"You must do something useful for the country."

was the statement made in 1976 by the late Tan Sri Datuk Professor Hamzah Sendut, directed at Dr Augustine Ong then. That statement inspired him to begin his foray into the palm oil industry

Key Milestones

Joined PORIM as Director of the Chemistry & Technology Division + discovered tocotrienol in palm oil)

Discovery of Tocotrienol and the sn-2 theory

There are two main discoveries made by Tan Sri Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Augustine Ong in his scientific adventure with palm oil – tocotrienol and the sn-2 theory.

Vitamin E, also known as alpha-tocopherol, was first discovered in 1922 by Evans and Bishop. Tocotrienol has a similar chemical structure to it, but it is way more active as an anti-oxidant when compared to alpha tocopherol. Many researches have been done since tocotrienol was first discovered.

The promising properties of tocotrienols include:

Nourish The Brains Neurons

Anti-inflammatory agents

Anti- aggregation (anti-clotting) effects

The War of Oils

During the War of Oils, as the DG of PORIM, Tan Sri Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Augustine Ong decided to compare palm olein against the gold standard, the virgin olive oil. He expected the result to show that palm oil is not quite as good as olive oil.

But the results proved otherwise!

Research showed that there is no difference between the two oils. In addition, the anti-clotting effect of palm olein is better than olive oil.

These findings in Malaysia on the effects of blood lipids were confirmed in studies carried out in Australia, China, and Denmark.

What is palm olein?

Palm olein is the liquid fraction of palm oil.
It comprises

The sn-2 position and its interaction with lipase enzyme

The sn-2 theory was discovered and confirmed with repeated studies in Australia, China, Denmark, and Malaysia. The studies confirmed that the sn-2 position is critical in defining the effect of fatty acid on lipid levels in our blood.

Our body produces the lipase enzyme, which is responsible for splitting the fats so that our intestines can absorb them. In other words, the lipase enzyme attacks the oils and fats that we consume. But lipase has a special property. It only attacks fatty acids at the end positions, leaving the middle position undisturbed. And at the middle positions of palm olein and olive oil, the fatty acids are 93% and 100% unsaturated respectively. Thus, both oils do not elevate the cholesterol levels in our blood stream.

So, with that discovery, we are proud to say that although palm olein is considered more saturated than olive oil overall, but it behaves like an unsaturated oil on consumption.

Since the discovery, Tan Sri Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Augustine Ong went on further to experiment with the blending of olive oil and palm olein, which gave birth to