Palm fruit bioactives are increasingly utilized in dietary supplements, food & beverage as well as cosmetic & personal care products

12/10/2010 (Live-PR News) - Edison, NJ – The world’s largest and only GMP-certified tocotrienol producer, Carotech Inc, is pleased to announce that the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) will organize a Palm Fruit Bioactives Workshop in conjunction with the biggest nutraceuticals and ingredients event in North America - Supply Side West in Las Vegas on October 20th, 2010.

Entitled “Palm Fruit Bioactives: Science, Applications & Technical Advantages”, this one-day workshop is one of MPOC’s Palm International Nutra-Cosmeceuticals Conference (PINC) series that aims to promote global awareness of the health benefits of oil palm fruit bioactives such as palm tocotrienol complex, palm carotenoid complex and palm polyphenols.

The Palm Fruit Bioactives Workshop will highlight important aspects of research, product innovation and applications of these palm fruit bioactives, specifically in dietary supplements, functional food and beverages as well as personal care products.

The significance of palm tocotrienol complex being GRAS-approved means that application of palm tocotrienol complex like Tocomin® is now extended to everyday food and beverage products such as margarine and spreads, bakery products, functional beverages and more.

“Over the past decade, we have seen increased scientific evidence that palm tocotrienol complex has significant health benefits, especially in its effect in protecting brain cells during stroke. In addition, companies are switching to palm carotenoid complex as a natural and nutritional food colorant and pro-vitamin A source. What is interesting is that palm carotenoid complex has the highest level of alpha-carotene (the more biologically potent form of carotene) in the market. Recently, we have also successfully extracted water soluble polyphenols from palm fruits,” says Dr. Kalyana Sundram, Deputy CEO of MPOC, organizer of the Workshop.

“This one day Palm Fruit Bioactives Workshop will have 3 sessions dedicated to palm tocotrienol complex, carotenoid complex and palm polyphenols and will focus on market potential, application capability and formulation flexibility of these palm fruit bioactives. We are confident that all attendees will benefit greatly from the workshop.” Dr. Sundram added.

“We are honored to participate and provide assistance in organizing this Palm Fruit Bioactives Workshop. The workshop is going to be very informative to manufacturers who are interested in using these unique palm fruit bioactives in their product formulations. We have experts from various fields that have spent many years in researching and formulating with these palm bioactives. I would encourage formulators, technical personnel as well as product development personnel to come and learn about applications of our ingredients in formulating functional beverages and personal care products,” says Bryan See, Regional Product Manager of Carotech Inc.

Carotech Inc. is actively assisting MPOC in organizing the Workshop. As a regular exhibitor at Supply Side West, Carotech Inc. will showcase TocoBev™ 20% and Tocomin® 50%C.

Products samples : O’Yes! face cream containing Tocomin® 50%C and Juice of Life containing açaí berry and TocoBev™ 20% palm tocotrienol complex are available for sampling and tasting during the Supply Side West event at Carotech’s booth (Booth No : 12024) .

Minister takes anti-palm oil activists to task

04/10/2010 (The Star Online), Kuala Lumpur - Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok has slammed non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and environmentalists for blindly alleging that the palm oil industry was responsible for the destruction of rainforests and orang utan habitats.

"Despite a well-managed and caring industry, we are being bombarded with baseless allegations by NGOs and environmentalists who hold palm oil accountable for the destruction of rainforests and orang utan habitats," he told a press conference after opening the Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar here Monday.

Bernard pointed out that some zoos overseas were campaigning against palm oil based on unproven facts, such as those by the Don't Palm Us Off Facts group.

"All these, (while) nonchalantly displaying their version of 'orang utan cruelty' by imprisoning orang utans in confined spaces and subjecting them to cold and non-tropical climates," Bernard said.

Bernard said zoos in non-tropical countries should release their orang utans back into the wilds of Malaysia or Indonesia.

"Use the money contributed by the public towards real conservation programmes instead of making feeble attempts at running negative campaigns that mislead the general public," he said.

He added that the Government had pledged RM20mil towards the Malaysian Palm Oil Wildlife Conservation Fund.

"More recently, we have initiated a programme to set aside a major tract of rainforest in Sabah to establish a mega wildlife sanctuary," he said.

Cholesterolaemic effects of the saturated fatty acids of palm oil

Dietary saturated fats are implicated as a major risk factor in hypercholesterolaemia and cardiovascular disease. 

Palm oil is a major source of the world's supply of oils and fats, but because of its relatively high content of saturated fatty acids (principally palmitic acid), its consumption has come under intense scrutiny over the last decade owing to potential health implications. 

Based on studies carried out more than thirty years ago, the hypothesis was developed that lauric, myristic, and palmitic acid were the three principal cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acids. 

Since palmitic acid is the most abundant fatty acid in the diet, the cholesterol-raising effect of all saturated fatty acids was accordingly assigned to it. However, recent studies from both humans and experimental animals suggest that not all saturated fatty acids are cholesterol-raising. 

When all dietary fatty acids are equalized, with the exception of the two being tested, palmitic acid appears to have no impact on the plasma cholesterol in normocholesterolaemic subjects when dietary cholesterol intake is below a certain critical level (400 mg per day). 

Only when cholesterol consumption exceeds this level, or when hypercholesterolaemic subjects are studied, does palmitic acid appear to increase the plasma cholesterol. 

These differential effects of palmitic acid on plasma cholesterol are thought to reflect differences in LDL-receptor status. Collectively these data imply that, for most of the world's population, palm oil would be an inexpensive and readily metabolized source of dietary energy with minimal impact on cholesterol metabolism.

Read the rest of the paper here..

Fima to expand oil palm plantation

It intends to invest RM100mil and is looking for land in Sarawak and Kalimantan

KUALA LUMPUR: Fima Corp Bhd plans to invest about RM100mil to expand its oil palm plantation.

“We are looking at Sarawak and Kalimantan, Indonesia for the new plantations,” group managing director Roslan Hamir told Bernama after the company’s AGM in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2010, Fima’s oil palm plantation division generated a pre-tax profit of RM31.5mil on revenue of RM95.6mil. That compared with pre-tax profit and revenue of RM17.2mil and RM58.9mil respectively a year earlier.

On the Government’s initiative to commercialise second-generation biofuel using palm oil, Roslan said that at the moment it was not viable.

“The price of palm oil is high and unless it comes down, it will not be feasible,” he said.

Roslan said the project may only materialise if the Government made biofuel mandatory or gave subsidies. “Otherwise, it is impossible to venture into it,” he said.

Other than oil palm plantation, Fima’s units are involved in the trading, production of security and confidential documents as well as property management. — Bernama