28/07/2012 (The Star) - Plantation group Kim Loong Resources Bhd expects to launch its tocotrienol health supplement brand called E-life Gold by year-end.

After almost eight years of research and development, unit Palm Nutraceuticals Sdn Bhd executive director Dr Gee Ping Tou said it was now awaiting the relevant approvals from the Health Ministry before selling the products to the public.

Tocotrienol, a member of the vitamin E family, is extracted from palm oil. It is a better health supplement compared with fish oil and primrose supplements that are fortified only with tocopherols extracted from softoils like soya, canola and sunflower.

Currently, there are only two palm oil vitamin E health supplements available at local pharmacies. The more popular Tocovid is made by Hovid Bhd while Sime Darby Bhd retails its product under the brand Tri-e.

According to Gee, there have been drastic changes in vitamin E science, where scientific data has proven that tocopherol, another part of the vitamin E, affects the absorption of the good part of tocotrienol, and inhibits its anti-cancer properties.

“This had led us to reduce the content of tocopherol in our product, and we have to realign our product profile, otherwise it is not effective. We have registered the product and have changed our contract manufacturer, and we expect to see the physical product,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kim Loong executive chairman Gooi Seong Lim said the company was still basically in a consolidation phase and was not eyeing any major acquisition.

“We are only hoping to conclude the appeal case on the native customary rights land, and hopefully it would be ruled in favour of us by the end of the year,” he said.

Gooi said Sarawak was still a focus for the company right now with a lot of undeveloped area.