Waste from agricultural products represents a disposal liability, which needs to be addressed. Palm oil is the most widely traded edible oil globally, and its production generates 85 million tons of aqueous by-products annually. This aqueous stream is rich in phenolic antioxidants, which were investigated for their composition and potential in vitro biological activity. We have identified three isomers of caffeoylshikimic acid as major components of oil palm phenolics (OPP). The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay confirmed potent free radical scavenging activity. To test for possible cardioprotective effects of OPP, we carried out in vitro LDL oxidation studies as well as ex vivo aortic ring and mesenteric vascular bed relaxation measurements. We found that OPP inhibited the Cu-mediated oxidation of human LDL. OPP also promoted vascular relaxation in both isolated aortic rings and perfused mesenteric vascular beds pre-contracted with noradrenaline. To rule out developmental toxicity, we performed teratological studies on rats up to the third generation and did not find any congenital anomalies. Thus, these initial studies suggest that OPP is safe and may have a protective role against free radical damage, LDL oxidation and its attendant negative effects, as well as vascular constriction in mitigating atherosclerosis. Oil palm vegetation liquor thus represents a new source of phenolic bioactives.

Two antibiotics have been isolated from a strain of Rhodococcus fascians that emerged from a competitive co-culture with Streptomyces padanus. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by detailed analyses by NMR and MS. They belong to the aminoglycoside family of antibiotics, and they are structurally unrelated to the actinomycins that are produced by S. padanus. The compounds have been named rhodostreptomycins A and B, reflecting their rhodococcal origin and streptomycin-like composition. Rhodostreptomycins exhibit antibiotic activity against a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

It is well established that plant phenolics elicit various biological activities, with positive effects on health. Palm oil production results in large volumes of aqueous by-products containing phenolics. In the present study, we describe the effects of oil palm phenolics (OPP) on several degenerative conditions using various animal models. OPP reduced blood pressure in a NO-deficient rat model, protected against ischaemia-induced cardiac arrhythmia in rats and reduced plaque formation in rabbits fed an atherogenic diet. In Nile rats, a spontaneous model of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, OPP protected against multiple aspects of the syndrome and diabetes progression. In tumour-inoculated mice, OPP protected against cancer progression. Microarray studies on the tumours showed differential transcriptome profiles that suggest anti-tumour molecular mechanisms involved in OPP action. Thus, initial studies suggest that OPP may have potential against several chronic disease outcomes in mammals.

A new actinomycete strain designated MITKK-103 was isolated from the soil of a flowerpot using a humic acid agar medium. The newly isolated strain was able to produce a large amount of actinomycin X2 even under nonoptimized growing conditions and serves as a promising source of this antibiotic. Actinomycin X2 has higher cytotoxicity toward cultured human leukemia (HL-60) cells than does actinomycin D, and it induces cell death via apoptosis. A nearly complete 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence from the isolate was determined and found to have high identity (98.5-100%) with Streptomyces galbus, Streptomyces griseofuscus, and Streptomyces padanus, indicating that MITKK-103 belongs to the genus Streptomyces. The isolate clustered with species belonging to the S. padanus clade in a 16S-rDNA-based phylogenetic tree and showed 75% overall homology to S. padanus ATCC 25646 in DNA-DNA relatedness analysis. Although the growth of the isolate was somewhat different from the three species mentioned, the strain MITKK-103 most closely resembles S. padanus on the basis of the morphological and phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic analysis, and genotypic data. As such, this is the first report of a strain of S. padanus capable of producing actinomycins.