RNA-Seq transcriptome profiling of Nile rat livers reveals novel insights on the anti-diabetic mechanisms of Water-Soluble Palm Fruit Extract.

Water-Soluble Palm Fruit Extract (WSPFE) has been shown to confer anti-diabetic effects in the Nile rat (NR) (Arvicanthis niloticus). Liquid and powder WSPFE both deterred diabetes onset in NRs fed a high-carbohydrate (hiCHO) diet, but the liquid form provided better protection. In this study, NRs were fed either a hiCHO diet or the same diet added with liquid or powder WSPFE.

Insulin and circadian rhythm genes of the Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) are conserved and orthologous to those in the rat, mouse and human.

The African grass or Nile rat (NR) (Arvicanthis niloticus) is a herbivorous diurnal rodent which is used as a biological model for research on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the circadian rhythm. Similar to humans, male NRs develop T2DM with high-carbohydrate diets. The NR thus provides a unique opportunity to identify the nutritional and underlying genetic factors that characterise human T2DM, as well as the effects of potential anti-diabetic phytochemicals such as Water-Soluble Palm Fruit Extract.

Protoplast Isolation and Transformation in Oil Palm.

The protocol outlined in this chapter describes a detailed procedure for protoplast isolation and transformation using polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated transfection and DNA microinjection, highlighting also the critical steps associated with the method. Briefly, we will describe the efficient isolation of protoplasts from 3-month-old suspension calli collected at 14 days after cultured. Digestion of the calli with an optimal composition of enzyme solution yielded over 2 × 10 protoplasts/mL with the viability of more than 80%.

Water-soluble palm fruit extract: composition, biological properties, and molecular mechanisms for health and non-health applications.

The oil palm () fruit is a source of vegetable oil and various phytonutrients. Phytochemical compounds present in palm oil include tocotrienols, carotenoids, phytosterols, squalene, coenzyme Q, and phospholipids. Being a fruit, the oil palm is also a rich source of water-soluble phytonutrients, including phenolic compounds.

Identification of reference genes for real-time polymerase chain reaction gene expression studies in Nile rats fed Water-Soluble Palm Fruit Extract.

The Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is a novel diurnal carbohydrate-sensitive rodent useful for studies on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the metabolic syndrome. Hepatic responses to T2DM and any interventions thereof can be evaluated via transcriptomic gene expression analysis. However, the study of gene expression via real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) requires identification of stably expressed reference genes for accurate normalisation.

Expression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes in interspecific hybrids of oil palm.

Evaluation of transcriptome data in combination with QTL information has been applied in many crops to study the expression of genes responsible for specific phenotypes. In oil palm, the mesocarp oil extracted from E. oleifera × E.

Sustainable Palm Oil-The Role of Screening and Advanced Analytical Techniques for Geographical Traceability and Authenticity Verification.

Palm oil production from oil palm ( Jacq.) is vital for the economy of Malaysia. As of late, sustainable production of palm oil has been a key focus due to demand by consumer groups, and important progress has been made in establishing standards that promote good agricultural practices that minimize impact on the environment.

Consumption of an Oil Palm Fruit Extract Promotes Large Bowel Health in Rats.

Oil palm fruit is widely used for edible oils, but the health benefits of other components are relatively unknown. We examined if consuming a polyphenol-rich extract of the fruit, from a vegetation by-product of oil processing, which also contains fibre, has gastro-intestinal benefits in rats on a Western-type diet (WD). The oil palm preparation (OPP) was added to food (OPP-F) or drinking water (OPP-D) to provide 50 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/d and compared to effects of high amylose maize starch (HAMS; 30%) in the diet or green tea extract (GT; 50 mg GAE/d) in drinking water over 4 wk.

Publisher Correction: Palm Fruit Bioactives augment expression of Tyrosine Hydroxylase in the Nile Grass Rat basal ganglia and alter the colonic microbiome.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Variation for heterodimerization and nuclear localization among known and novel oil palm SHELL alleles.

Oil palm breeding involves crossing dura and pisifera palms to produce tenera progeny with greatly improved oil yield. Oil yield is controlled by variant alleles of a type II MADS-box gene, SHELL, that impact the presence and thickness of the endocarp, or shell, surrounding the fruit kernel. We identified six novel SHELL alleles in noncommercial African germplasm populations from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

Palm Fruit Bioactives augment expression of Tyrosine Hydroxylase in the Nile Grass Rat basal ganglia and alter the colonic microbiome.

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) catalyzes the hydroxylation of L-tyrosine to L-DOPA. This is the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the catecholamines - dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine (EP). Catecholamines (CA) play a key role as neurotransmitters and hormones.

Use of headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry to detect volatile fingerprints of palm fibre oil and sludge palm oil in samples of crude palm oil.

Objective: The addition of residual oils such as palm fibre oil (PFO) and sludge palm oil (SPO) to crude palm oil (CPO) can be problematic within supply chains. PFO is thought to aggravate the accumulation of monochloropropanediols (MCPDs) in CPO, whilst SPO is an acidic by-product of CPO milling and is not fit for human consumption. Traditional targeted techniques to detect such additives are costly, time-consuming and require highly trained operators.

Palm Fruit Bioactives modulate human astrocyte activity in vitro altering the cytokine secretome reducing levels of TNFα, RANTES and IP-10.

Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, are becoming more prevalent and an increasing burden on society. Neurodegenerative diseases often arise in the milieu of neuro-inflammation of the brain. Reactive astrocytes are key regulators in the development of neuro-inflammation.

A phase I single-blind clinical trial to evaluate the safety of oil palm phenolics (OPP) supplementation in healthy volunteers.

Plant phenolics are being increasingly consumed globally with limited scientific and clinical evidence pertaining to safety and efficacy. The oil palm fruit contains a cocktail of phenolics, and palm oil production results in high volumes of aqueous by-products enriched in phenolics and bioactives. Several lines of evidence from in vitro and in vivo animal studies confirmed that the aqueous extract enriched in phenolics and other bioactives collectively known as oil palm phenolics (OPP) is safe and has potent bioactivity.

Comparative genomic and transcriptomic analysis of selected fatty acid biosynthesis genes and CNL disease resistance genes in oil palm.

Comparative genomics and transcriptomic analyses were performed on two agronomically important groups of genes from oil palm versus other major crop species and the model organism, Arabidopsis thaliana. The first analysis was of two gene families with key roles in regulation of oil quality and in particular the accumulation of oleic acid, namely stearoyl ACP desaturases (SAD) and acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterases (FAT). In both cases, these were found to be large gene families with complex expression profiles across a wide range of tissue types and developmental stages.

Oil Palm Phenolics Inhibit the Aggregation of -Amyloid Peptide into Oligomeric Complexes.

Alzheimer's disease is a severe neurodegenerative disease characterized by the aggregation of amyloid- peptide (A) into toxic oligomers which activate microglia and astrocytes causing acute neuroinflammation. Multiple studies show that the soluble oligomers of A42 are neurotoxic and proinflammatory, whereas the monomers and insoluble fibrils are relatively nontoxic. We show that A42 aggregation is inhibited by oil palm phenolics (OPP), an aqueous extract from the oil palm tree .

Drosophila larvae fed palm fruit juice (PFJ) delay pupation via expression regulation of hormetic stress response genes linked to ageing and longevity.

Palm fruit juice (PFJ) containing oil palm phenolics is obtained as a by-product from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruit milling. It contains shikimic acid, soluble fibre and various phenolic acids including p-hydroxybenzoic acid and three caffeoylshikimic acid isomers. PFJ has also demonstrated beneficial health properties in various biological models.

Evidence-based gene models for structural and functional annotations of the oil palm genome.

Background: Oil palm is an important source of edible oil. The importance of the crop, as well as its long breeding cycle (10-12 years) has led to the sequencing of its genome in 2013 to pave the way for genomics-guided breeding. Nevertheless, the first set of gene predictions, although useful, had many fragmented genes.

Hepatic transcriptome implications for palm fruit juice deterrence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in young male Nile rats.

Background: The Nile rat (NR, ) is a model of carbohydrate-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the metabolic syndrome. A previous study found that palm fruit juice (PFJ) delayed or prevented diabetes and in some cases even reversed its early stages in young NRs. However, the molecular mechanisms by which PFJ exerts these anti-diabetic effects are unknown.

Non-tenera Contamination and the Economic Impact of SHELL Genetic Testing in the Malaysian Independent Oil Palm Industry.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is the most productive oil bearing crop worldwide. It has three fruit forms, namely dura (thick-shelled), pisifera (shell-less) and tenera (thin-shelled), which are controlled by the SHELL gene. The fruit forms exhibit monogenic co-dominant inheritance, where tenera is a hybrid obtained by crossing maternal dura and paternal pisifera palms.

Fine-mapping and cross-validation of QTLs linked to fatty acid composition in multiple independent interspecific crosses of oil palm.

Background: The commercial oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) produces a mesocarp oil (commonly called 'palm oil') with approximately equal proportions of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (FAs). An increase in unsaturated FAs content or iodine value (IV) as a measure of the degree of unsaturation would help to open up new markets for the oil.

Loss of Karma transposon methylation underlies the mantled somaclonal variant of oil palm.

Somaclonal variation arises in plants and animals when differentiated somatic cells are induced into a pluripotent state, but the resulting clones differ from each other and from their parents. In agriculture, somaclonal variation has hindered the micropropagation of elite hybrids and genetically modified crops, but the mechanism responsible remains unknown. The oil palm fruit 'mantled' abnormality is a somaclonal variant arising from tissue culture that drastically reduces yield, and has largely halted efforts to clone elite hybrids for oil production.

Oil palm phenolics (OPP) inhibit pancreatic cancer cell proliferation via suppression of NF-κB pathway.

Background: Oil palm phenolics (OPP) or Palm Juice (PJ), a water soluble extract from the palm fruit (Elaies guineensis) has been documented to have anti-carcinogenic activities in various cancer types.

Materials And Methods: To investigate OPP effects in pancreatic cancer (PaCa) cells, two PaCa cell lines (PANC-1 and BxPC-3) were treated with different OPP doses. The anti-proliferative, apoptotic and anti-invasive properties of OPP were evaluated using MTS, cytoplasmic histone-DNA fragmentation and matrigel invasive assays, respectively.