The orange red colour of crude palm oil is due to the presence of the natural colour pigment called carotenes. In fact, palm oil is one of the richest source of natural carotenes. The major carotenes found in crude palm oil are the carotene (35%) and B-carotene (56%). The concerntration of carotene in crude palm oil ranges from 500-700 ppm. Malaysia produced 8.3 million tonnes of palm oil in 1998 and the production is expected to increase in the near future. This translate into potential availability of more than 4000 tonnes of natural carotenes. In view of the economic value and nutritional importance of natural carotenes, PORIM as developed a process to extract these carotenes from palm oil (Ooi et al., 1998).

Main Research: Dr Ooi Cheng Keat