A team of researchers from Malaysia and Libya recently investigated the effect of tocotrienols extracted from palm oil on mice liver cells. The team investigated the expression levels of genes influenced by a transcription factor Nrf2, and the translocation of the same factor into the cellular nucleus. Nrf2 is known to upregulate phase II drug metabolism in reaction to metabolic processes. The genes activate cellular defense mechanisms. “Our study is the first in vivo study on the effect of tocotrienols on Nrf2on genetic material in the nucleus.,” says Azman Abdullah (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), corresponding author of the study.
