Potential source and extraction of Vitamin E from palm-based oils: a review

Abstract

Vitamin E is essential in the human body which naturally found in vegetable fats and oil and their derived products. Several palm-based oils obtained from palm oil mills and refineries were revised in this paper as the raw material for vitamin E. Tocopherols and tocotrienols isomers of the vitamin E content are found nearly comparable with crude palm oil. To obtain the tocopherols and tocotrienols, various developed technologies for the extraction were also reviewed. These include the solvent-based extraction, chemical modification, adsorption, enzymatic process, molecular distillation, microwave-assisted extraction and membrane technology. Each of the technologies has the advantages as well as limitations. Therefore, process design and selection for the chosen technology are crucial in order to determine recovery of vitamin E obtained, time efficiency, cost effectiveness, safety of products and environmentally friendly impacts. A green technology approach could be further diversified and manifested for sustainable process of vitamin E.