Crude palm oil from interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis: Alcoholic constituents of unsaponifiable matter

Interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera x E. guineensis (OxG) palm is currently receiving increasing attention because of its interesting glycerides structure and composition. In this study, the alcoholic constituents of unsaponifiable matter of crude hybrid OxG palm oil were characterized for the first time and compared to data obtained analyzing crude African palm oil (E. guineensis).Total unsaponifiable matter content was 1.18 +/- A 0.11 g/100 g in OxG hybrid oil and 1.05 +/- A 0.06 g/100 g in African palm oil. OxG oil was characterized by lower contents of squalene and alcoholic constituents where the main differences concerned 4-desmethylsterols and isoprenoid alcohols: OxG oil was characterized by higher (23.6 +/- A 6.1 %) contents of isoprenoid alcohols and by a different phytol/geranylgeraniol ratio. The tocol fraction constituted the class of unsaponifiable components on which the genetic exerts the greatest influence: tocol content showed no significant differences between the two oils, however, hybrid palm oil was characterized by higher percentages of gamma-tocotrienol (59.7 +/- A 1.1) and delta-tocotrienol (11.7 +/- A 0.8) and lower percentages of tocopherols (10.6 +/- A 0.3), almost entirely constituted of the alpha isomer. These results suggest that OxG oil can also be considered an interesting alimentary source of nutraceutical components, especially for bioactive tocotrienols.