COMPARATIVE NUTRITIONAL STUDY OF ENZYMATICALLY AND CHEMICALLY INTERESTERIFIED PALM OIL PRODUCTS

A comparative evaluation of the nutritional value of palm oil, which was interesterified by lipozyme and by chemical catalysis, has been done with albino rats (Charles Foster strain). The two interesterified fats have identical coefficients of digestibility, and rats fed the two fats exhibit similar patterns of growth response and food efficiency ratio. The total lipid and total cholesterol levels in serum of rats of the two interesterified fats are nearly the same, but there is a significant difference in free cholesterol level. The lipozyme-catalyzed product creates a higher level of free cholesterol. Liver lipids of rats are identical in amount for the two groups, but the total cholesterol level of the lipozyme-catalyzed group is significantly less than the chemically catalyzed group. The positional distribution of fatty acids differs between the two interesterified products. The nutritional attributes of interesterified oils can vary depending on the specificity of the catalyst employed.