Date: 22 March 2023
Time: 12.00 pm – 2.00 pm
Venue: Anugerah Hall, Level 14, West Wing, KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, Selangor
A Palm Oil Health Awareness CPD Lunch Talk was held at KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, Selangor on 22nd March 2023. This is also the first event conducted in a hospital. The aim of this programme is to extend the outreach for medical and health professionals of KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, to broaden their understanding of Malaysian palm oil and its latest research findings. 66 participants attended the event (including doctors, consultants, nurses and other hospital staffs).
The programme started with opening remarks by Dr. Ruslan Abdullah, Director of Science, Environment & Sustainability.
Pic 1: Dr. Ruslan Abdullah giving opening remarks
The programme was then followed by two paper presentations:
- “Carotenoid-Rich Palm Oil and its Eye Health Effects” by Associate Professor Dr. Mah Siau Hui, Taylor’s University
- “Benefits of Palm Tocotrienols for the Aging Brain” by Professor Emeritus Dr. Yuen Kah Hay, Universiti Sains Malaysia
The first speaker, Dr. Mah, gave an overview of carotenoid-rich red palm oil and its benefits as compared to other types of vegetable oils. In her presentation, she shared on how carotenoids in red palm oil are stored and utilised in human body, specifically for good eye health.
The second speaker, Professor Yuen, is a pioneer researcher in palm tocotrienols. In his presentation, he shared with the participants the difference between vitamin E tocopherols and tocotrienols. Professor Yuen also shared the proven health benefits of palm tocotrienols, and he further elaborated on brain health, especially for the ageing population.
The Q&A was moderated by Dr. Ruslan Abdullah, and a few questions were asked by the participants, such as:
- How could vitamin E tocotrienols impact on stroke patients and improve their cognitive function?
- Can vitamin E tocotrienols improve on patients with fatty liver problem?
- Any correlation of vitamin E tocotrienols with gut microbiome?
- What is the timespan to retain the phytonutrients of used mesocarp?
- Was the increase in sales of vitamin E tocotrienols and carotenoids supplementation products during pandemic period due to the increased awareness of these nutritional vitamins on immunity improvement?
- Any correlation between palm tocotrienols with pontine or cerebral atrophy?
- Will our daily use of red palm oil under high temperature cooking (120 – 150°C) reduce the phytonutrients?
Interaction between participants and speakers during Q&A session.
Other than the seminar, mini exhibitions were also set up to display palm-based products, in which MPOC and two other companies took part – Profes Lipid Sdn. Bhd. (Harvist Red Palm Oil) and Hovid Sdn. Bhd. It was a good exposure for the participants, as they learned about different functionality of Malaysian palm oil, as well as the brands of palm-based products in the market.
Participants visiting mini exhibition (i.e. Hovid Sdn. Bhd., MPOC & Harvist)
| Papers | |
| Paper 1 : Carotenoid-Rich Palm Oil and its Eye Health Effects by Associate Professor Dr. Mah Siau Hui, Taylor’s University |
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Associate Professor Dr. Siau Hui Mah is the Head of the Centre for Drug Discovery and Molecular Pharmacology in Taylor’s University and holds a position of Programme Director for Postgraduate Programmes in the School of Biosciences. Her research interests focus on Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry, especially on the discovery of lead compounds for anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-Alzheimer’s disease drugs from the phytochemicals and semi-synthesized natural product-based compounds. Besides that, she is actively working on the oil palm research, particularly the red palm oil and oil palm biomass, and their nutritional values and applications. Dr. Mah has been awarded with numerous research grants worth more than RM1.7 million and published more than 70 high impact scientific journal papers and book chapters in international peer-reviewed journals. She contributes as an editorial board member and reviewer for many Q1 scientific journals and received many awards for research and teaching & learning from international and national organizations. . |
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| Paper 2 : Benefits of Palm Tocotrienols for the Aging Brain by Professor Emeritus Dr. Yuen Kah Hay, Universiti Sains Malaysia | |
 Professor Emeritus Dr. Yuen Kah Hay obtained his B.Pharm. and M.Sc. from USM and Ph.D. from University of London. He has been lecturing at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USM for over 40 years. He was also a consultant to Hovid Bhd since 1992. He began investigating palm tocotrienols in the late 90s and helped Hovid to launch the first tocotrienol product in Malaysia, including the development of a patented system used in Tocovid Suprabio. He was also the lead investigator of several clinical studies investigating the neuroprotective effects of tocotrienols and their therapeutic benefits in Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver. He has retired from USM on December 2016 and from Hovid on December 2020. He was conferred the title Emeritus Professor by Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2019 and was listed as the “World’s top 2% Scientists” by Stanford University in 2020 |
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