06/02/2013 (The Guardian) - There is urgent need for Nigerians to have a second look at the palm oil they are using. Adulterated palm oil has flooded the market and researchers have associated the product to the rising cases of cancers, heart disease and kidney failure.

However, CHUKWUMA MUANYA with additional reports from JOSEPH OKOGHENUN and WOLE OYEBADE write that bitter leaf has been tested in animal models to reverse the damage caused by adulterated palm oil.

IT is red and tasty. It is one of the basic ingredients in Nigerian traditional diets, from porridge to soups. It is in high demand and often adulterated.

Adulterated palm oil is on the prowl! The business is booming but leaves organ damage and sudden deaths associated with cardiovascular diseases in its wake.

Mrs. Funmilayo Omoyajowo, working mother of one, said she has had nasty experience with adulterated palm oil. “ I remember when my friend prepared vegetable soup with palm for all four of us her friends.  After eating it, all four of us, including our friend, who brought the meal purged seriously to stupor so that we were forced to ask our confused friend what she used to prepare the soup. We blame it on vegetable, not until when I later bought adulterated palm oil in the market,” she said.

It is feared that adulterated palm oil has contributed to the rising cases of cancer, kidney and other organs damage, heart disease and sudden deaths in Nigeria.

It has been shown that palm oil obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaies guineensis) is the most widely produced edible vegetable oil in the world today. It is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, South East Asia and parts of Brazil.

Several studies have shown that in a bid to make more profits by improving the red colour of the oil and the quantity, unscrupulous producers and marketers use dangerous chemicals such as solvent red 24. Many palm oil producers use solvent red 24 as an additive to improve the color and market value of improperly processed palm oil.

Solvent red 24 (sudan IV, scarlet red) is a lysochrome diazo dye often used in coloring plastic, waxes, oil, fat among others. As food dye, solvent red 24 is considered an illegal dye, mainly because of its harmful effect over a long period of time.

Chief Dietician, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Mr. Ogbona Obi Chimela said that the adulteration of palm oil might be time bomb ready to explode as palm oil has been found out to be a very important to man’s existence.

He further explained, “it is a source of vitamin A in it as it has beta carotene in it. So it protects the eyes from disease called night blindness or total blindness. It is another ready source of energy as one gram of fat from it gives about nine joules of energy, other sources of energy do not have as much as that. It also act as lubricant to the food we eat so that it make it palatable as part of its aesthetical function.

“If it is true that they adulterate palm oil with chlorine, it would be dangerous to man’s health because chlorine is a bleaching agent. It could lead to peptic ulcer if it is added to man’s food as it could erode the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). There is a tolerable level of chlorine that man can take that it may not be harmful.

“Palm oil is fatty in nature. Hence, if chlorine is mixed with it, palm oil could store such chemical for a long time only to lead to health hazards later. It would affect the movement of food in the GIT and erode it overtime only to create wound called ulcer.”

The Guardian investigation revealed that the legislature banning the use of this dye is not properly enforced in Nigeria. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is on the trail of the adulterators. From markets in Asaba in Delta State to Sabongeri in Kano State, the agency had confiscated and destroyed adulterated palm oil.

According to a recent study published in the British Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, much work has been done on the carcinogenicity of synthetic dyes. “Tsuda et al. (2001) observed colon DNA Deoxy ribo-Nucleic Acid/genetic material) damage associated with intake of three azo dyes, amaranth (Red 2), allura red (Red 40) and acid red.  Dees et al. (1997) reported that Red No. 3, which has estrogen like growth stimulatory properties, could be a significant risk factor in human breast carcinogenesis,” the researchers wrote.

The study is titled: “Effects of Vernonia amygdalina Del. Extract on Cholesterol Level and Lipid Peroxidation Status in Rats Given Red Dye Adulterated Palm Oil.” Diets.”

However, the authors, Imafidon E. Kate and Okunrobo O. Lucky from the Departments of Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, have demonstrated that aqueous extract of bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) exerts significant protection against oxidative stress induced by this dye.

The researchers have also in the British Journal of Pharmaceutical Research study confirmed the hypochesterolmic (abnormally low level of cholesterol) tendency of Vernonia amygdalina extract.

Vernonia amygdalina is a shrub with petiolate leaf of about 6mm diameter. It has green leaves with a bitter taste. Some work has been done on the anti-carcinogenic effect of this plant. But this study investigated the effect of this dye and Vernonia amygdalina on cholesterol levels and lipid peroxidation status in rats.

Indeed, strong correlations have been shown between increased plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL that is ‘bad’ cholesterol) and increased incidence of coronary heart diseases.

The cardio protective nature of leaf supplements has been reported, the methanolic extract of Vernonia amygdalina has been shown to have a lipid lowering effects.

Research has shown that oxidative stress is involved in the development of over a hundred pathologies, many chronic diseases and causes of food spoilage are linked to pro-oxidant.

A study by showed that both ethanolic and aqueous extract of Vernonia amygdalina have potent antioxidant abilities, the extracts were found to inhibit bleaching by beta-carotene, oxidation of linoleic acid and lipid peroxidation induced by ferrous ion/ascorbate in rat liver microsomal preparations.

Antioxidants are substances that may protect the cells against the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules produced when the body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Lipid peroxidation is a well-defined mechanism of cellular damage in both animals and plants that occurs in vivo during aging and in certain disease states.

Vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf) is a widely used local plant in Nigeria. It is used for both therapeutic and nutritional purposes. It has been reported that traditional medicine practitioners use the plant as an antihelminth (drugs that expel parasitic worms), anti-malarial and as a laxative, it is also use as a digestive tonic, appetiser, febrifuge and for the treatment of topical wounds.

A wide array of phytochemicals have been shown to be present in Vernonia amygdalina some of these phytochemicals include steroidal saponin, sesquiterpene lactones, flavonoids. Other phytochemicals present in the leaves are terpenes, coumarins, phenolic acids, lignans, xanthones and anthraquinone.

It has also been shown that palm oil, with its moderate content of linoleic acid (LA) and high levels of antioxidants is less prone to oxidation and deteriorations.

A review on “Differential effects of adulterated versus unadulterated forms of LA on cardiovascular health,” by researchers from the University of Florida, United State published in Journal of Integrative Medicine concluded,  “Our critical review indicates that natural unadulterated forms of LA have significant cardiovascular benefits and should be consumed as part of a healthy diet.

“In contrast, adulterated forms of LA are atherogenic and therefore should be avoided. Given the consistent findings regarding the adverse effects of adulterated fats on cardiovascular health outcomes, it is critical to consider the source and form of LA when drawing conclusions about its effects on cardiovascular health.”

Fifty-five- year old Mrs. Adeyinka Dupe similarly confirmed to The Guardian that Lagos market is flooded with adulterated palm oil as well as groundnut oil. “ If you want to get good palm oil, you have to send for it in the villages because Lagos markets are bereft of good palm oil. Even groundnut is highly adulterated. I could recall when my doctor recommended cholesterol-free oil to me as an hypertensive patient; I went to market with the hope of getting cholesterol-free oil only to buy adulterated groundnut oil in disguise of cholesterol-free groundnut oil,” she said.

Mrs. Regina Timothy is a palm oil seller in Ketu area of Lagos. Confirming the rumour that there is adulterated palm oil in Lagos markets, she said the situation arise because local production can no longer satisfy demand. The mother of two added that while some market women have resolved to smuggling in the essential soup ingredient into Lagos from Cotonou to meet demand, others decide to adulterate it with water and chlorine.

She told The Guardian that women like her have to smuggle palm oil because it is a ban product. “After selling original palm which I usually smuggle in from Cotonou, some people usually come to my shop to buy the gallons for adulteration purposes. They usually combine chlorine water and little palm oil for the purpose. The same also goes for groundnut oil. How they do it, I do not know though. If you observed, you would notice that while some palm oil foam furiously during cooking, others simply make unwanted noise. That is the result of adulteration,” Regina said.