Food Science Master Student University of Florida Gainesville, Florida
High Oleic Red Palm Olein (HORO) is a novel oil extracted from the fruit mesocarp of a Colombian hybrid palm. It contains higher levels of oleic acid, carotenes (provitamin-A), and ⍺-tocopherol (Vitamin-E) compared to standard red palm olein. No published work assesses the thermal stability of these compounds present in HORO, including the effect of baking – a major vegetable fat application. This study evaluated the degradation of β-carotene and ⍺-tocopherol in cookies made with HORO (29.6% saturated fat, 55.6% oleic acid) under four different baking regimes (150ºC for 10min and 15min, 180ºC 10min and 15min) in a convection oven. Iodine Value (IV) and Oxidative Stability (OSI) were measured to quantify unsaturation levels and oxidation time, respectively. Lipids were extracted from the dough and baked cookies (Folch method) for the analysis of β-carotene (UV-vis spectroscopy) and ⍺-tocopherol (RP-HPLC) content. Results showed that one gram of fat in the dough contained 291ug of β-carotene and 221ug of ⍺-tocopherol. The different temperature-time baking regimes dictated the dynamics of degradation for these compounds (27%-47% for carotenes and 29%-78% for ⍺-tocopherol) in the final product, showing a positive correlation between degradation and temperature. However, all treatments resulted in baked products with residual levels of β-carotene and ⍺-tocopherol. HORO had high IV and OSI values of 69 and 35.8h, respectively indicating high oxidative stability. These results set the groundwork to promote further research on the use of HORO as a functional ingredient and its effect on the physical properties of baked products.
