The nutritional properties of
palm oil
Professor Tom Sanders
Nutritional Sciences Division
Kings College London
Palm Tree and Fruit
Palm oil
Palm (mesocarp) oil
Crude palm oil high beta-carotene
Refined palm oil low in beta-carotene
Palmolein
Super palmolein
Palm kernel oil
High in medium chain fatty acids
Palm oil and fractions
Hierarchy in
Hierarchy in Scientific
Scientific Evidence
Evidence
Systematic
Systematic Reviews
Reviews
High (Meta-analysis)
(Meta-analysis)
High
Randomized
Randomized Controlled
Controlled Trials
Trials
ce
Evidence
Other
Other Controlled
Controlled Trials
Trials
of Eviden
Prospective
Prospective Cohort
Cohort studies
studies
Level of
Case
Case Control
Control studies
studies
Level
Prevalence
Prevalence studies
studies
Low Ecological
Ecological studies
studies
Low
Animal
Animal studies
studies 6
7
Blood lipid metrics of risk of CHD
8
Prospective Studies Collaboration. Lancet 2007;9602:1829-1839
Predicted changes () in the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol and in LDL- and HDL-
cholesterol concentrations when carbohydrates constituting 1% of energy are replaced
isoenergetically with saturated, cis monounsaturated, cis polyunsaturated, or trans
monounsaturated fatty acids
Mensink, R. P et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:1146-1155
Copyright 2003 The American Society for Nutrition
Predicted changes in the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol and in LDL- and HDL-cholesterol
concentrations when carbohydrates constituting 1% of energy are replaced isoenergetically with lauric acid
(12:0), myristic acid (14:0), palmitic acid (16:0), or stearic acid (18:0)
Mensink, R. P et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:1146-1155
10
Copyright 2003 The American Society for Nutrition
Predicted changes () in the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol when mixed fat constituting
10% of energy in the "average" US diet is replaced isoenergetically with a particular fat or with
carbohydrates
Mensink, R. P et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:1146-1155
Copyright 2003 The American Society for Nutrition
Effect on risk of CHD events of replacing
5% energy saturated fatty acids from pooled
analysis of 11 cohort studies
Jakobsen M et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89:1-8. 12
13
Meta-analysis of trans fatty acids on risk of CHD events
14
Replacing 2% trans fatty acids with saturated or
unsaturated fatty acids reduces risk of CHD
15
WHO/FAO 2009
The technical need for high
melting point fats
Bakery products
Spreads
16
Sources of high melting point fats
Animal fats lard/butter/ suet (cholesterol,
trans in ruminant fats)
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
(trans 15-50% fatty acids)
Fully hydrogenated and inter-esterified
vegetable oils (low trans, high stearic acid
rich, but not clean label)
Palm oil fractions
17
Comparison of palm oil (PA), soybean oil (SO)peanut oil (PE)
and lard (LA) on plasma lipids
Lard
Palm
Zhang, J. et al. J. Nutr. 1997;127:509S
Copyright 1997 American Society for Nutrition
Palm oil vs Lard
100%
90%
80%
70%
60% PUFA
50% MUFA
40% Saturated
30%
20%
10%
0%
Palm oil Lard
The fats differ mainly by the position of saturated fatty
acids.
In palm oil they are in the sn-1 and sn-3 position whereas
in lard they are in the sn-2 position
19
Palm oil
G
L Palmitic
Y
C
Oleic/Linoleic
E
R
O Palmitoleic
20
The sn-2 hypothesis
The adverse health effects of animal
sources of saturated fatty acids are a
consequence of the high proportion of
saturated fatty acids in the sn-2 position
21
Comparisons of palm olein with partial hydrogenated
soybean oil and fully hardened (PHSO and interesterified
soybean oil (IE) on plasma total cholesterol (TC), HDL
cholesterol (HDL-C) and the TC/HDL ratio
P=0.001
Sundram et al. Nutrition & Metabolism 2007, 22
4:3doi:10.1186/1743-7075-4-3
Summary of effects of palm oil
on blood lipids and risk of CHD
The blood cholesterol raising effects of
palm oil fractions are lower than predicted
from their fatty acid composition
Palm oil fractions increase HDL
cholesterol compared with carbohydrate or
trans fatty acids
The effects of replacing 5% energy as
palm oil in the diet is unlikely to influence
risk of CHD
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