Oil Palm: Cultivation, Production and Dietary Components

Cultivation of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has expanded tremendously in recent years such that it has now become a major source of the world supply of vegetable oil, and is one of the most important tree crops in the humid tropics, with its main centre of production in Southeast Asia. Oil palm is the world's most productive oil crop and is, in addition very versatile, producing two distinct oils, mescocarp (palm) oil and palm kernel oil, which find a variety of food and non-food applications as fertilisers, soil conditioners and as a source of fuel. This book presents topical research data in the study of oil palm, including the potential of gas chromatography fingerprinting of palm oil; palm oil in the implication of cardiovascular disease; the integral use of palm oil in the production of biodiesel fuel; and oil palm biomass and its applications.