the oils from testa of wet coconut (WCT) and copra (CT) were evaluated and compared with wet coconut whole, copra whole, wet coconut white kernel and copra white kernel. The samples had fat as a major component ranging from 34 to 63 %. Oils had 90-98.2 % triacylglycerols, 1-8 % diacylglycerols and 0.4-2 % monoacylglycerols. The triacylglycerol composition of oil from WCT had decreased trilaurin and increased triolein. Lauric acid content of CT was 40.9 % and WCT was 32.4 % whereas other oils were 50-53 %. Oils from testa were richer in monounsaturates and polyunsaturates than other coconut oil samples. The phenolics and phytosterols content were 0.2-1.9 % and 31-51 mg%, respectively. The total phenolic acids and tocopherol content of oils from CT (313.9 lg%, 22.3 mg%) and WCT (389.0 lg%, 100.1 mg%) were higher than other samples (94.8-291.4 lg%, 2.5-6.7 mg%). These studies indicated that the oil from coconut testa contained more of natural antioxidants such as tocopherols, tocotrienols and phenolics compared to coconut kernel oil and may confer health benefits.

The effect of different processing steps of refining on retention or the availability of oryzanol in refined oil and the oryzanol composition of Indian paddy cultivars and commercial products of the rice bran oil (RBO) industry were investigated. Degumming and dewaxing of crude RBO removed only 1.1 and 5.9% of oryzanol while the alkali treatment removed 93.0 to 94.6% of oryzanol from the original crude oil. Irrespective of the strength of alkali (12 to 20° Be studied), retention of oryzanol in the refined RBO was only 5.4-17.2% for crude oil, 5.9-15.0% for degummed oil, and 7.0 to 9.7% for degummed and dewaxed oil. The oryzanol content of oil extracted from the bran of 18 Indian paddy cultivars ranged from 1.63 to 2.72%, which is the first report of its kind in the literature on oryzanol content. The oryzanol content ranged from 1.1 to 1.74% for physically refined RBO while for alkali-refined oil it was 0.19-0.20%. The oil subjected to physical refining (commercial sample) retained the original amount of oryzanol after refining (1.60 and 1.74%), whereas the chemically refined oil showed a considerably lower amount (0.19%). Thus, the oryzanol, which is lost during the chemical refining process, has been carried into the soapstock. The content of oryzanol of the commercial RBO, soapstock, acid oil, and deodorizer distillate were in the range: 1.7-2.1, 6.3-6.9, 3.3-7.4, and 0.79%, respectively. These results showed that the processing steps-viz., degumming (1.1%), dewaxing (5.9%), physical refining (0%), bleaching and deodorization of the oil-did not affect the content of oryzanol appreciably, while 83-95% of it was lost during alkali refining. The oryzanol composition of crude oil and soapstock as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography indicated 24-methylene cycloartanyl ferulate (30-38%) and campesteryl ferulate (24.4-26.9%) as the major ferulates. The results presented here are probably the first systematic report on oryzanol availability in differently processed RBO, soapstocks, acid oils, and for oils of Indian paddy cultivars.

Cold pressed and hexane extracted moringa seed oils (CPMSO and HEMSO) were evaluated for their physico-chemical and stability characteristics. The iodine value, saponification value and unsaponifiable matter of CPMSO and HEMSO were found to be 67.8 and 68.5 g I2 / 100 g oil, 190.4 and 191.2 mg KOH / g oil and 0.59 and 0.65%, respectively. The total tocopherols of CPMSO and HEMSO were found to be 95.5 and 90.2 mg/Kg. The fatty acid composition of CPMSO and HEMSO showed oleic acid as the major fatty acid (78-79%). The oxidative, thermal and frying stabilities of the CPMSO were compared with commercial raw and refined groundnut oil (GNO and RGNO). The CPMSO was of adequate thermal stability and better oxidative stability as it showed 79% lesser peroxide formation than GNO. The frying stability of CPMSO was better as it showed lower increase in free fatty acid (28%), peroxide value (10 meq O2/Kg) and color (25%) than RGNO (48%, 22 meq O2/kg and 52%, respectively) after frying.

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