Physicochemical Characteristics and Storage Stability of Palm Olein and Red Palm Olein

Two types of oils, namely palm olein (POL) and red palm olein (RPOL) were characterized from the physicochemical point of view and after storage in clear and amber bottles at room temperature for one year. The latter is done to assess their oxidative stability and to monitor the degradation of tocopherols, tocotrienols and carotenes during the entire storage period. Methods employed included determination of peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine value (p-AV), acid value (AV) and free fatty acids (FFA). The results have shown that there was a significant increase (P≤0.05) in each of PV, p-AV, AV and FFA for both POL and RPOL during the storage period for 6 and 12 months. Moreover, there was a significant decrease (P≤0.05) during the period of storage in total tocopherols and tocoterienols as well as in carotenes for both POL and RPOL. Slight changes in fatty acid composition was observed for both POL and RPOL during storage for 12 months, no significant differences could be observed in this regard during the entire period of storage. Red palm olein exhibited higher storage stability than palm olein. Storage of POL and RPOL in amber bottles was superior in terms of maintaining storage stability of oils as compared to their clear counterparts.