Comparative Assessment of the Physicochemical Properties and Fatty Acid Profile OF Virgin coconut Oil with Some Commercial Vegetable Oils in Rivers State, Nigeria

.O. Ajogun and B.S. Chibor

Abstract

The objective of this work was to characterize and compare the physicochemical properties and fatty acid profile of virgin coconut oil with some commercial vegetable oils used in Rivers State, Nigeria. The commercial vegetable oils were: soyabean, groundnut, palm olein and sunflower oils. Virgin coconut oil was extracted using the cold press method. The oils were analysed for chemical composition, physical properties, and fatty acid profile. cloud point (CP) and slip melting points (SMP) ranged from 0.00 to 9.00 oC and 0.60 to 24.12 oC. Cloud point and melting point of coconut oil was significantly higher with values of 9.00 and 24.12 oC, respectively. Smoke and flash points of sunflower oil were significantly higher, with values of 247.50 and 309.50 oC, respectively. Density of the oils ranged from 0.9005 to 0.9096 g/ml. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the specific gravity of virgin coconut oil (VCO) and that of palm olein. Ester value and saponification value of VCO were respectively 260.60 and 260.71 mgKOH/g. Iodine value (IV) of VCO was 5.72 g/100g, while soyabean oil gave significantly higher IV of 127.70 g/100g. Lauric acid (C12:0) was the predominant fatty acid in VCO (48.76 %), while soyabean and sunflower oils contained 8.01 and 4.07 % omega-3 fatty acid, respectively. Coconut oil is recommended for culinary operations due to its high content of lauric acid.

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