Development and Physicochemical Properties of Low Saturation Alternative Fat for Whipping Cream

We developed an alternative whipping cream fat using shea butter but with low saturation. Enriched stearic-oleic-stearic (SOS) solid fat was obtained from shea butter via solvent fractionation. Acyl migration reactant, which mainly contains asymmetric SSO triacylglycerol (TAG), was prepared through enzymatic acyl migration to obtain the creaming quality derived from the β’-crystal form. Through enzymatic acyl migration, we obtained a 3.4-fold higher content of saturated-saturated-unsaturated (SSU) TAG than saturated-unsaturated-saturated (SUS) TAG. The acyl migration reactant was refined to obtain refined acyl migration reactant (RAMR). An alternative fat product was prepared by blending RAMR and hydrogenated palm kernel oil (HPKO) at a ratio of 4:6 (w/w). The melting points, solid fat index (SFI), and melting curves of the alternative products were similar to those of commercial whipping cream fat. The alternative fat had a content of total unsaturated fatty acids 20% higher than that of HPKO. The atherogenic index (AI) of alternative fat was 3.61, much lower than those of whipping cream fat (14.59) and HPKO (1220.3), because of its low atherogenic fatty acid content and high total unsaturated fatty acids. The polymorphic crystal form determined by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy showed that the β’-crystal form was predominant. Therefore, the alternative fat is comparable with whipping cream that requires creaming quality, and has a reduced saturated fat content.     

Thermal and Structural Behavior of Palm Oil. Influence of Cooling Rate on Fat Crystallization

Summary: The effects of scanning rates (q = −0.5 °C/min to −50 °C/min) on the formation of the different phases occurring at low temperature of a palm oil are investigated by means of calorimetry and optical analysis. It is demonstrated that the cooling rates changed the polymorphism of triacylglycerols (TAGs). The centrifugation is used to separate the two fractions (olein and stearin) of palm oil. We show whereas the rate of centrifugation the separation is not effective. We obtained two fractions, a liquid fraction and a solid fraction which contains some liquid TAGs. It is observed that the solid fraction of palm oil is more sensitive to the effects of the cooling rates. By changing the cooling rate q, it appears threshold behaviour for q = −3 °C/min dividing the data discussion in two parts: for slow cooling rate and for fast cooling rate. At slow cooling rates, TAGs had more time to interact. Contrary at fast cooling rate, TAGs have not the time to be reorganised in more stable conformation. Micrographs revealed that the types of crystals observed were spherolites but some variations in crystal size appeared with the variation of cooling rate.     

Definitive Screening Design and Artificial Neural Network for Modeling a Rapid Biodegradation of Date Palm Fronds by a New Trichoderma sp. PWN6 into Citric Acid

Generally, the bioconversion of lignocellulolytics into a new biomolecule is carried out through two or more steps. The current study used one-step bioprocessing of date palm fronds (DPF) into citric acid as a natural product, using a pioneer strain of Trichoderma harzianum (PWN6) that has been selected from six tested isolates based on the highest organic acid (OA) productivity (195.41 µmol/g), with the lowest amount of the released glucose. Trichoderma sp. PWN6 was morphologically and molecularly identified, and the GenBank accession number was MW78912.1. Both definitive screening design (DSD) and artificial neural network (ANN) were applied, for the first time, for modeling the bioconversion process of DPF. Although both models are capable of making accurate predictions, the ANN model outperforms the DSD model in terms of OA production, as ANN is characterized by a higher value of R² (0.963) and validation R² (0.967), and lower values of the RMSE (13.44), MDA (11.06), and SSE (9749.5). Citric acid was the only identified OA as was confirmed by GC-MS and UPLC, with a total of 1.5%. In conclusion, DPF together with T. harzianum PWN6 is considered an excellent new combination for citric acid biosynthesis, after modeling with artificial intelligence procedure.     

UHPLC-UV/PDA Method Validation for Simultaneous Quantification of Luteolin and Apigenin Derivatives from Elaeis guineensis Leaf Extracts: An Application for Antioxidant Herbal Preparation

Luteolin and apigenin derivatives present in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) leaves (OPL) are reported to possess excellent antioxidant properties relating to numerous health benefits. To meet the global demand for flavonoids, OPL, which is plentifully generated as an agricultural by-product from oil palm plantations, can be further exploited as a new source of natural antioxidant compounds. However, to produce a standardized herbal preparation, validation of the quantification method for these compounds is required. Therefore, in this investigation, we developed and validated an improved and rapid analytical method, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with ultraviolet/photodiode array (UHPLC-UV/PDA) for the quantification of 12 luteolin and apigenin derivatives, particularly focusing on flavonoid isomeric pairs: orientin/isoorientin and vitexin/isovitexin, present in various OPL extracts. Several validation parameters were assessed, resulting in the UHPLC-UV/PDA technique offering good specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness, where the values were within acceptable limits. Subsequently, the validated method was employed to quantify luteolin and apigenin derivatives from OPL subjected to different drying treatments and extraction with various solvent systems, giving total luteolin (TLC) and apigenin content (TAC) in the range of 2.04–56.30 and 1.84–160.38 µg/mg extract, respectively. Additionally, partial least square (PLS) analysis disclosed the combination of freeze dry-aqueous methanol yielded OPL extracts with high TLC and TAC, which are strongly correlated with antioxidant activity. Therefore, we provide the first validation report of the UHPLC-UV/PDA method for quantification of luteolin and apigenin derivatives present in various OPL extracts, suggesting that this approach could be employed in standardized herbal preparations by adopting orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, and isovitexin as chemical markers.     

Effect of Plasticizer Type and Concentration on Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Sugar Palm Starch–Based Films

In the quest for biodegradable and environmentally friendly packaging materials, starch-based films have been considered as a potential alternative to address ecological problems that emerged from the use of nonbiodegradable petroleum-based plastics. Thus, this article presents a new biopolymer (sugar palm starch) for the preparation of biodegradable packaging films using the solution-casting technique. The effects of different plasticizer types (glycerol [G], sorbitol [S], and glycerol-sorbitol [GS] combination) with varying concentrations (0, 15, 30, and 45, w/w %) on the dynamic mechanical properties of sugar palm starch (SPS) films were evaluated. It was observed that the storage (E′) and loss modulus (E″) of the plasticized SPS films decrease as plasticizer concentration increases from 15 to 45%. S-plasticized films showed higher storage modulus (1000 MPa) than G (880 MPa) and GS (920 MPa) plasticized films, irrespective of plasticizer concentration.     

固相微萃取-毛细管气相色谱法测定污染棕榈油中的低浓度二甲苯

采用一种新型的样品制备技术－固相微萃取代替传统的顶空进样技术,结合毛细管气相色谱,快速,灵敏地检测出污染进口棕榈油的低浓度的二甲苯。以苯为内标,以大豆油模拟基质制作标准曲线。在０．２￣２０ｍｇ／ｋｇ浓度范围内呈线性,对样品和标样萃取的精度良好。     

Synthesis and Characterization of Cellulose Triacetate Obtained from Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Trunk Mesh-Derived Cellulose

Cellulosic polysaccharides have increasingly been recognized as a viable substitute for the depleting petro-based feedstock due to numerous modification options for obtaining a plethora of bio-based materials. In this study, cellulose triacetate was synthesized from pure cellulose obtained from the waste lignocellulosic part of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). To achieve a degree of substitution (DS) of the hydroxyl group of 2.9, a heterogeneous acetylation reaction was carried out with acetic anhydride as an acetyl donor. The obtained cellulose ester was compared with a commercially available derivative and characterized using various analytical methods. This cellulose triacetate contains approximately 43.9% acetyl and has a molecular weight of 205,102 g·mol⁻¹. The maximum thermal decomposition temperature of acetate was found to be 380 °C, similar to that of a reference sample. Thus, the synthesized ester derivate can be suitable for fabricating biodegradable and “all cellulose” biocomposite systems.     

Experimental and Theoretical Studies on Extract of Date Palm Seed as a Green Anti-Corrosion Agent in Hydrochloric Acid Solution

Extracts from plant materials have great potential as alternatives to inorganic corrosion inhibitors, which typically have harmful consequences. Experimental and theoretical methodologies studied the effectiveness of agricultural waste, namely, date palm seed extract as a green anti-corrosive agent in 0.5 M hydrochloric acid. Experimental results showed that immersion time and temperature are closely related to the effectivity of date palm seed as a corrosion inhibitor. The inhibition efficiency reduced from 95% to 91% at 1400 ppm when the immersion time was increased from 72 h to 168 h. The experimental results also indicated that the inhibition efficiency decreased as the temperature increased. The presence of a protective layer of organic matter was corroborated by scanning electron microscopy. The adsorption studies indicated that date palm seed obeyed Langmuir adsorption isotherm on the carbon steel surface, and Gibbs free energy values were in the range of −33.45 to −38.41 kJ·mol⁻¹. These results suggested that the date palm seed molecules interacted with the carbon steel surface through mixture adsorption. Theoretical calculations using density functional theory showed that the capability to donate and accept electrons between the alloy surface and the date palm seed inhibitor molecules is critical for adsorption effectiveness. The HOMO and LUMO result indicated that the carboxyl (COOH) group and C=C bond were the most active sites for the electron donation-acceptance type of interaction and most auxiliary to the adsorption process over the Fe surface.     

Sono-assisted TEMPO oxidation of oil palm lignocellulosic biomass for isolation of nanocrystalline cellulose

Highly stable and dispersible nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was successfully isolated from oil palm empty fruit bunch microcrystalline cellulose (OPEFB-MCC), with yields of 93% via a sono-assisted TEMPO-oxidation and a subsequent sonication process. The sono-assisted treatment has a remarkable effect, resulting in an increase of more than 100% in the carboxylate content and a significant increase of approximately 39% in yield compared with the non-assisted process. TEM images reveal the OPEFB-NCC to have rod-like crystalline morphology with an average length and width of 122 and 6 nm, respectively. FTIR and solid-state ¹³C-NMR analyses suggest that oxidation of cellulose chain hydroxyl groups occurs at C6. XRD analysis shows that OPEFB-NCC consists primarily of a crystalline cellulose I structure. Both XRD and ¹³C-NMR indicate that the OPEFB-NCC has a lower crystallinity than the OPEFB-MCC starting material. Thermogravimetric analysis illustrates that OPEFB-NCC is less thermally stable than OPEFB-MCC but has a char content of 46% compared with 7% for the latter, which signifies that the carboxylate functionality acts as a flame retardant.