CHAPTER I

The Problem and Its Scope

RATIONALE

Cooking oil is an every day use for cooking and almost for everyone. It is a purified

fat taken from plant or animal material that is commonly used in frying, baking, and other

types of cooking. However, too much use of oil often cause various health problems,

such as obesity, diabetes, blood vessel blockage, raise of cancer risk and heart disease.

There are some cases that more use of cooking oil is applied than the intended amount

which cause the foods to become more oily that can cause danger to our health.

Choosing the right cooking oil to be used is an important part of our health. Some people

also prefer to use the cheaper kinds of oil not knowing that such can affect badly in their

health. The researchers aim to use organic like Red Gumamela seed as possible source

of cooking oil in order for people to use cooking oil as their benefit and not as a cause of

problem to their health. When looking for alternatives, it is now common for people to

turn to nature for answers.

Plants are everywhere and they have offered many uses throughout the centuries. The

roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of Gumamela (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis). The

roselle has deep red sepals that are bursting with flavonoids and antioxidants. It has

linoleic and oleic fatty acids which is very useful for cooking oils. It also contains high
levels of vitamin C, antioxidant, flavonoids, polyphenols and anthocyanins. Daily Apple

Store says that Roselle has very high fiber content (34 percent of its dried weight).

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study aims to determine if the Roselle (Hibiscus Sabdariffa) seed can be a

source of cooking oil.

It specifically, seeks to answer to the following questions:

1. Can the Roselle seed be a source of cooking oil?

2. How effective is the Roselle seed as cooking oil in terms of ability to fry, smoke point

and immiscibility?

3. Is there a significant difference between the commercial product and Roselle cooking

oil in terms of texture, color and taste of the food?

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

1. The Roselle seed can not be a source of cooking oil.

2. The Roselle seed is not effective as cooking oil in terms of ability to fry, smoke point

and immiscibility.

3. There is no significant difference between the commercial product and Roselle

cooking oil in terms of texture, color and taste of the food.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

As productive members of the society, the successful outcome of this

investigatory project can help having the idea of using organic as source of cooking oil

to the manufacturers which benefits the community in having a healthy and longer life.

The result of the study is very helpful in our health problems especially that Roselle is

rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols that are good for your heart and may lower blood

pressure. Moreover, polyphenols are compounds that have been shown to have

powerful anti-cancer properties and help to reduce body fat because they prevent fat

formation in the first place. Roselle is high in fiber which may benefit your digestion and

reduce your risk of chronic diseas They are also rich in antioxidant and may therefore

help prevent damage and disease. With this, this study can help those people who

have health problems that the Roselle’s properties can eliminate such as coronary

heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diseases cause by free radicals,

obesity, and cancer.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This investigatory project covers on the possibility of Roselle seed as a source of

cooking oil. Its scope focuses on the three mentioned statement of the problem.

However, this study will not compare all the different kinds of commercial cooking oil

but only the most used cooking oil in the Philippines which is palm oil. . It wont also

take account on the other medicinal plants if it can be a source of cooking oil. The

finished cooking oil will be tested only by frying an egg, a fish and nuggets and will not

cover other types of food that can be fried with the finished product. The exact smoke
 point of the produced cooking oil will only be compared to the smoke point of palm oil.

This study will not tackle the length of the product’s effectiveness after being produced.

SCIENTIFIC FACTS

▪ Coronary heart disease has been labelled the “silent epidemic” by some in the medical

field, and is responsible for a total of 87,881 deaths in the Philippines each year, which

equates to nearly 17% of all deaths annually.

▪ Oil extracted from the seeds of hibiscus plants is rich in linoleic and oleic fatty acids,

and could offer interesting applications for industry, says new research from Spain.

https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2007/04/11/Scientists-look-to-hib

iscus-as-ingredient-source

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Analgesic -drugs specifically to relieve from pain.

Anthelmintic -drugs that are used to treat infections

with parasitic worms.

Anthocyanins -a type of flavonoid, a class of compounds

with antioxidant effects.

Anti-Infective -An agent that is capable of acting against infection, either by

inhibiting the spread of an infectious agent or by killing

the infectious agent outright.

Anti-Inflammatory -is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces

inflammation or swelling.

Antioxidant -are natural substances that

may prevent or delay some types of cell damage

Antipyreptic -are substances that reduce fever.

Diuretic -Something that promotes the formation of urine by the

kidney.

Immiscibility -is the property where two substances are not capable of

combining to form a homogeneous mixture.

Proanthocyanidins -are a class of polyphenols found in a variety of plants.

Saturated Fat -is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all or

predominantly single bonds.

Smoke Point -refers to the temperature at which an oil starts to burn

and smoke.

Spasmolytic -is a pharmaceutical drug or other agent that suppresses

muscle spasms