EFFECTS OF PROCESSING METHODS ON 
                  COMPOSITION, ANTINUTRIENTS, AND 
                PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF PALM 
                            KERNEL CAKE 
                                   
                                   
                                  by 
                                   
                  THARINDU DANANJA PEIRIS GALLAGE 
                                   
                                   
                     Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements  
                              for the degree of  
                             Master of Science 
                                   
                                   
                                   
                                   
                                   
                               July 2011 
                                   
                                   
              
                         ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
            First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, 
            Prof. Abd Karim bin Alias, whose guidance and generosity in providing ideas and 
            knowledge has supported and encouraged me throughout both the experimental work 
            and compiling the thesis. I would like to also thank my co-supervisor Dr. Fazilah 
            Ariffin  for  precious  guidance  and  support  for  the  research.  I  would  like  to 
            acknowledge  the  Institute  of  Postgraduate  Studies  for  the  funding  of  USM 
            fellowship. 
            I  am  grateful  to  staff  of  Doping  Control  Centre,  USM  for  their  assistance  and 
            guidance in using LC/MS for vitamin analysis.  
            I would like to thank Chew Shio Heong, members of lab 215, lab 232, lab 233, and 
            my apartment mates (Dr. Abu Tariq, Dr. Anis Khan, Dr. Irshad Bhat, Dr. Showkat 
            Ahamed)  and  Dr.  Aamir  Bhat  for  their  help  along  the  way  towards  the 
            accomplishment of my research study. 
            Last but not least,  I  want to express my eternal gratitude to my family for their 
            continuous understanding, moral support and unconditional love I could not have 
            done without. 
             
                                      Tharindu Dananja Peiris Gallage 
                                   School of Industrial Technology, USM 
              
                                  
                                 ii 
             
                                                  TABLE OF CONTENTS 
                                                                                                      Page 
                        Acknowledgement                                                                        ii 
                        Table of Contents                                                                     iii 
                        List of Tables                                                                      viii 
                        List of Figures                                                                       ix 
                        List of Abbreviations                                                                   x 
                        Abstrak                                                                              xii 
                        Abstract                                                                              xv 
                        CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION                                                           1 
                        1.1    Introduction                                                                1 
                        1.2    Rationale of the Research                                                   2 
                        1.3    Hypothesis of the Research                                                  4 
                        1.4    Objectives                                                                  4 
                        CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW                                                      5 
                        2.1    Palm Kernel Cake (PKC)                                                      5 
                               2.1.1  The Production Process of PKC                                        5 
                               2.1.2  PKC as an Animal Feed                                                6 
                               2.1.3  The Composition of PKC                                               6 
                                      2.1.3.1 Proximate Composition                                        6 
                                      2.1.3.2 Dietary Fiber Contents                                     11 
                                      2.1.3.3 Protein and Amino Acid Contents                            14 
                                      2.1.3.4 Mineral Contents                                           17 
                                      2.1.3.5 Other Constituents                                         20 
                        2.2    Antinutrients                                                             22 
                               2.2.1  α-amylase Inhibitory Activity                                      23 
                               2.2.2  Hydrogen Cyanide                                                   26 
                               2.2.3  Oxalate                                                            28 
                                                                iii 
                         
                              2.2.4  Phytic Acid                                                       30 
                              2.2.5  Tannin                                                            34 
                              2.2.6  Saponin                                                           39 
                       2.3    Various Means, Applied to Reduce Antinutrient Contents in Plant             41
                              Products 
                       2.4    Dietary Fiber                                                            43 
                              2.4.1  Non-starch Polysaccharide                                         43 
                                     2.4.1.1 Cellulose                                                 43 
                                     2.4.1.2 Hemicellulose                                             45 
                              2.4.2  Lignin                                                            48 
                       2.5    Hydrogen Peroxide and Uses                                               50 
                       CHAPTER 3 - MATERIALS AND METHODS                                               53 
                       3.1    Materials                                                                53 
                       3.2    The Nutritional Composition of PKC                                       53 
                              3.2.1  Proximate Composition                                             53 
                                     3.2.1.1 The Determination of Moisture Contents                    53 
                                     3.2.1.2 The Determination of Crude Protein Contents               54 
                                     3.2.1.3 The Determination of Crude Fat Contents                   54 
                                     3.2.1.4 The Determination of Crude Fibre Contents                 54 
                                     3.2.1.5 The Determination of Ash Contents                         55 
                              3.2.2  The Determination of Free Sugar Contents                          55 
                              3.2.3  The Determination of Free Amino Acid Contents                     56 
                              3.2.4  The Determination of Fatty Acid Contents                          57 
                                     3.2.4.1 Sample Extraction                                         57 
                                     3.2.4.2 Preparation of FAME                                       57 
                                     3.2.4.3 GC-FID Conditions                                         57 
                              3.2.5  The Determination of Mineral Contents                             58 
                                     3.2.5.1 Sample Preparation                                        58 
                                     3.2.5.2 Instrumentation                                           58 
                              3.2.6  The Determination of Vitamin Contents                             58 
                                                               iv