10/08/2010 (Bernama), George Town - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is in the midst of studying the use of the palm oil extract known as tocotrienol in the treatment of chronic diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

One of the researchers, Prof Lutfi Shuaib said the research started in 2007 and expected to be completed by the year end.

He said that 60 adults with high-cholesterol problems volunteered for the study and received 200mg of tocotrienol for a year.

"Initial finding shows that 50 per cent of the volunteers show positive results.

"The finding will be tabled soon at the meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston, the United States," he said in a briefing for Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

Lutfi said the study was to prove that tocotrienol as a food supplement could be used to treat the NAFLD.

"Malaysia is the second biggest palm oil producer and tocotrienol production could potentially become an important economic activity," he said.