Information AboutPalm Oil |
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Palm oil is a form of edible Vegetable Oil obtained from the Fruit of the Oil Palm tree. Previously the second-most widely produced edible oil, after Soybean Oil , 28 million metric tons were produced worldwide in 2004 United States Department Of Agriculture , ''Agricultural Statistics 2004''. Table 3-51.. It may have now surpassed soybean oil as the most widely produced vegetable oil in the world.Malaysian Oil Palm Statistics 2005. Malaysian Palm Oil Board. The palm fruit is the source of both palm oil (extracted from palm fruit) and palm kernel oil (extracted from the fruit seeds). Babassu Oil is extracted from the kernels of the Babassu palm. Palm oil itself is reddish because it contains a high amount of Betacarotene . It is used as Cooking Oil , to make Margarine and is a component of many processed foods. Boiling it for a few minutes destroys the Carotenoid s and the oil becomes white. Palm oil is one of the few vegetable oils relatively high in Saturated Fats (such as Coconut Oil ) and thus semi-solid at room temperature. HISTORY Palm oil (from the African Oil Palm, ''Elaeis guineensis'') was long recognized in West Africa n countries, and among West African peoples it is in widespread use as a cooking oil. European merchants trading with West Africa occasionally purchased palm oil for use in Europe , but as the oil was bulky and cheap, and due to the much higher profits available from Slave-trading , palm oil remained rare outside West Africa. During the early Nineteenth Century , the decline of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Europe's demand for legitimate commerce (trade in material goods rather than human lives) obliged African countries to seek new sources of trade revenue. In the Asante Confederacy , state-owned Slave s 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 oil became a highly sought-after commodity by British traders, the oil being used as industrial Lubricant for the machines of Britain's ongoing Industrial Revolution , as well as forming the basis for various brands of Soap such as Palmolive . By c.1870, palm oil constituted the primary export of some West African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria. By the 1880s, Cocoa had become more highly sought-after, leading to the decline of the palm oil industry and trade within these countries. Palm oil was introduced in Malaysia (then Malaya) in 1917 when the first plantation was established. Then the oil palms plantation was mostly operated by English landowners. From the 1960's major oil palm plantation scheme was introduced by the government mainly to eradicate poverty. Each settlers are allocated 10 acres of land planted either with oil palm or rubber, and they are given 20 years to pay off the land. In 2004, Malaysia produces 14 million tonnes of palm oil from more than 3.8 million hectares of land, making it the largest exporter of palm oil in the world. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION The palm oil and palm kernel oil are composed of Fatty Acids , Esterified with Glycerol just like any ordinary Fat . Both are high in Saturated fatty acids, about 50% and 80%, respectively. The oil palm gives its name to the 16 carbon saturated fatty acid Palmitic Acid found in palm oil; monounsaturated oleic acid is also a constituent of palm oil while palm kernel oil contains mainly Lauric Acid . Palm oil is the largest natural source of tocotrienol, part of the Vitamin E family. Palm oil is also high in Vitamin K and dietary Magnesium . Napalm derives its name from Naphthenic Acid , Palmitic Acid and pyrotechnics or simply from a recipe using naphtha and palm oil. The approximate concentration of fatty acids (FAs) in palm oil is as follows:Ang, Catharina Y. W., KeShun Liu, and Yao-Wen Huang, eds. (1999). ''Asian Foods
ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL IMPACT Demand for palm oil is rising and is expected to climb further, particularly for use in Biodiesel (see below). Biodiesel is promoted as a form of Renewable Energy that greatly reduces net emissions of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere, and therefore its use is being touted as a way to decrease the impact of the Greenhouse Effect and also the possibility of Peak Oil . However, there is increasing concern from (1957)—still-exclusive right to policymaking and enforcement on land and immigration matters. A related issue is the conversion of Indonesian of dry peat, and 1400 million tonnes from fires resulting from the draining of the bogs.http://www.wetlands.org/news.aspx?ID=2817de3d-7f6a-4eec-8fc4-7f9eb9d58828 The decomposition of peat releases so much CO2 that peat swamp could be worth more for their carbon value than palm plantations for their oil.http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0717-indonesia.html Moreover, the plantations are often run by , where there is a lot of expansion of plantations for palm oil.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6927890.stm Orangutan experts around the world have unified to recognize that continued development of the palm oil sector, if done unsustainably, is the single greatest threat to the future of Orangutans in the wild. The best professional estimates state that if the industry is not regulated then within 12 years we may witness the disappearance of orangutans from the wild. Other species that are critically threatened by disappearance of the forests include the Sumatran Tiger and the asian Rhinoceros . PALM OIL AS BIODIESEL The Malaysian government is refocusing the use of palm oil to the production of Biodiesel to cater to the huge demand from European countries; it has encouraged the building of biodiesel plants. This is due to the higher prices of fuel and increasing demand for alternative sources of energy in the Western world. The plants will start operating middle of next year and produce 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually. Strong demand for biodiesel from Europe as well as Colombia, India, South Korea and Turkey has fueled the industry's growth as more countries seek to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. Malaysia has already begun preparations to change from diesel to bio-fuels by 2008, including drafting legislation that will make the switch mandatory. From 2007, all diesel sold in Malaysia must contain 5% palm oil. Being the world's largest producer of crude palm oil, Malaysia intends to take advantage of the rush to find cleaner fuels. With the growing emphasis on biodiesels presenting a sustainable alternative to Fossil Fuel s it is important to recognise that these benefits are partly negated when forest is cleared to make room for biodiesel crops such as oil palm. NGO s are now alerting the international arena to the fact that despite millions of hectares of land standing unplanted in Indonesia there is still clearance of tropical hardwood forest for palm oil plantations. Furthermore, as the remaining unprotected lowland forest dwindles, developers are looking to Peat swamp for conversion, which causes a draining of the peat, which not only unlocks the carbon in the surface covering of trees, but begins an Oxidation process of the carbon in the peat reserve--which can be between 5,000 to 10,000 years worth of carbon locked into the ground. Drained peat is also at very high risk of forest fire, and there is a clear record of fire being used to clear vegetation for palm oil development in Indonesia . On 23 Nov 2006 Australia's first palm oil based Biodiesel plant was opened in Darwin. When fully operational in 2007 this plant should produce 140 million litres of biodiesel annually. http://www.naturalfuel.com.au HEALTH Among the touted health benefits of palm oil, most notably red palm oil, are:
Crude palm oil is considered the richest natural source of carotenoids (about 15 times more than in carrots). Carotenoids are a group of more than 700 compounds (e.g. alpha-carotene, beta-carotene) that produce the red, yellow, and orange colours found in many fruits and vegetables. The human body uses carotenoids as Vitamin A which enhances eye health. Carotenoids also play an important potential role by acting as biological antioxidants, protecting cells and tissues from the damaging effect of Free Radicals , which could cause cancer. Studies also suggest that carotenoids enhance immune function by a variety of mechanisms, and improve cardiovascular health. Red palm oil is a form of processed palm oil (deacidified and deodorised) which retains 80% of the original carotenoids, making it a remarkable source of Vitamin A.
Natural vitamin E exists in eight different forms or isomers, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Natural palm oil contains alpha, beta, gamma, and delta-tocopherols and alpha, beta, gamma, and delta-tocotrienols. No other natural source contains this much vitamin E. Tocotrienols in Vitamin E have been found to have many beneficial properties, among them antioxidant and anti-cancer activities. Probably the most important finding in recent research on tocotrienol was its role in inhibiting human breast cancer cells. Tocotrienols have also been demonstrated to lower blood cholesterol levels, by reacting with certain enzymes in the liver which produces cholesterol. Its antioxidant properties bring many benefits to the human body, such as preventing skin aging, preventing fat oxidation, reducing blood pressure and many more. (citation T15 in)''Vitamin A and the Common Agenda for Micronutrients'' 'Red palm oil supplementation: a feasible diet-based approach to improve the vitamin A status of pregnant women and their infants.' |
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