Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume 14, issue 4
(December 2005)


Full Papers

Contents	Abstract	Abstract
Editorial Population-based studies of nutrition and health in Asia Pacific elderly MEEI-SHYUAN LEE AND MARK L WAHLQVIST Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):294-297.		pdf
Review Articles
Globalisation, food and health in Pacific Island countries ROBERT G HUGHES AND MARK A LAWRENCE Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):298-306.	html	pdf
Antiarrhythmic effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids WANWARANG WONGCHAROEN AND NIPON CHATTIPAKORN Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):307-312.	html	pdf
Dietary fat and the prevention of chronic disease MARK L WAHLQVIST Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):313-318.	html	pdf
Original Articles
Antioxidant properties of palm fruit extracts NAGENDRAN BALASUNDRAM, TAN YEW AI, RAVIGADEVI SAMBANTHAMURTHI, KALYANA SUNDRAM AND SAMIR SAMMAN Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):319-324.	html	pdf
Effect of palm oil on blood pressure, endothelial function and oxidative stress MOHAMED A BAYORH, IMAD K ABUKHALAF AND AGABA A GANAFA Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):325-339.	html	pdf
Dietary red palm oil supplementation protects against the consequences of global ischemia in the isolated perfused rat heart AJ ESTERHUYSE, EF DU TOIT AND J VAN ROOYEN Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):340-347.	html	pdf
Palm oil versus hydrogenated soybean oil: Effects on serum lipids and plasma haemostatic variables JAN I PEDERSEN, HANNE MÜLLER , INGEBJØRG SELJEFLOT AND BENTE KIRKHUS Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):348-357.	html	pdf
A comparison between tocopherol and tocotrienol effects on gastric parameters in rats exposed to stress MF NUR AZLINA, MI NAFEEZA AND BAK KHALID Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):358-365.	html	pdf
Intracellular mechanisms mediating tocotrienol-induced apoptosis in neoplastic mammary epithelial cells PAUL W SYLVESTER AND SUMIT SHAH Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):366-373.	html	pdf
Effects of tocotrienols on cell viability and apoptosis in normal murine liver cells (BNL CL.2) and liver cancer cells (BNL 1ME A.7R.1), in vitro CHAN HOOI HAR AND CHAN KOK KEONG Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):374-380.	html	pdf
A manufacturer's perspective on selected palm-based products NEIL O CARR AND W FRASER HOGG Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):381-386.	html	pdf
Quality of margarine: fats selection and processing parameters MAT SAHRI MISKANDAR, YAAKOB CHE MAN, MOHD SURIA AFFANDI YUSOFF AND RUSSLY ABD RAHMAN Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):387-395.	html	pdf
Interesterified palm products as alternatives to hydrogenation NOR AINI IDRIS AND NOOR LIDA HABI MAT DIAN Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):396-401.	html	pdf
Performance of phytochemical antioxidant systems in refined-bleached-deodorized palm olein during frying IRWANDI JASWIR, YAAKOB B CHE MAN AND TORLA H HASSAN Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):402-413.	html	pdf
Palm oil and palm olein frying applications RAZALI ISMAIL Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):414-419.	html	pdf
Preventive action of food seasoning spices mixture on fructose-induced lipid abnormalities RAMU SUGANTHI, SHANMUGANATHAN RAJAMANI, MAMBAKKAM KATCHAPESWARAN RAVICHANDRAN AND CARANI VENKATRAMAN ANURADHA Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):420-427.	html	pdf
Mother's milk and hydrogen peroxide EBTEHAL ALI ABAS AL-KERWI, ALI HMAL-HASHIMI AND ATHRAA M SALMAN Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):428-431.	html	pdf
Anti-schistosomal activity of colostral and mature camel milk on Schistosoma mansoni infected mice AMANY S MAGHRABY, MAHMOUD A MOHAMED AND AHMED M ABDEL-SALAM Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):432-438.	html	pdf
Author index 2005 Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.2005;14(4):440.		pdf

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Globalisation, food and health in Pacific Island countries
ROBERT G HUGHES AND MARK A LAWRENCE
Pacific Island countries (PICs) are experiencing an epidemic of obesity and consequent chronic diseases. Despite investment in the development of National Plans of Action for Nutrition (NPANs) and interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity, nutritional status appears to show little improvement. This paper presents a synthesis of the findings from two research papers that were prepared for a 2003 food safety and quality meeting in Nadi, Fiji. The findings indicate that although lifestyle behaviours might be the immediate cause of dietary imbalances, greater attention should focus on omnipresent influences of globalisation as a critical element of the nutrition transition in the Pacific. In particular, those aspects of globalisation mediated through the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements that are placing pressures on food security and fostering increased dependence on imported food of poor nutritional quality. Rapid, significant and sustainable improvements in public health in PICs require interventions that can tackle these underlying contributors to ill health. There are opportunities to explore the use of food regulatory approaches to influence the composition, availability and accessibility of food products. Within the context of the WTO Agreements the legitimacy of food regulatory approaches will depend upon the case to demonstrate the relationship between the intervention and the protection of food security and public health nutrition. The challenges in realising these opportunities are: 1) to have the capacity to construct a case, 2) meet the technical and financial demands to administer and enforce regulatory approaches, and 3) to take advantage of opportunities available and to be able to fully participate in the international policy-making process.
Key Words: nutrition, globalisation, food regulation, food security, Pacific.
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Antiarrhythmic effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
WANWARANG WONGCHAROEN AND NIPON CHATTIPAKORN
The n-3 or omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are a promising dietary preventive therapy for cardiovascular disease. The main dietary source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids comes from sea fish. During recent years, the subject of antiarrhythmic role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids has been investigated extensively. A great deal of evidence has shown that the antiarrhythmic effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids is exerted by altering the electrophysiology of myocytes. This article is intended to review specifically this role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as demonstrated by both basic and clinical evidence in animal and human studies, including current concepts on the antiarrhythmic mechanism of this class of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Key Words: n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, omega 3 fats, fish oil, arrhythmia, ischemia, electrophysiology

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Dietary fat and the prevention of chronic disease
MARK L WAHLQVIST
Chronic diseases are generally taken to include obesity (especially abdominal), diabetes, macrovascular disease (MVD), affecting all medium distributing arteries and the organs they supply, osteoporosis, and various cancers (notably breast, lung, colorectal, pancreatic, prostate and skin) and dementia. Unfortunately, they may not be so chronic, as their consequences for morbidity and mortality may occur early in adult life and proceed rapidly. Since they all, in one way or another, have food, nutritional and other environmental and lifestyle contributions, the term Eco-Nutritional disease may be preferred. Insofar as the nutritional basis of chronic disease is concerned, we may simply speak of nutritionally-related disorders or diseases (NRD). In regard to fat and END or NRD, the key considerations are how diverse the sources are and what it does to energy density (ED) and nutrient density (ND). These are reflected in the 2003 WHO report 9816 on "Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Disease".
Key Words: fat diversity or variety, trans fatty acids, ED (energy density), ND (nutrient density), NRD (nutritionally-related disorders).
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Antioxidant properties of palm fruit extracts
NAGENDRAN BALASUNDRAM, TAN YEW AI, RAVIGADEVI SAMBANTHAMURTHI, KALYANA SUNDRAM AND SAMIR SAMMAN
Phenolic compounds have been shown to exhibit bioactive properties, and in particular antioxidant effects. A phenolic-rich fraction has been isolated from the aqueous by-product obtained during the milling of oil palm fruits. The objectives of the study were to determine the phenolic content of the crude and ethanolic extracts of oil palm fruits and to evaluate the antioxidant properties of these extracts. The total phenolics content of the crude and ethanol extracts as determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method were found to be 40.3 ± 0.5 and 49.6 ± 0.6 mg GAE/g extract (dry basis), respectively. The radical scavenging activity of the extracts determined using 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH.) indicated that both crude and ethanol extracts exhibit hydrogen-donating capacity, and have antiradical power (ARP) comparable to ascorbic acid. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the extracts were less than that of gallic acid, but the time-course variations of the scavenging curves suggest that the extracts acted by a mechanism similar to that of gallic acid. The electron-donating potentials of the extracts were inferred from the hydrogen peroxide scavenging and reducing power assays. The reducing power of crude and ethanol extracts at 1 mM GAE were found to be comparable to that of 0.3 mM gallic acid. The extracts indicated complete scavenging of hydrogen peroxide at concentrations above 0.4 mM GAE. These findings suggest that the crude and ethanol extracts are able to scavenge free radicals, by either hydrogen or electron donating mechanisms, and can therefore act as primary antioxidants..
Key Words: palm fruit, antioxidants, free radicals, phenolics


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Effect of palm oil on blood pressure, endothelial function and oxidative stress
MOHAMED A BAYORH, IMAD K ABUKHALAF AND AGABA A GANAFA
The pathogenesis of hypertension has been associated with endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress. We have previously shown that palm oil (PO), with an unsaturated-to-saturated fatty acid ratio close to one and rich in antioxidants vitamins, reduces oxidative stress-induced hypertension in normal rats. Here, we investigated the cardiovascular effects of natural vitamin-rich PO using the Dahl Salt-sensitive hypertension model. Male rats were fed either a high salt (8% NaCl, HS) or low salt (0.3% NaCl, LS) diet with or without PO (Carotino, 5 g/kg daily) for four weeks. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, blood flow and vascular resistance, vascular reactivity in vitro as well as remodelling of second-order mesenteric arteries were measured. Plasma levels of nitric oxide (NO), prostacyclin, thromboxane A2 (TXA2) and isoprostane (ISO), were determined by enzyme immunoassay. Plasma, heart and kidney GSH and GSSG levels were analyzed by HPLC and aortic superoxide (.O2-) production by fluorescence spectrometry. High salt induced an elevation in MAP that was associated with decreased NO, prostacyclin and GSH: GSSG ratio. Plasma ISO and TXA2, aortic and renal vascular resistance as well as aortic .O2- were increased. Palm oil reduced MAP, plasma TXA2 and vascular resistance of the renal and aortic arteries, and increased the GSH: GSSG ratio and NO in the LS group. The HS-induced elevation in ISO and .O2- production and the reductions in kidney GSH: GSSG ratio, were attenuated by PO. The effect of PO was also associated with a reduced vessel wall-thickness: lumen diameter ratio and a greater relaxant effect of mesenteric arteries to acetylcholine, in the LS group. The mortality associated with HS was reduced by PO. Thus, palm oil attenuates the progression of salt-induced hypertension and mortality, via mechanisms involving modulation of endothelial function and reduction in oxidative stress.
Key Words: vitamin-rich palm oil, oxidative stress, endothelial function, hypertension.
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Dietary red palm oil supplementation protects against the consequences of global ischemia in the isolated perfused rat heart
AJ ESTERHUYSE, EF DU TOIT AND J VAN ROOYEN
Activation of the NO-cGMP pathway is associated with myocardial protection against ischemia. During ischemia, function of this pathway is disturbed. Little is known about the effects of supplements such as Red Palm Oil (RPO) on the myocardial NO- cGMP- signalling pathway. RPO consists of saturated (SFAs), mono-unsaturated (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated (PUFAs) fatty acids and is an antioxidant rich in natural B-carotene and vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols). This study determined whether dietary RPO-supplemention protects against the consequences of ischemia and identified a possible mechanism for this protection. Long-Evans rats were fed a control diet or control diet plus 7g RPO per kg diet for six weeks. Hearts were excised and mounted on a working heart perfusion apparatus. Cardiac function was measured before and after hearts were subjected to 25 minutes of global ischemia. Left ventricular systolic (LVSP) and diastolic pressure (LVDP), coronary flow (CF), heart rate (HR) and aortic output (AO) were measured. To assess NO-cGMP pathway activity, hearts subjected to the same conditions, were freeze-clamped and analysed for tissue cAMP and cGMP levels using a RIA method. Furthermore, composition of myocardial phospholipid fatty acids by gaschromatography and blood samples were collected for serum lipid determinations. The percentage aortic output recovery of hearts supplemented with RPO was 72.9 ± 3.43 % vs 55.4 2.48 % for controls (P < 0.05). Ten minutes into ischemia the cGMP levels of the RPO-supplementation group were significantly higher than the control group (26.5 ± 2.78 pmol/g vs 10.1 ± 1.78 pmol/g. Total myocardial PUFA content in hearts supplemented with RPO increased from 54.45 ± 1.11% before ischemia to 59.03 ± 0.30 % after ischemia (P<0.05). Results demonstrated that RPO-supplementation protected hearts against the consequences of ischemia/reperfusion injury. These findings suggest that dietary RPO protects via the NO-cGMP pathway and/or changes in PUFA composition during ischemia/reperfusion.
Key Words: red palm oil, ischemia, reperfusion, aortic output recovery, cGMP, phospholipid fatty acids

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Palm oil versus hydrogenated soybean oil: Effects on serum lipids and plasma haemostatic variables
JAN I PEDERSEN, HANNE MÜLLER , INGEBJØRG SELJEFLOT AND BENTE KIRKHUS
The purpose of this study was to test if replacement of trans fatty acids by palmitic acid in an experimental margarine results in unfavourable effects on serum lipids and haemostatic factors. We have compared the effects of three different margarines, one based on palm oil (PALM-margarine), one based on partially hydrogenated soybean oil (TRANS- margarine) and one with a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA-margarine), on serum lipids in 27 young women. In nine of the participants fasting levels and diurnal postprandial levels of haemostatic variables on the 3 diets were compared. The sum of 12:0, 14:0, 16:0 provided 11% of energy (E%) in the PALM diet, the same as the sum of 12:0, 14:0, 16:0 and trans fatty acids in the TRANS-diet. Oleic acid provided 10-11E% in all three diets, while PUFA provided 5.7, 5.5 and 10.2 E%, respectively. Total fat provided 30-31% and the test margarines 26% of total energy in all three diets. Each of the diets was consumed for 17 days in a crossover design. There were no significant differences in total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and apoB between the TRANS- and the PALM-diet. HDL-cholesterol and apoA-I were significantly higher on the PALM-diet compared to the TRANS-diet while the ratio of LDL- to HDL-cholesterol was lower, although not significantly (P = 0.077) on the PALM-diet. Total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and apoB were significantly lower on the PUFA-diet compared to the two other diets. HDL-cholesterol was not different on the PALM- and the PUFA-diet while it was significantly lower on the TRANS-diet compared to the PUFA-diet. Triglycerides and Lp(a) were not different among the three diets. The diurnal postprandial state level of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) activity was significantly decreased on the TRANS-diet compared to the PALM-diet. t-PA activity was also decreased on the PUFA-diet compared to PALM-diet although not significantly (P=0.07). There were no significant differences in neither fasting levels or in circadian variation of t-PA antigen, PAI-1 activity, PAI-1 antigen, factor VII coagulant activity or fibrinogen between the three diets. Our results suggest that dietary palm oil may have a more favourable effect on the fibrinolytic system compared to partially hydrogenated soybean oil. We conclude that from a nutritional point of view, palmitic acid from palm oil may be a reasonable alternative to trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated soybean oil in margarine if the aim is to avoid trans fatty acids. A palm oil based margarine is, however, less favourable than one based on a more polyunsaturated vegetable oil..
Key Words: coronary heart disease, trans fatty acids, palm oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, fibrinolysis, serum cholesterol, serum lipids, plasma haemostatic variables, palmitic acid.
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A comparison between tocopherol and tocotrienol effects on gastric parameters in rats exposed to stress
MF NUR AZLINA, MI NAFEEZA AND BAK KHALID
Rats exposed to stress developed various changes in the gastrointestinal tract and hormones. The present study was designed to compare the impact of tocopherol and tocotrienol on changes that influence gastric and hormonal parameters important in maintaining gastric mucosal integrity in rats exposed to restrain stress. These include gastric acidity, gastric tissue content of parameters such as malondialdehyde, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), serum levels of gastrin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-250g) were randomly divided into three equal sized groups, a control group which received a normal rat diet (RC) and two treatment groups each receiving a vitamin deficient diet with oral supplementation of either tocopherol (TF) or tocotrienol (TT) at 60mg/kg body weight. Blood samples were taken from half the number of rats (non-stressed group) after a treatment period of 28 days before they were killed. The remaining half was subjected to experimental restraint-stress, at 2 hours daily for 4 consecutive days (stressed groups), on the fourth day, blood samples were taken and the rats killed. The findings showed that the gastric acid concentration and serum gastrin level in stressed rats were significantly (P<0.05) reduced compared to the non-stressed rats in the control and TF groups. However, the gastric acidity and gastrin levels in the TT group were comparable in stressed and non-stressed rats. These findings suggest that tocotrienol is able to preserve the gastric acidity and serum gastrin level which are usually altered in stressed conditions. The PGE2 content and the plasma GLP-1 level were, however, comparable in all stressed and non-stressed groups indicating that these parameters were not altered in stress and that supplementation with TF or TT had no effect on the gastric PGE2 content or the GLP-1 level. The malondialdehyde, an indicator of lipid peroxidation was higher from gastric tissues in the stressed groups compared to the non-stressed groups. These findings implicated that free radicals may play a role in the development of gastric injury in stress and supplementation with either TF or TT was able to reduce the lipid peroxidation levels compared to the control rats. We conclude that both tocopherol and tocotrienol are comparable in their gastroprotective ability against damage by free radicals generated in stress conditions, but only tocotrienol has the ability to block the stress-induced changes in the gastric acidity and gastrin level.
Key Words: tocopherol, tocotrienol, stress, gastric mucosal integrity

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Intracellular mechanisms mediating tocotrienol-induced apoptosis in neoplastic mammary epithelial cells
PAUL W SYLVESTER AND SUMIT SHAH
Tocotrienols and tocopherols represent the two subgroups that make up the vitamin E family of compounds. However, tocotrienols display significantly more potent apoptotic activity in neoplastic mammary epithelial cells than tocopherols. Studies were conducted to determine the intracellular mechanism(s) mediating tocotrienol-induced apoptosis in neoplastic +SA mouse mammary epithelial cells in vitro. An initial step in apoptosis is the activation of "initiator" caspases (caspase-8 or -9) that subsequently activate "effector" caspases (caspase-3, -6 and -7) and induce apoptosis. Treatment with cytotoxic doses of -tocotrienol (20 µM) resulted in a time-dependent increase in caspase-8 and caspase-3 activity. Combined treatment with specific caspase-8 or caspase-3 inhibitors completely blocked -tocotrienol-induced apoptosis and caspase-8 or caspase-3 activity, respectively. In contrast, -tocotrienol treatment had no effect on caspase-9 activation, and combined treatment with a specific caspase-9 inhibitor did not block -tocotrienol-induced apoptosis in +SA cells. Since caspase-8 activation is associated with the activation of death receptors, such as Fas, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), or TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptors, studies were conducted to determine the exact death receptor(s) and ligand(s) involved in mediating tocotrienol-induced caspase-8 activation and apoptosis. Treatment with Fas-ligand (FasL), Fas-activating antibody, or TRAIL failed to induce cell death in +SA neoplastic mammary epithelial cells, suggesting that these cells are resistant to death receptor-induced apoptosis. Moreover, treatment with cytotoxic doses of -tocotrienol did not alter the intracellular levels of Fas, FasL, or Fas-associated death domain (FADD) in these cells. Western blot analysis also showed that -tocotrienol did not induce FasL or FADD translocation from the cytosolic to membrane fraction in these cells. Finally, treatment with Fas-blocking antibody did not reverse the tocotrienol-induced apoptosis in + SA cells. These data demonstrate that tocotrienol-induced caspase-8 activation and apoptosis is not mediated through death receptor activation in malignant +SA mammary epithelial cells. Resistance to death receptor-induced apoptosis has been shown to be associated with increased expression of apoptosis-inhibitory proteins, such as FLICE-inhibitory protein (FLIP), and enhanced signalling of the phosphati-dylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/PI3K-dependent kinase (PDK)/Akt mitogenic pathway. Additional studies showed that treatment with cytotoxic doses of -tocotrienol decreased total, membrane, and cytosolic levels of FLIP, and reduced phosphorylated PDK-1 (active) and phosphorylated-Akt (active) levels in these cells. In summary, these findings demonstrate that tocotrienol-induced caspase-8 activation and apoptosis in malignant +SA mammary epithelial cells is not mediated through the activation of death receptors, but appears to result from the suppression of the PI3K/PDK/Akt mitogenic signalling pathway, and subsequent reduction in intracellular FLIP expression.
Key Words: vitamin E, tocotrienols, breast cancer, apoptosis, caspase, PDK, Akt, FLIP

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Effects of tocotrienols on cell viability and apoptosis in normal murine liver cells (BNL CL.2) and liver cancer cells (BNL 1ME A.7R.1), in vitro
CHAN HOOI HAR AND CHAN KOK KEONG
The effects of tocotrienols on murine liver cell viability and their apoptotic events were studied over a dose range of 0-32µg mL-1. Normal murine liver cells (BNL CL.2) and murine liver cancer cells (BNL 1ME A.7R.1) were treated with tocotrienols (T3), alpha tocopherol (a-T) and the chemo drug, Doxorubicin (Doxo, as a positive control). Cell viability assay showed that T3 significantly (P < 0.05) lowered the percentage of BNL 1ME A.7R.1 cell viability in a dose-responsive manner (8-16 µg mL-1), whereas T did not show any significant (P > 0.05) inhibition in cell viability with increasing treatment doses of 0 - 16 µg mL-1. The IC50 for tocotrienols were 9.8, 8.9, 8.1, 9.7, 8.1 and 9.3 µg mL-1 at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 hours respectively. Early apoptosis was detected 6 hours following T3 treatment of BNL 1ME A.7R.1 liver cancer cells, using Annexin V-FITC fluorescence microscopy assay for apoptosis, but none were observed for the non-treated liver cancer cells at the average IC50 of 8.98 µg mL-1 tocotrienols for liver cancer cells. Several apoptotic bodies were detected in BNL 1ME A.7R.1 liver cancer cells at 6 hours post-treatment with tocotrienols (8.98µg mL-1) using Acridine Orange/Propidium Iodide fluorescence assay. However, only a couple of apoptotic bodies were seen in the non-treated liver cancer cells and the BNL CL.2 normal liver cells. Some mitotic bodies were also observed in the T3-treated BNL 1ME A.7R.1 liver cancer cells but were not seen in the untreated BNL 1ME A.7R.1 cells and the BNL CL.2 liver cells. Following T3-treatment (8.98µg mL-1) of the BNL 1ME A.7R.1 liver cancer cells, 24.62%, 25.53% and 44.90% of the cells showed elevated active caspase 3 activity at 9, 12 and 24 hours treatment period, respectively. DNA laddering studies indicated DNA fragmentation occurred in the T3-treated liver cancer cells, BNL 1ME A.7R.1 but not in non-treated liver cancer cells and the T3-treated and non-treated normal liver cells. These results suggest that tocotrienols were able to reduce the cell viability in the murine liver cancer cells at a dose of 8-32 µg mL-1 and that this decrease in percentage cell viability may be due to apoptosis..
Key words: : tocotrienols, alpha tocopherol, liver carcinogenesis, liver cancer, apoptosis, Doxorubicin

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A manufacturer's perspective on selected palm-based products
NEIL O CARR AND W FRASER HOGG
An overview from the perspective of one manufacturer is provided on products that utilise either palm oil or palm kernel oil. The manufacturer is Macphie of Glenbervie while the products are of a wide-ranging nature for use in bakery, food service and food-manufacturing. Much of the discussion concerns cream alternatives on the grounds that this product-category places great demand on the type of fat needed and, to Macphie of Glenbervie, is responsible for most of the oil from oil palm used. However, other products are also touched on. The overview considers key product attributes the function that fat has within these products, together with research requirements and future opportunity.
Key Words: fat functionality, palm functionality, palm kernel functionality, HPKO functionality, cream alternatives, vegetable cream, imitation cream, non-dairy cream, food emulsions, food industry perspective on fat.
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Quality of margarine: fats selection and processing parameters
MAT SAHRI MISKANDAR, YAAKOB CHE MAN, MOHD SURIA AFFANDI YUSOFF AND RUSSLY ABD RAHMAN
Optimum processing conditions on palm oil-based formulations are required to produce the desired quality margarine. As oils and fats contribute to the overall property of the margarine, this paper will review the importance of ' tending oils and fats in margarine formulation, effects of the processing parameters - emulsion temperature, flow-rate, product temperature and pin-worker speed - on palm oil margarines produced and their subsequent behaviour in storage. Palm oil, which contributes the ' crystal polymorph and the best alternative to hydrogenated liquid fats, and the processing conditions can affect the margarine consistency by influencing the solid fat content (SFC) and the types of crystal polymorph formed during production as well as in storage. Palm oil, or hydrogenated palm oil and olein, in mixture with oils of tending, can veer the product to the ' crystal form. However, merely having ' crystal tending oils is not sufficient as the processing conditions are also important. The emulsion temperature had no significant effect on the consistency and polymorphic changes of the product during storage, even though differences were observed during processing. The consistency of margarine during storage was high at low emulsion flow-rates and low at high flow rates. The temperature of the scraped-surface tube-cooler is the most important parameter in margarine processing. High temperature will produce a hardened product with formation of -crystals during storage. The speed of the pin-worker is responsible for inducing crystallization but, at the same time, destroys the crystal agglomerates, resulting in melting.Key Words: serum urate, hyperuricemia, metabolic syndrome (MS), elderly, indigenous, mountainous, Taiwan, Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1999-2000).
Key Words: crystal polymorph, margarine, crystallization, SFC, consistency.
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Interesterified palm products as alternatives to hydrogenation
NOR AINI IDRIS AND NOOR LIDA HABI MAT DIAN
Interesterification is one of the processes used to modify the physico-chemical characteristics of oils and fats. Interesterification is an acyl-rearrangement reaction on the glycerol molecule. On the other hand, hydrogenation involves addition of hydrogen to the double bonds of unsaturated fatty acids. Due to health implications of trans fatty acids, which are formed during hydrogenation, the industry needs to find alternatives to hydrogenated fats. This paper discusses some applications of interesterified fats, with particular reference to interesterified palm products, as alternatives to hydrogenation. Some physico-chemical properties of interesterified fats used in shortenings are discussed. With interesterification, more palm stearin can be incorporated in vanaspati. For confectionary fats and infant formulations, enzymatic interesterification has been employed..
Key Words: Interesterification, palm products, palm oil, hydrogenation, margarine
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Performance of phytochemical antioxidant systems in refined-bleached-deodorized palm olein during frying
IRWANDI JASWIR, YAAKOB B CHE MAN AND TORLA H HASSAN
Antioxidants are important inhibitory compounds against the oxidative deterioration of food. This study investigated the effects of various phytochemical antioxidant systems [oleoresin rosemary (OR), oleoresin sage (OS) and citric acid (CA)] on the physico-chemical characteristics of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein during the frying of potato chips. The effects of various mixtures of the antioxidants on the oil was also studied in repeated deep frying. The response surface methodology was used to optimize the composition of mixed antioxidants used. A comparative study was carried out with synthetic antioxidants. Samples of the oil after frying were analyzed for different physical and chemical properties. OR and OS were found to be effective phytochemical antioxidants protecting RBD palm olein against oxidative deterioration during frying..
Key Words: rosemary, sage, phytochemical antioxidant , deep frying, palm oil, oxidation
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Palm oil and palm olein frying applications
RAZALI ISMAIL
Several million tonnes of palm oil and palm olein are used annually in the world for frying. This paper will discuss their frying performances in three major applications - industrial production of potato chips/crisps, industrial production of pre-fried frozen French fries and in fast food outlets. In the first study, about four tonnes of potato chips were continuously fried 8 hours a day and five days a week. The palm olein used (with proper management) performed well and was still in excellent condition and usable at the end of the trial. This was reflected in its low free fatty acid (FFA) content of around 0.23%, peroxide value of 4 meq/kg, anisidine value of 16, low polar and polymer contents of 10% and 2%, respectively, induction period (OSI) of 21 hours and high content of tocopehrols and tocotrienols of 530 ppm even after >1900 hours. In the second study in which an average 12 tonnes pre-fried frozen French fries were continuously fried a day for 5 days a week, palm oil performed excellently as reflected by its low FFA of 0.34%, food oil sensor reading of 1.1, low polar and polymer contents of 17% and 2.8%, respectively, over the 12 days of trial. In the third study in which palm shortening, palm oil and palm olein were simultaneously used to intermittently fry chicken parts in the laboratory simulating the conditions in fast food outlets, the three frying oils also performed very satisfactorily as reflected by their reasonably low FFA of <1%, smoke points of >180ºC, and polar and polymer contents of <25% and <6%, respectively, after 5 days of consecutive frying. All the quality indicators did not exceed the maximum discard points for frying oils/fats in the three applications, while the fried food product was well accepted by the in-house train sensory panel using a-nine point hedonic score.
Key Words: palm oil, palm olein, industrial frying, batch frying
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Preventive action of food seasoning spices mixture on fructose-induced lipid abnormalities
RAMU SUGANTHI, SHANMUGANATHAN RAJAMANI, MAMBAKKAM KATCHAPESWARAN RAVICHANDRAN AND CARANI VENKATRAMAN ANURADHA
High fructose feeding in rats induces insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. The present study was undertaken to determine the hypolipidemic effect of food seasoning spices mixture on fructose-fed insulin resistant rats. Male Wistar rats received a daily diet containing either 60% fructose or 60% starch. They were administered with the spices mixture at three different doses (10mg, 30mg or 50mg/day/rat) orally 15 days later. At the end of 45 days of the experimental period fructose-fed rats displayed elevated plasma glucose and insulin levels and dyslipidemia which included elevated levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol and increased very low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Alterations in tissue lipid levels were also observed. Simultaneous treatment with spices mixture along with fructose diet resulted in the normalization of plasma glucose and insulin levels and restoration of lipid levels in plasma and tissues. The insulin potentiating action of the active principles in these spices may contribute to the hypolipidemic effect of spices mixture in high fructose-fed rats.
Key Words: fructose, spices, cinnamon, cloves, fenugreek, cumin, cardamom, mace, garam masala, black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, insulin resistance, glucose, lipids

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Mother's milk and hydrogen peroxide
EBTEHAL ALI ABAS AL-KERWI, ALI HMAL-HASHIMI AND ATHRAA M SALMAN
H2O2 levels in mother's milk were measured at different times of postpartum periods after birth as well as after different times of storage at freezing temperature. The luminol H2O2 dependent chemiluminesence at pH = 9.8 technique was used. Maximum levels of H2O2 were found in the first week of the postpartum period (24.992 ± 0.168 µM). The levels of H2O2 decreased significantly (P<0.05) in the second week (20.4 ± 0.169 µM), while a significant (P<0.01) decrease in the level of H2O2 occured in the third week after birth (15.783 ± 0.782) µM. The levels of H2O2 fell sharply in the fourth week of lactation (8.75 ± 0.27 µM) with a significant difference relative to the first week (P <0.001). The stability of the H2O2 levels remained constant, at least for a period of one month, with storage at freezing point for all groups (P>0.05).
Key Words: hydrogen peroxide, lactation, breast feeding, mother's milk, colostrum, Iraq
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Anti-schistosomal activity of colostral and mature camel milk on Schistosoma mansoni infected mice
AMANY S MAGHRABY, MAHMOUD A MOHAMED AND AHMED M ABDEL-SALAM
The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-schistosomal activity of colostral and mature camel milk on Schistosoma mansoni infected mice. Six weeks post infection, mean percentage of protection was detected through the hepatic portal vein. Glutathione-s-transferase (GST), alanine, aspartate transaminase (ALT and AST) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were detected in sera of treated mice before and after infection. Antischistosomal activity of colostral and mature camel milk on Schistosoma mansoni infected mice were 12.81% and 31.60% respectively. The results showed that GST levels in sera of mice fed on colostral and mature camel milk were increased with mean values of 0.070, 0.108, 0.128 and 0.120 in colostral milk groups and 0. 072, 0.085, 0.166 and 0.20 in mature camel milk groups compared with the mice fed on basal diet with means values of 0.070, 0.085, 0.078 and 0.069 before infection and after two, four and six weeks of infection, respectively. On the other hand, there were slight differences on ALT and AST activities. Mice treated with colostral and mature milk (200 µl/day) showed an immunostimulatory effect by inducing IgG titers against soluble worm antigen preparation (SWAP) compared with control. Nevertheless, the difference was not considered significant (0.31 ± 0.1) for colostrum (0.34 ± 0.1) and for mature milk, as compared to normal control (0.2 ± 0.04). Two, four and six weeks post infection, IgG level showed no significant change in sera from mice treated with colostral and mature milk as compared to control. In conclusion, colostral and mature camel milk showed an immunomodualatory effect in normal healthy mice by inducing IgG and GST levels before and after infection with Schistosoma mansoni. Colostral and mature camel milk have a protective response against schistosomiasis.
Key Words: colostrum, camel milk, parasites, Schistosoma mansoni, schistosomiasis, lactoferrin, GST, ALT, AST.
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Last Updated: December 2005