What is DOBI ?

• Acronym for "Deterioration of Bleaching Index"
• Easily obtained by simple spectrophotometric measurement and is used to predict the ease of bleaching of crude palm oil during refining
• Is defined as the numerical ratio of the uncorrected absorbance at 446nm to that at 269nm
• DOBI = (Absorbance at 446nm) / (Absorbance at 269nm)
• Crude palm oil quality : DOBI - Good (3-4) ; Average (2-3) ; Poor (<1)
• Absorbance 446 is related to carotene content
• Absorbance 269 is related to secondary oxidation of crude palm oil
• Factors effecting these two parameters will thus also affect the DOBI value
• To have good DOBI value, attempts must be taken to minimise deterioration of carotene and also oxidation

Source - T.S.Tang /MPOB