In-depth characterization of palm-based diacylglycerol-virgin coconut oil blends with enhanced techno-functional properties

The present research provides an overview of the physicochemical characteristics and the thermal profile of palm olein-based diacylglycerol (POL-DAG), virgin coconut oil (VCO) and their binary blends at specific ratios. The characterization of the POL-DAG/VCO blends, including their fatty acid composition, acylglycerol composition, functional group based on Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, thermal performance, solid fat content and iodine value were carefully evaluated. The fatty acid composition and iodine value indicated the increased unsaturation levels of the oil blends with increasing POL-DAG oil incorporation. Based on the acylglycerol composition, the DAG content of the binary blends increased proportionally from 346.7 g/kg to 816.0 g/kg with the increased concentration of POL-DAG. Furthermore, the oil blends exhibited lower solid fat content values than the plain VCO. The melting and crystallization results also showed that blending produced a significant effect on the temperature transition, the peak sharpness and the onset temperature (p < 0.05) as the POL-DAG concentration increased. The FTIR spectra were also consistent with this finding as POL-DAG contains more unsaturated fatty acids than VCO. All in all, the blending of POL-DAG with VCO enhanced the techno-functional properties of the oil and could widen the range of applications and useful for product diversifications.