• CELLMED
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.16.1-16.8
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• 2014

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has been reported to originate along the gulf of the guinea in West Africa. The various parts of the tree have been used locally and traditionally for various medicinal purposes. Some of these uses have been proved by scientific experiments. Palm oil is extracted from the mesocarp of the fruit and is used traditionally for the treatment of headaches, pains, rheumatism, cardiovascular diseases, arterial thrombosis and an atherosclerosis due to its rich phytonutrients. The leaves are also used for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases and wound healing. The sap also has been found to be rich in phytonutrients that can be used to treat various diseases. This review therefore seeks to explore many of the uses of the oil palm using the various parts of the oil palm.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.196-204
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• 2012

This study was carried out to develop reliable systems for somatic embryogenesis in oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), and to verify the somaclonal variants by RAPD analysis. Embryogenic callus was induced successfully on modified half-strength MS medium containing $NaH_2PO_4{\cdot}2H_2O$ and casein. Embryogenic callus was further developed to somatic embryo mass (SEM), which is very hard and bonded tightly each other. Plantlets were proliferated when SEM was cultured on modified MS medium containing half strength $NH_4NO_3$, casein and L-ascorbic acid. Plantlets were transplanted into pots containing artificial soils. When RAPD analysis was conducted using randomly selected 95 in vitro plantlets and 19 random primers, somaclonal variation was detected using BNR35 primer. There was missing band around 1 kb in #22, #28, #35, and #77 plantlets. In addition, bands obtained from #28, #35, and #77 was much stronger than other normal bands. The blast results at NCBI revealed that somaclonal variation observed in this study was related to chloroplast genome of oil palm. The results also revealed that oil palm reproduction system through somatic embryogenesis is quite reliable and early detection of somaclonal variants seem to be possible at in vitro stage by RAPD analysis.

• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.107-117
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• 2015

A mycoparasite, Scytalidium parasiticum sp. nov., isolated from the basidiomata of Ganoderma boninense causing basal stem rot of oil palm in Johor, Malaysia, is described and illustrated. It is distinct from other Scytalidium species in having smaller asci and ascospores (teleomorphic stage), longer arthroconidia (anamorphic stage), hyaline to yellowish chlamydospores, and producing a fluorescent pigment. The phylogenetic position of S. parasiticum was determined by sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacers and the small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene regions. A key to identify Scytalidium species with teleomorphic stage is provided.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.941-947
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• 2000

Three fistulated Malaysian local bulls were used in a $3{\times}3$ Latin square design to determine the effects of different levels of concentrate with oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) frond (OPF) on rumen pH and $NH_3$-N concentration, and DM degradability of different fractions of OPF. Three diets namely, 60% OPF pellet and 40% concentrate (Diet 1), 50% OPF pellet and 50% concentrate (Diet 2) and 40% OPF pellets and 60% concentrate (Diet 3) were used. The levels of concentrate in the diets affected rumen pH and $NH_3$-N concentration. The pH and $NH_3$-N concentration almost in all hourly samples did not show any difference (p>0.05) among the diets except the 6 h and 9 h samples. The highest (p<0.01) $NH_3$-N concentration was obtained on Diet 3 followed by Diet 2 and Diet 1, but there was a slightly higher (p>0.05) pH on Diet 1. The $NH_3$-N concentrations of rumen liquor at 9 h sampling on Diet 1 and Diet 2 were below the critical level (50 mg/liter) required for efficient fermentation of fibrous feeds. The in sacco DM degradation of different fractions of OPF was affected by diets. The DM degradation of fractions of OPF was higher on Diet 3, which showed differences (p<0.01) with the other diets. It was found that a higher level of concentrate (60%) with OPF gave a higher rumen $NH_3$-N concentration that increased the DM degradation of OPF fractions. The results showed that OPF could support an efficient rumen function in terms of $NH_3$-N concentration and pH when ${\leq}50%$ in the diet. A higher level of OPF (>50%) does not support an efficient rumen fermentation in terms of $NH_3$-N concentration, and resulted in lower DM degradation values of the fractions. The results suggested that there is a need to supplement additional nitrogen to OPF based diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.1407-1413
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• 2000

Oil palm frond (OPF) is a new non-conventional fibrous feed for ruminants. Evaluation on the nutritive values and digestibility of OPF was carried out using goats. In a completely randomised design, 20 local male goats were assigned to evaluate fresh and different types of processed OPF. A 60 day feeding trial was done to determine the digestible nutrient intake of fresh, ensiled and pelleted OPF and its response on live weight gain of goat. The pelleting of OPF increased (p<0.05) intake compared to fresh or ensiled OPF. The OPF based mixed pellet (50% OPF with 15% palm kernel cake, 6% rice bran, 6% soybean hull, 15% molasses, 2% fishmeal, 4% urea, 1.5% mineral mixture and 0.5% common salt) increased (p<0.05) nutrient intake, digestibility and reduced feed refusals. The mixed pellet also increased digestible dry matter intake (DDMI) and digestible organic matter intake (DOMI) at 80% and 63% level respectively than the fresh OPF. The increased digestible nutrient intake on the OPF based mixed pellet, resulted in increased live weight gain of goats. Furthermore, OPF has a good potential as a roughage source when it is used with concentrate supplement. OPF based formulated feed in a pelleted form could be used as a complete feed for intensive production of goat and other ruminants.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.19-31
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• 2019

Bud rot (BR) is the most devastating disease affecting oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) crops in Colombia. Its causal agent, Phytophthora palmivora, initiates the infection in immature oil palm leaflets producing necrotic lesions, followed by colonization of opportunistic necrotrophs, which increases disease damage. To improve the characterization of the disease, we transformed P. palmivora using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) to include the fluorescent proteins CFP-SKL (peroxisomal localization), eGFP and mRFP1 (cytoplasmic localization). The stability of some transformants was confirmed by Southern blot analysis and single zoospore cultures; additionally, virulence and in vitro growth were compared to the wild-type isolate to select transformants with the greatest resemblance to the WT isolate. GFP-tagged P. palmivora was useful to identify all of the infective structures that are commonly formed by hemibiotrophic oomycetes, including apoplastic colonization and haustorium formation. Finally, we detected cell death responses associated with immature oil palm tissues that showed reduced susceptibility to P. palmivora infection, indicating that these tissues could exhibit age-related resistance. The aim of this research is to improve the characterization of the initial disease stages and generate cell biology tools that may be useful for developing methodologies for early identification of oil palm materials resistant or susceptible to BR.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.196-205
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate a method for improving the physical and mechanical properties of laminated board made from oil palm trunk (OPT). The effects of pretreating the lamina with heat-pressure and altering the lamina composition of the laminated board were investigated. The outer third of OPT in cross-section had high-density wood, while the underlying third had low to medium density. The hot press was applied to pretreat the lamina that had low to medium density. The lamina were 1.5 cm in thickness, 5 cm in width, and 65 cm in length. The hot press was applied at 2.94 MPa or 4.41 MPa at 150 ℃ for 60 minutes, and the target thickness of the lamina was 1 cm. The three layers of the laminated board samples were bonded with isocyanate adhesive at a glue spread of 300 g/㎡ and cold pressed at 0.98 MPa for 3 h. The laminated board samples were tested according to Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) 234-2003. The results showed that the densification of the inner lamina did not significantly affect the physical-mechanical properties of the laminated board produced. However, the laminated board made with high-density laminas for the outer layers fulfilled the JAS 234-2003 standard for the modulus of elasticity and the modulus of rupture.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.1113-1120
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• 2000

Productivity, nutrient contents, in vitro gas production and in sacco degradability of different fractions and whole OPF were determined to assess the feeding value of OPF as a ruminant feed. An in vivo digestibility trial was also carried out using goat. Freshly harvested OPF was randomly collected, partitioned and weighed. An OPF from 21 years older palm weighed 13.4 kg and the annual fresh matter yield of petiole, leaflet and midrib was 46.5, 11.8 and 3.4 ton/ha, respectively. Leaflet contained 439, 926, 698, 501, 168, 196, 748 and 52 (g/kg) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose (CE), hemicellulose (HC), total carbohydrate (TC) and non fiber carbohydrate (NFC), respectively. Petiole contained lower (p<0.01) DM, CP and EE contents than leaflet. Organic matter, CE and TC contents were higher (p<0.01) in petiole compared to leaflet. Silica and lignin contents were highest (p<0.01) in midrib followed by leaflet, whole OPF and least in petiole. The Ca, P, Na, K and Mg contents (g/100 g DM) of leaflet were 0.529, 0.182, 0.039, 0.876, and 0.168, respectively. In vitro DM digestibility (g/100 g) at 48 h of leaflet, petiole and midrib was 32.7, 38.7 and 30.2, respectively. The in sacco DM degradation (g/100 g) at 48 h of leaflet was higher than that of whole OPF, petiole and midrib. The in vivo digestibility of DM, OM, CP and ADF of whole OPF was 52, 56, 43 and 26%, respectively. It can be concluded that leaflet is the most nutritious fraction of OPF and midrib is the least. The nutrient content and digestibility of the whole OPF showed that OPF could be an alternative roughage source for ruminant diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.1073-1077
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• 2001

Forty three 7-month old, Barbados Black $Belly{\times}Malin$ crossbred sheep were used for the trial. They were allotted into three treatment groups fed varying levels of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) frond pellets and commercial sheep pellets. Treatment diets were 80% commercial pellet+20 % (% w/w) oil palm frond pellet (CON group, n=15), 50% commercial pellet+50% oil palm frond pellet (% w/w) (HAF group, n=14) and 80% oil palm frond pellet+20% (% w/w) commercial pellet (OPF group, n=14). The plasma fatty acid profiles from these animals were compared before and after 14 weeks of feeding. Results showed that total unsaturated fatty acid content in the CON group had increased by 10% (p<0.01) from the pre-treatment values. All three treatment groups had significantly different plasma n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid contents at the end of the trial. In fact, the CON group had significantly (p<0.01) more n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid content compared to its own initial values, and also the values from the HAF and OPF groups. However there was a significant (p<0.01) decline in plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in all groups. The final total unsaturated to saturated fatty acid content ratio was significantly (p<0.01) highest in the CON group, demonstrating the high plasma unsaturated fatty acid content in these animals. This study shows the plasma unsaturated fatty acids in sheep can be increased by dietary manipulation.