KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 (Bernama)—Malaysia will invest close to RM20 million in six clinical trials seeking medical breakthroughs by using tocotrienols in palm oil.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said the RM20 million investment is in line with Malaysia’s aim to expedite growth in the food and health-based downstream segment under the Palm Oil National Key Economic Area.

The medical trials will be conducted by medical experts in the US, Singapore and Malaysia to determine whether tocotrienols are able to prevent the recurrence of stroke, breast cancer tumour progression and colorectal cancer; and prolong the survival of patients with prostate cancer.

“Oil palm fruits contain one of the highest amounts of tocotrienols, up to 800 mg per fruit. This makes palm oil tocotrienols ideal for medical research,” he said at a media briefing.

Medical experts from Ohio State University Medical Centre, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Singapore-based Davos Life Science, Penang Medical College and MD Anderson Centre of the University of Texas as well as the Malaysian Palm oil Board will participate in the clinical research on tocotrienols.

Dompok said the researchers will also conduct clinical trials on diabetes mellitus and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).

“We want these trials to produce supplements that will be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as well as the European Medicines Agency and have the widest possible impact on patients globally,” he said.