APRIL, 2020 | THE HEALTH
| Issue |
AT THE SIGNING.... (from left to right): Andy Warrol- Chief Operating Officer, Sime Darby Oils, Asanee Mallamphut- Head of
Asia Pacific, Sime Darby Oils, Pn Rosidah Radzian- Director of Product development and advisory services, Malaysian Palm Oil
Board,Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad- Managing Director, Sime Darby Oils, Professor Dr Raja Affendi Raja Ali- Dean, Medical Faculty
of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Professor Dr Ahmad Nazrun Shuid,- Deputy Dean, Research and Innovation, Medical
Faculty of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Dr M Ganabaskaran- President, Malaysian Medical Association, Mohammad
Rahimi Abdullah- Head, Sime Darby Oils Nutrition, Professor Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh - deputy dean, liaison and wealth, Medical
Faculty of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Professor Norfilza Mohd Mokhtar- Head of Physiology Department-
Medical Faculty of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
World’s first clinical trial
for fatty liver treatment
Sime Darby Oils and UKM go hand-in-hand in
executing the world’s fi rst extensive clinical trial for
fatty liver treatment using Tocotrienols
Dr Raja Affendi
said clinical trials
for fatty liver
treatment is
under way.
NATRIÉO Tocotrienol, a
supplement produced by
Sime Darby Oils (SDO).
T
HE world’s fi rst clinical trial
for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver
Disease (NAFLD) treatment
using Tocotrienols is
underway. If all goes well, the
preliminary results will be out
within six months from the
commencement of the trial
in February with a full publication of the
fi ndings in 2021.
Sime Darby Oils (SDO) and Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) are carrying
out trials, and the collaboration may take
two years.
A Memorandum of Agreement was
signed on Feb 11, 2020, between SDO
Managing Director Mohd Haris Mohd
Arshad and UKM’s Dean of Faculty of
Medicine and Professor of Medicine Dr
Raja Aff endi Raja Ali who represented
UKM’s offi cial signatory, Vice-Chancellor,
Professor Datuk Ir. Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd
Shukor.
The trial will determine if the palm oil
derived NATRIEO Tocotrienols that plays
the role as an antioxidant classifi ed in
vitamin E, could be used as a therapeutic
approach in treating NAFLD.
Dr Raja Aff endi said they would be
running a randomised double-blind trial
with a localised demographic sample
focusing on full-spectrum testing
of fatty-liver, the fi rst and the most
comprehensive of its kind in the world.
NAFLD is one of the most common
chronic liver diseases, ranging from
non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to non-
alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD is
an accumulation of excess fat in the liver.
Primary stage of NAFLD will not cause any
harm. But in the long run, it may lead to
severe liver damage, including cirrhosis.
Previous studies have shown that the
prevalence of NAFLD was associated
with dietary changes and lifestyle habits,
such as exercise, smoking, having dinner
within two hours of going to bed, specifi ed
sleeping and sitting duration.
The Tocotrienols to be used in this
fi rst-ever clinical trial is a palm oil-derived
natural form of vitamin E, extracted
from palm fruit harvested by Sime Darby
Plantation (SDP). SDP pioneered the
palm Tocotrienols extraction process in
1993 with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board
(MPOB).
A Tocotrienol supplement called
NATRIÉO produced by SDO has been made
commercially available by the company
since 2002. This supplement will be used
in carrying out the clinical trial.
Dr Raja Aff endi added that vitamin
E appears as a promising therapeutic
approach to treat fatty liver due to
its antioxidant potency and anti-
infl ammatory activity. “It has been
shown to reduce oxidative stress in fatty
liver. There are two forms of Vitamin E,
tocopherol and Tocotrienols. The most
widely studied Vitamin E is the tocopherol
which is a saturated form of Vitamin E.
Yet, Tocotrienols possesses dominant
properties compared to tocopherol.
Tocotrienols are neuroprotective besides
being an antioxidant, anti-cancer and
cholesterol-lowering. All these diff er from
tocopherol.
He further explained the unsaturated
chain of Tocotrienols allows for better
penetration into tissue with saturated
fatty layers, resulting in the preferential
distribution in the liver. The molecules are
40-60 times more potent in anti-oxidative
properties than tocopherol. NATRIÉO, a
natural product by SDO, is Tocotrienols
-rich Vitamin E extracted 100% from local
palm fruit.
Palm oil is one of the most abundant
natural sources of Tocotrienols, with crude
palm oil also known as the “Tocotrienol-
rich fraction”.
Mohd Haris said the Tocotrienols in
NATRIÉO are extracted exclusively from
the Elaeis Guineesis species of oil palms
grown in the Carey estate of their our
parent company, Sime Darby Plantation,
the world’s largest producer of certifi ed
sustainable palm oil.
He also highlighted that the molecular
distillation process used in extracting
Tocotrienols is a state-of-the-art process
ensuring all impurities are removed from
the oil while minimising degradation
from heat and oxidation.
“With our ‘Source to Seal’ guarantee,
we assure that our Tocotrienol extracted
from this process is of the highest quality
and the freshest. The collaboration further
solidifi es our goal to be evidence-based
in our claims, especially in the nutrition
business,” he added. — The Health
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