Palm-Derived Tocotrienols and Inflammatory Diseases

Diet plays a major role in the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including obesity, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), hypertension and stroke, and some types of cancer. Extensive scientific investigation has been carried out on diets to discover the possible functional properties and in particular, the role of antioxidants in preventing degenerative diseases. One such antioxidant is vitamin E, which made up of two classes of compounds: Tocopherols (Toc) and tocotrienols (T3)(Figure 1). Palm oil is the richest source of natural tocotrienols (Palm-T3), an antioxidant that is several times more powerful than the tocopherols. This fat-soluble vitamin is in fact an essential nutrient for the body. There are four types of tocotrienols present in palm oil: namely α-, β- , γ- and δ-tocotrienol. Each individual tocotrienol has unique beneficial properties of its own. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has produced individual tocotrienols from palm oil in high purity via green and environmental friendly processes (Han et al., 2004).

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Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil

There are numerous definitions for sustainability and sustainable development, and all of them refer to the three pillars of sustainability – people, planet and profitability. The most commonly quoted definition for sustainable development is based on the Brundtland’s Commission Report, which states that ‘sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without […]