**3. Oil palm as natural ingredient rich in biologically active constituents**

Both D × P CPO and O × G CPO of the Coari × La Mé cultivar are naturally occurring lipid materials with important tocopherols and tocotrienols contents (**Table 1**), with a wide range of uses in various productive sectors. For the pharmaceutical sector, as for the food and nutraceutical industries, palm oil of different sources may be an active component to enrich various edible matrices or to formulate and develop new products. Given the high content of vitamin E in its lipid composition, palm oil can be incorporated into the formulation of products that may be useful to prevent or treat vitamin E deficiency, associated with health disorders such as peripheral neuropathy, retinopathy pigmentosa ataxia, and myopathy [96–98].

Carotenoids in palm oil can be biologically active primary components in the formulation of new products; furthermore, the amount of tocopherols, tocotrienols, and squalene naturally found in this oil could add even more value to products that may contain them [99–102]. Also, the β-carotene in palm oil can serve as an active component in food aggregates for human and animal diets [103–105] due to the properties that have been identified in this compound at the biological level and due to the reported benefits of its consumption for human [106, 107] and animal [108] health.

On the other hand, the phytosterols that make up the complex of minor compounds in palm oil (**Figure 4**) have industrial uses as essential elements required to manufacture various products [109–111]. β-Sitosterol, one of the natural sterols found in greater amounts in palm oil, could be included in food preparations aimed at reducing low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which are closely related to the development of cardiovascular diseases [112, 113].

To another extent, squalene is a constituent of high biological value used as an aggregate in different products. This compound is part of the raw materials used in cosmetics [114] and the formulation of pharmaceutical and food products [115, 116]. In the food and cosmetic industries, squalene is used as an additive due to the several benefits for human health that have been reported in various works [72, 117]. Squalene in palm oil could contribute to the enrichment of diverse food matrices and, together with tocopherols, tocotrienols and carotenoids, could collectively supplement much of the deficiency of these substances in some organisms. In addition to the aforesaid, some research has found that squalene is an effective chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of colon carcinomas [118], breast cancer [119], and pancreatic tumors [120].
