Prospective oil palm (Elaeis sp) materials for high tocotrienol content

Abstract

Crude palm oil (CPO) contains various forms of vitamin E, including tocopherol, tocotrienol and a small amount of tocomonoenol, collectively known as tocols. Among these, tocotrienol is dominant in CPO, constituting approximately 70% of the total tocols; unlike tocopherol, which is known for its anti-ageing properties, tocotrienol exhibits potent antioxidant activities, 60 times stronger than tocopherol. Tocotrienol is recognized for its diverse health benefits as a neuroprotective, nephroprotective, anti-cancer, anti-cholesterol, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory agent. Consequently, tocotrienol holds immense potential for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. The exploration of oil palm materials planted in Kebun Adolina PTPN IV, North Sumatera, has been conducted since 2020, encompassing diverse genetic backgrounds, including commercial palm DxP varieties, an interspecific hybrid of Elaeis oleifera x Elaeis guineensis, wild-type palm materials originated from Angola and Cameroon, and palm clones of commercial DxP varieties. The analysis revealed a wide range of total vitamin E (tocol) content, ranging from 310.78 ppm to 1681.45 ppm. Among the genotypes studied, AD14S311 and AD14S2220 emerged as promising candidates for ortets to develop oil palm varieties with high content, especially tocotrienol. These genotypes demonstrated a high oil extraction rate (OER) and a total vitamin E level above 1000 ppm. These findings remade the potential genotypes as genetic resources for breeding programs in developing oil palm varieties enriched with tocotrienol and fulfilled the commercial value.