Effect of Processing Method on Carotenoid Profiles of Oils from Three Varieties of Nigerian Palm Oil (Elaise guinensis)

This study assessed the effect of processing method on the carotenoid profile of oil from three varieties of Nigerian oil palm fruits (Elaise guinensis). Specific varieties of the Elaise guinensis, which are the dura, pesifera and tenera were obtained from National Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) in Edo state, Nigeria. The samples were divided into two and processed using two different methods as commonly practiced in south-eastern Nigeria, the hot and cold processes. The oil extracted from each of the processes was then analyzed for oil characteristics using standard analytical methods while the carotenoid profile was analyzed using HPLC C-21 column. The results gener-ated were subjected to the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of carotenoid constituent identified include: lutein, neurosporene (trans), neurosporene (cis), α-Zeacarotene(cis), α-Zeacarotene(trans), phytoene, phy-tofluene, β-zeacarotene, 13 and 13’ cis α-carotene, 13 cis β-carotene, trans α-carotene, 9 cis α-carotene, ference exists between the mean of each of the processing methods on the carotenoid profile of the oil sample analyzed.