As the world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil, Malaysia accounts for more than 50% of world palm oil output and more than 60% of world palm oil exports. Used in a myriad of food-based and industrial applications, Malaysia’s palm oil-based products have penetrated more than 80 countries worldwide (MATRADE). However, the industry is not without its challenges. Malaysia has to strive and excel in research and development in order to face the challenges of the new millennium and continue to be the global leader in this industry.
Figure 1: Oil Palm Plantation.

MABIC sat down with Dr Ahmad Parveez Hj Ghulam Kadir, a Principal Research Officer at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to discuss the role of biotechnology in oil palm research.
		Figure 2: Dr Parveez was interviewed to discuss the role of biotechnology in oil palm research.

According to Dr Parveez, the oil palm in Malaysia is confined to the existing gene pool as they were derived from only four plants that were originally brought over from Indonesia. Therefore, the lack of gene diversity in the population of oil palm in Malaysia holds a wall that hinders the production of higher yield and better products. Dr Parveez is focusing his research on genetic engineering a technique that allows him the possibility of producing oil with superior quality that cannot be found in local breeds and also to enrich the current gene pool.

The challenges faced by oil palm industry as listed by Dr. Parveez are labor shortages, the lack of arable land, and the low commodity price of palm oil. “We need an alternative solution to conventionally bred palm oil”, says this prominent researcher. Dr. Parveez believes that biotech oil palm is one of the solutions to these challenges as the modified plants could produce much higher yield, better quality oil and made to be disease resistant.

The other challenge is the low-fat diet often promoted by some health campaigners. We are always told to avoid the consumption of fatty food and oil. We are made to believe that diet high in fat could lead to obesity, heart disease, and stroke. But the problem with low-fat diet is that it is far too simple. We often overlook the essential fatty acids that are required by our body. While it is true that excessive intake of fatty acid can be unhealthy, abstaining totally from fat can be detrimental to your health as well. This is where biotechnology comes into play. “Biotech oil palm can be manipulated to produce oil with high contents of beneficial fatty acids and to minimize the harmful ones”, says Dr Parveez.

One of Dr Parveez’s key area of research is to include palmitoleic acid in the current palm oil profile. Palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturated oil and a highly effective antioxidant, is not produced by conventional oil palm. “Originally, palmitoleic acid can only be obtained from macadamia nuts (Figure 3) in very small amounts. The breakthrough of being able to manipulate oil palm to produce palmitoleic acid will open many doors in healthcare as this compound is found to prevent stroke and minimize the chances of heart diseases,” says Dr Parveez. Studies have shown that palmitoleic acid can significantly reduce blood serum cholesterol levels, as well as enhance the protective high-density lipoproteins and suppress undesirable low-density lipoproteins (cholesterol and lipoprotein levels are indicators to the risk of heart disease).

Figure 3: Macadamia Nuts.

Another fatty acid that Dr Parveez’s lab is working on is ricinoteic acid which is commonly used in producing high quality varnishes and lubricant oil. Using similar techniques, this fatty acid can also be produced by oil palm.

Apart from the basic products that could come out of palm oil, Dr Parveez has also been exploring the possibility of making new novel products. The production of biodegradable thermoplastics is one of them. “MPOB is working together with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to produce these novel products as it holds many promises which not only will benefit our environment but also our economy,” states Dr Parveez. The cost to produce biodegradable thermoplastics through bacterial fermentation process is five to ten times higher than the cost of production of petroleum based polymers. It is believed that these compounds can be produced by transgenic plants with a lower cost.

Though transgenic oil palm is currently still in the research stage, the prospects are very bright. Currently, the government has not yet allowed transgenic oil palm crops to be planted out in the open. The standings of research show that 90% of transgenic plantlets contain the introduced genes.

MPOB was handed the task of governing the nation’s palm oil industry. With the wide ranging research and development projects undertaken by MPOB, both basic and applied, we can be rest assured that the industry will not rest on its laurels. With researchers like Dr Parveez devoted for the cause, the next generation oil palm products look very interesting indeed.