RESEARCH ARTICLE

Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 34 (3) September 2022, p. 562-570

TOXICOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF REFINED PALM-PRESSED MESOCARP FIBRE OIL

KIM-TIU TENG1*; RADHIKA LOGANATHAN1; EE LING SIEW2,3; HARRISON LIK NANG LAU1 and NOR FADILAH RAJAB3,4

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21894/jopr.2022.0010
Received: 15 March 2021   Accepted: 30 November 2021   Published Online: 31 January 2022
ABSTRACT

Refined palm-pressed mesocarp fibre oil (PMFO) is a rich source of phytonutrients, which merits further exploration as a functional food component. Current study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of refined PMFO using MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] and alkaline comet assay, respectively. Acute oral toxicity assessment was performed on two groups of rats using a stepwise procedure based on OECD 423. Animals were observed for clinical effects at 30 min, hourly for 4 and 6 hr post dosing and once daily up to day 14. There were no inhibitory concentration (IC50) values observed for refined PMFO treated V79-4 Chinese hamster lung cells as compared to positive control hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), where a concentration response effect was seen following treatment with H2O2 with an IC50 value of 1.568 mM. Refined PMFO has no capability to induce direct deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand breakage in V79-4 cells. In addition, refined PMFO showed no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) up to 2000 mg/kg body weight of the animal. Taken together, our study suggests that refined PMFO has great potential to be used in functional applications such as in food, dietary supplements and pharmaceutical products.

KEYWORDS:


1Malaysian Palm Oil Board,
6 Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi,
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.

2 ASASI Pintar Unit, Pusat GENIUS@Pintar Negara,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

3 Biocompatibility and Toxicology Laboratory,
Centre for Research and Instrumentation Management
(CRIM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

4 Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness Faculty of Health
Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

* Corresponding author e-mail: kimtiu@mpob.gov.my