Choo Yuen May

An improved method for the preparations of nanostructured lipid carriers containing heat-sensitive bioactives.

Heat-sensitive bioactive compounds such as β-carotene and tocols, are widely used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields. Their chemical stability in delivery systems is one of the major concerns in the production of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). A previously established high-temperature high-pressure homogenisation technique involved in the preparation of NLCs can cause degradation of heat-sensitive compounds. Therefore, a novel preparation process needs to be developed to minimise the degradation of heat-sensitive active compounds during the preparation of NLCs. In this work, modified methods A and B were designed to minimise the degradation of β-carotene and tocols during the production of NLCs. These methods improved the chemical stability of heat-sensitive bioactive compounds (β-carotene and tocols) significantly compared to the previously established method. The physical stability of the formulation was maintained throughout study duration.

Research advancements in palm oil nutrition

Palm oil is the major oil produced, with annual world production in excess of 50 million tonnes. About 85% of global palm oil produced is used in food applications. Over the past three decades, research on nutritional benefits of palm oil have demonstrated the nutritional adequacy of palm oil and its products, and have resulted in transitions in the understanding these attributes. Numerous studies have demonstrated that palm oil was similar to unsaturated oils with regards to effects on blood lipids. Palm oil provides a healthy alternative to trans-fatty acid containing hydrogenated fats that have been demonstrated to have serious deleterious effects on health. The similar effects of palm oil on blood lipids, comparable to other vegetable oils could very well be due to the structure of the major triglycerides in palm oil, which has an unsaturated fatty acid in the stereospecific numbers (sn)-2 position of the glycerol backbone. In addition, palm oil is well endowed with a bouquet of phytonutrients beneficial to health, such as tocotrienols, carotenoids, and phytosterols. This review will provide an overview of studies that have established palm oil as a balanced and nutritious oil.

Chromatographic Analyses of Tocopherols and Tocotrienols in Palm Oil

Analyses of tocols (tocopherols and tocotrienols) in palm oil have been extensively reported in the past. However, due to the scarcity of individual tocotrienol standards, calibrations have mostly been carried out using only α-tocopherol as standard. Moreover, even if the individual tocotrienols are being used, their reliability is often questioned, because tocotrienols are highly susceptible to oxidation and deterioration. This paper reports on the study of the deterioration rate of individual tocotrienol standards upon storage as well as different calibration methods for the tocols in palm oil.

Oil Palm Biomass for Various Wood-based Products

Publisher Summary Based on the research and development findings by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and various agencies, oil palm biomass has a great potential as a raw material for producing products for the wood-based industry. The product quality showed that it is comparable with the products made from tropical wood. However, in the process line and parameters, it needs to be adjusted accordingly based on the oil palm biomass characteristic as compared with normal wood. One of the alternative raw materials for some of the products that have traditionally been made from wood is felled Oil Palm Stems (OPT), a sustainable non-wood source that is available in abundance at replanting operations. In spite of their availability, the commercial use of OPT to act as raw materials for the manufacture of plywood, sawn lumber, and fiber-based biocomposites has yet to reach the desired level. The commercial exploitation of oil palm trunks for a variety of products depends on a number of factors. These include a long security of sustainable supply, the economic system for handling them, and a reliable design of processing and manufacturing equipment to cater for their physical forms and sizes.

Life cycle inventory for the production of germinated oil palm seeds at a selected seed production unit in Malaysia

The increasing global demand for edible oil has encouraged Malaysia to increase the areas under oil palm cultivation. The total demand for germinated oil palm seeds in the years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 were 86.4, 76.5, 72.6 and 75.2 million, respectively. Production of germinated oil palm seeds is the first link in the palm oil supply chain. Therefore, good management practices at seed production stage is required to ensure only high quality germinated oil palm seeds are produced before sale to customers. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used as a tool to assess environmental impact of the processes throughout a products lifespan and this approach is an important tool for assessing green house gas (GHG) emission. For this study, a gate-to-gate life cycle inventory (LCI) of a single germinated oil palm seed production unit was carried out. The functional unit used for this LCI was one germinated oil palm seed. To determine the environmental impact for the production of germinated oil palm seeds, information on the inputs were obtained. The inputs for the production of germinated oil palm seeds involved materials such as polyethylene bags, electricity, water, chemicals and fungicides. For this study, the system boundary involved seed germination process and management of germinated oil palm seeds. It was found that the amount of input such as materials and energy used in the production of germinated oil palm seeds was very minimal.