Fatty acid analysis of the two oils are shown (Table 3).
Analysis showed no major differences among individual
fatty acids. Estimation of total polyphenol content showed
that VCO (84 mg/100 g oil) contained more polyphenols
than CO (64.4 mg/100 g oil) (Nevin & Rajamohan, 2004)
(see Table 4). TLC analysis of PF from CO and VCO obtained
a single spot which showed a blue florescence in UV
light (256 nm). Analysis of UV–vis spectrum of PF from
both oils showed an absorption maximum (kmax at
275 nm), characteristic for flavanones and dihydroflavonols.
VCO also contained more vitamin E and A compared
to CO. The free fatty acid and peroxide content are also
lower for VCO than CO. Our studies have showed that
VCO when exposed to sunlight for several days showed a
sequential decrease in vitamin content, which confirms
the loss of vitamins from copra when exposed to UV radiation
from sunlight (unpublished data) (see Fig. 2).