RESULTS: ET 2.0 was found to be the best enzyme for hydrolysis. Under the optimum condition, the FFA content achievable was 790 g kg-1 after 24 h of reaction with 1:1 water-to-oil mass ratio at 50 °C and stirring speed of 9 × g. Furthermore, with the addition of 2 g kg-1 ascorbic acid, it was found that 98% of carotenoids and 96% of tocols could be retained after hydrolysis.
CONCLUSION: This work shows that enzymatic hydrolysis, which is inherently safer, cleaner and sustainable is feasible to replace the conventional methanolysis for the production of palm phytonutrients. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.