Compositional characteristics and shelf life of interspecific hybrid palm oil (E. oleiferaxE. guineensis)

The interspecific hybrid (O x G)has a high phytonutrient content. Carotenoids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results showed a mean of 829.90 +/- 13.01 mg. kg(-1) of alpha- and beta-carotene combined and 642.40 +/- 6.49 mg.kg(-1) mean of tocopherols and tocotrienols combined. The stability of each phytonutrient was evaluated under storage conditions at three temperatures: 40 +/- 1 C, 50 +/- 1 C and 60 +/- 1 C for 35 days. Results showed no significant differences in concentrations of each phytonutrient at 40 +/- 1 degree celsius and 50 +/- 1 degree celsius (P <= 0.05); however, at 60 C the degradation of each compound was observed. Peroxide and p-anisidine concentrations increased due to the effects of temperature. Accelerated shelf life was carried out using the Rancimat method, and HOPO shelf -life was calculated using the extrapolation methodology at 20, 25, and 30 C, resulting in 616.85, 434.35, and 306.6 days of shelf life, respectively.