OCTOBER, 2019 | The HEALTH Plus
11
p11
Palm oil
for the
greater good
The tree that provides so much, yet are
stained by misconception and misdirection
Mesocarp/fl esh)
(Source of crude
palm oil, CPO)
GOOD OIL: Dr Parveez
says that the nutritional
value of palm oil is not
only comparable but
actually better than
other ‘healthy oils’.
“One of the most notable
achievements in research that has
been done by MPOB is the studies
of the oil palm’s whole genome
that were published in the world’s
prestigious Nature Journal.
– Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir
Shell
A
S MALAYSIANS, we may
have at least heard about
the issue with our palm oil
industry. Demand for our
prized produce internationally
has plummeted, causing
players in the industry from the workers
to the corporations to hurriedly look for
alternatives to stay afl oat. And it was all
caused by the implication that palm oil
causes major deforestation.
Alas, it was not the case to begin with. The
Health had the chance to meet with the
Director-General of the Malaysian Palm Oil
Board (MPOB), Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam
Kadir to ask him vital questions on palm oil
and how the false perception shadows its
clear advantages.
The vital misconception
Dr Parveez starts off the interview by
addressing the elephant in the room
regarding Malaysian palm oil, it’s recent
deforestation causing issue. “I have read
the actual article written in a European
newspaper around 12 years ago in relation
to biodesel from oil crops. The story was
about the deforestation that was going on in
Indonesia and it just so happened to use a
photo of the Malaysian oil palm plantation
with a rather misleading caption. The article
blew up and the masses have had a rather
violent misconception towards our palm oil
industry ever since.”
Malaysia as base for ground-
breaking development
The plantation for oil palm was actually
developed fi rst in Indonesia, Malaysia has
been the main championing force for palm oil
producing and exports before Indonesia took
over a couple of years ago. Despite all that,
most of the research and development for
palm oil were still done by MPOB.
“One of the most notable achievements
in research that has been done by MPOB
is the studies of the oil palm’s whole
genome mesocarp (shell) and tissue culture
Kernel
(Source of palm
kernel oil, PKO)
abnormality that were published in the
world’s prestigious Nature Journal.. From
the research, we are able to increase oil yield
from the mesocarp and from the tissue
cultured clones.”
The dura, pisifera, and tenera
How did they make it more effi cient, you
might ask? Dr Parveez explains: “The
original oil palm that was brought from
Bogor, Indonesia when we were just
starting to plant them here was called the
dura. The dura oil palm has a thick layer
of shell that separates the kernel and the
outer flesh called the mesocarp – which is
the main source of palm oil. The thick shell
creates less oil yield. On the other hand,
there is another variant of the oil palm
called the pisifera that does not have a
shell at all. However, the shell-less pisifera
doesn’t always produce fruit or sterile.”
Hence the research of the oil palm female
genome. “With the research made in studying
both the dura and pisifera’s genome, we were
not able to combine the genes but actually
could use the genome data to allow only
tenera plant be selected at seedling level and
planted in fi eld for obtaining higher yield.
Tenera has more mesocarp and not more
kernel,” he ends.
(left) The cross section of
tenera oil palm fruit.
The specifi c characteristic that makes palm oil
nutritious is the fact that it has balanced fatty
acids, contains phytonutrients and the most
stable oil to be used for cooking.
Striving in
sustainable production
Now we know that Malaysia plays a
tremendous role in better understanding of
the tenera genome, as well as the immense
health benefi ts palm oil has to off er, what
makes us better than the palm oil being
produced by our neighbouring country, the
actual originator of oil palm plantation?
“With our understanding of genome
knowledge, we identifi ed the tenera variety
at an early stage. This is important because
tenera produces 30 percent more oil as
compared to dura. We strive to make the palm
oil produced in Malaysia to be 100 percent
sustainable through the Malaysia Sustainable
Palm Oil (MSPO) certifi cation scheme. We
make it mandatory for not only the key
players, but also the smallholders (which
never required by other certifi cation systems)
to be certifi ed by the MPOCC. That will
make the palm oil produced here to be fully
sustainable,” says Dr Parveez.
He also explains that Malaysia is more
technologically advanced in terms of
production and management processes, and
so the quality and quantity of Malaysian palm
oil is the best despite us not being the biggest
producer of palm oil. — The Health
Comparable in nutritional value
Dr Parveez was not one to shy away from
explaining the immense health benefi ts palm
oil provides.
“It is found that palm oil has a balanced
composition of both saturated and
unsaturated fatty acids. Although people
have been accusing saturated fatty acids to be
the main cause of heart attacks, our studies
together with international universities have
shown that palm oil behaves exactly like other
oils such as olive oil and sunfl ower oil. It does
not increase your LDL (bad cholesterol), and
it does not increase the risks to heart diseases.
Moreover, the presence of the antioxidants
such as tocotrienols and carotene only makes
it more benefi cial”
From left: the dura, the pisifera and the tenera oil palm fruit.