Sutra Essential's Blog

AROMATERAPI ATASI TEKANAN

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:21:00 +0800

3Juta Rakyat Malaysia Sakit Mental?

SUNGAI PETANI, 22 Nov 2007 (Bernama) — Sebanyak 16 peratus atau tiga juta daripada 26 juta penduduk di negara ini disahkan mengalami sakit mental dan jumlah ini adalah sesuatu yang membimbangkan, kata Menteri Kesihatan Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Katanya, penemuan data terbaru Kajian Kesihatan dan Morbiditi Kebangsaan bagi tahun 2006 mendapati kes gangguan mental di kalangan rakyat Malaysia meningkat sebanyak hampir 6 peratus berbanding kajian yang dijalankan 10 tahun lepas.

Beliau berkata, daripada jumlah itu, sebanyak 20.3 peratus adalah di kalangan kanak-kanak dan remaja berusia bawah 16 tahun. “Antara faktor tekanan jiwa di kalangan remaja adalah kerana gagal mendapat keputusan yang baik dalam peperiksaan, tekanan daripada keluarga dan sekolah serta tiada sokongan masyarakat,” kata beliau kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Hari Kesihatan Mental Sedunia peringkat kebangsaan di sini hari ini.

Katanya, ada di antara murid sekolah tertekan kerana tidak mendapat semua A dalam peperiksaan dan kemudiannya mereka dihina dan dikatakan bodoh serta tidak berguna untuk hidup, jadi mereka mengambil jalan mudah untuk menyelesaikan masalah iaitu dengan membunuh diri.
Chua berkata, daripada jumlah itu juga sebanyak 11.2 peratus adalah pesakit di kalangan orang dewasa dan 19.5 peratus di kalangan warga emas yang berusia melebihi 70 tahun.
“Masalah kesihatan mental tidak boleh dipandang ringan, beban penyakit itu memberi kesan kepada masyarakat dan negara dan kos perubatan untuk pesakit mental adalah semakin tinggi manakala pesakit pula sering tidak mendapatkan rawatan awal kerana percayakan rawatan bomoh,” kata beliau.

Kes membunuh diri juga didapati semakin meningkat dengan sebanyak 20 hingga 30 orang daripada setiap 100,000 rakyat Malaysia membunuh diri setiap tahun.

Beliau berkata, kementerian juga mengalami masalah kekurangan pakar psikiatri kerana stigma masyarakat untuk menjadi pakar jiwa.”Ada orang kita menggelar pakar jiwa `doktor gila’ dan ini menyebabkan kursus perubatan psikiatri tidak begitu popular sehingga sekarang,” kata beliau.
Katanya, setakat ini cuma terdapat 145 orang pakar psikiatri dan negara memerlukan lebih 300 pakar lagi dalam bidang itu untuk mencapai nisbah 50 pesakit bagi seorang psikiatri. Chua berkata, sehubungan itu kerajaan mahu usaha mempertingkatkan kesedaran mengenai kesihatan mental dipertingkatkan.

AROMATERAPI MEMBANTU PELAJAR? BAGAIMANA?

Daripada artikel di atas, dapat kita simpulkan bahawa golongan pelajar tidak terkecuali daripada terkena tekanan hidup. Contoh-contoh yang dapat kita petik dari artikel tersebut seperti: “Antara faktor tekanan jiwa di kalangan remaja adalah kerana gagal mendapat keputusan yang baik dalam peperiksaan, tekanan daripada keluarga dan sekolah serta tiada sokongan masyarakat,” kata Menteri Kesihatan pada masa itu, Dr Chua Soi Lek kepada pemberita. Jadi bayangkan tekanan hidup yang dihadapi oleh para remaja sekalian terutamanya para pelajar.

Terdapat juga para pelajar yang tertekan kerana tidak mendapat semua A dalam peperiksaan dan kemudiannya mereka dihina dan dikatakan bodoh serta tidak berguna untuk hidup, jadi mereka mengambil jalan mudah untuk menyelesaikan masalah iaitu dengan membunuh diri. Bukankah perkara ini amat membimbangkan dan sekiranya berlanjutan kemungkinan kita akan kehilangan ramai pelajar yang berpotensi menjadi tunggak kepada negara di masa akan datang.

Apa pula fungsi aromaterapi dalam mengatasi tekanan pelajar? Daripada perkataan aromaterapi itu sendiri dapat kita memahami bahawa aromaterapi adalah salah satu terapi tekanan dengan menggunakan aroma. Tahukah anda bauan aromaterapi mampu memberi ketenangan kepada anda sekaligus membantu anda mengatasi tekanan dan mengelakkan anda daripada terkena pelbagai penyakit yang akan memudaratkan anda. Tahukah anda sekiranya penyakit mental yang dialami berpanjangan ianya akan memberi kesan kepada kesihatan dan peluang untuk anda terkena penyakit-penyakit berikut adalah besar seperti:

Barah Perut
Penyakit kardiovaskular
Saluran koronari jantung
Pendarahan
Keadaan berkait dengan otot

Karl Albrecht di dalam Stress and the Manager (1979): “Tindak balas tekanan ialah pergerakan kimia yang disesuaikan di dalam seluruh tubuh manusia untuk memenuhi keperluan dalam pergelutan kehidupan dan kematian atau untuk mendapatkan kebebasan yang pantas dalam keadaan itu. Tindak balas tekanan ini bergantung kepada penanggapan otak terhadap betapa parahnya keadaan.”

Aromaterapi yang mempunyai kandungan minyak pati berikut membantu anda sebagai pelajar:

1. Lavender: Menenangkan dan mengurangkan tegangan

Sememangnya bauan lavender sangat mendamaikan serta memberi perasaan tenang dan mengatasi tegangan yang dialami. Sebagaimana yang kita tahu, minyak pati Lavender selalu digunakan sebagai minyak wangi dan kini juga boleh digunakan untuk aromaterapi. Bauannya yang lembut memberi perasaan tenang dan damai kepada pemakai. Ianya mengurangkan kesakitan sakit kepala apabila dihidu bauannya menggunakan diffuser ataupun disapukan terus ke kulit anda.

2. Rosemary: Mengasah dan merangsang minda

Michales Scholes dari pusat Pengajian Kajian Aromatic Michales Scholes berpendapat samada secara sendirian atau bercampur bersama, lavender, chamomile, peppermint, spearmint dan rosemary membolehkan seseorang itu relaks serta menurunkan tekanan darah. Kajian mendapati asid karnosik yang terdapat dalam Rosemary mampu menurunkan risiko penyakit seperti alzheimer dan strok.

3. Geranium: mengatasi stress

Minyak pati geranium biasanya diperolehi hasil pengekstrakan daunnya yang mengandungi anti-bakteria, anti-tekanan, anti-virus, anti-radang, menenangkan, mengimbangi dan merangsang tubuh supaya kekal sihat.

4. Clary Sage: Ketenangan

Minyak pati clary sage digunakan sebagai anti-stress, pewangi badan yang mengandungi antiseptik, membantu pencernaan, dan sebagai sedatif.

5. Sandalwood: insomnia dan ketegangan

6. Juniper Berry : Mengatasi tekanan dan perasaan marah

7. Sweet Marjoram: Mengurangkan keletihan

Rangkaian minyak pati aromaterapi dari Tropical Bioessence membantu anda mengatasi stress yang terdiri daripada bauan cajeputi (daun gelam), Citrus Lime, Cinnamon leaf (daun kayu manis), Patchouli (nilam), citronella (Serai wangi) dan lavender.

Berikut merupakan minyak pati yang digunakan untuk mengatasi masalah yang berkait rapat dengan tekanan. Minyak pati banyak memberi manfaat kepada pelajar-pelajar yang banyak terdedah kepada tekanan seperti di bawah:

1. Marah, Keletihan: Basil, bergamot, chamomile, clary sage, cypress, frankincense, geranium, hyssop, jasmine, juniper, lavender, marjoram, melissa, neroli, ylang-ylang

2. Ketegangan: Basil, clary sage, grapefruit, jasmine, lavender, melissa, neroli, rose, sandalwood, vetiver, ylang-ylang

3. Masalah sukar tidur(Insomnia): Basil, chamomile, lavender, mandarin, marjoram, melissa, neroli, petitgrain, rose, sandalwood, thyme, ylang-ylang

4. Perasaan gelisah: Basil, cinnamon, citronella, coriander, ginger, grapefruit, hyssop, jasmine, lavender, lemon grass, peppermint, nutmeg, rosemary, ylang-ylang

5. Tekanan yang melampau: Basil, bergamot, cedarwood, chamomile, cinnamon, frankincense, geranium, jasmine, lavender, marjoram, melissa, neroli, palmarosa, rosemary, vetiver, ylang-ylang

Jadi jangan ragu-ragu untuk menggunakan aromaterapi kerana ianya banyak membantu dari segi kesihatan kepada anda sebagai pelajar.

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Maklumat Ringkas Perbadanan Bioteknologi Melaka (PBM)

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:51:00 +0800

Perbadananan Bioteknologi Melaka ditubuhkan pada Februari 2003 dan telah dirasmikan oleh Dato’ Seri Hj. Abdullah bin Hj Ahmad Badawi pada 13 Januari 2005. Agensi badan berkanun ini merupakan pusat bioteknologi pertama yang ditubuhkan di Malaysia. Dibawah PBM, terdapat dua entiti yang menjadi tunjang kepada operasi keseluruhannya iaitu Institut Bioteknologi Melaka sebagai pusat penyelidikan dan pembangunan dan Melaka Biotech Holding Sdn. Bhd. yang berperanan sebagai agensi pelaburan dan pengkomersilan produk hasilan pakar penyelidik di Institut. PBM ini ditubuhkan oleh kerajaan Negeri Melaka dengan tujuan untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan dan pembangunan yang berasaskan bioteknologi di Negeri Melaka.

Dengan usaha yang berterusan, sokongan dan galakkan dari Kerajaan Negeri Melaka, PBM akan terus menjadikan bidang bioteknologi sebagai salah satu agenda bagi mencapai matlamat Melaka Maju 2010 dengan menyahut seruan YAB Perdana Menteri dalam menjadikan industri bioteknologi sebagai salah satu pemangkin pembangunan negara.

Peluang pelaburan

Kerajaan Negeri Melaka telah menyediakan pelbagai kemudahan infrastruktur bagi pembangunan bioteknologi Negeri Melaka seperti Bio City yang dijangka dapat menarik minat pelabur asing ke Melaka. Tidak ketinggalan, Penubuhan Taman Bioteknologi MIEL Londang turut membantu usahawan supaya terlibat secara langsung dalam bidang bioteknologi. Bantuan kewangan dari agensi perbankan dan juga geran pembangunan perniagaan merupakan antara usaha kerajaan bagi menarik minat pelabur untuk melabur di Melaka.

Antara pencapaian PBM yang terkini adalah penubuhan makmal toksikologi yang yang berfungsi untuk menjalankan ujian toksikologi yang melibatkan pelbagai sektor seperti perindustrian, alam sekitar, pengeluaran makanan dan kosmetik. Dengan adanya perkhidmatan ini, pelabur yang terlibat secara langsung atau tidak, dapat menikmati perkhidmatan ini supaya dapat menjalankan aktiviti masing-masing dengan selamat. Selain itu PBM turut menawarkan beberapa perkhidmatan ujian klinikal antaranya, antioksidan khusus untuk pelabur yang ingin mendapatkan pengesahan produk mereka dalam industri makanan dan kosmetik.

Selain itu, PBM telah menghasilkan dua usahawan yang berjaya untuk mengkomersilkan produk mereka untuk produk penjagaan diri dan rumah- Tropical Bioessence Sdn. Bhd. serta industri kultur tisu iaitu Invitrotech Sdn. Bhd. bagi tumbuhan yang bernilai tinggi seperti herba dan tanaman komersil. PBM mengalu-alukan kedatangan para pelabur untuk melabur dalam bidang bioteknologi dengan menyertai Program Pemindahan Teknologi (Technology Transfer)

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

RM420 untuk setiap 12 gram minyak pati gaharu

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:12:00 +0800

Mazalan Mohamed dari Gua Musang menjual minyak gaharu pada harga RM420 untuk 12 gram di pasaran Dubai dan Bahrain.

TATKALA menaip perkataan 'gaharu' di laman web, bersusun alamat laman web dari Indonesia pada skrin komputer. Masing-masing mempromosikan minyak gaharu atau lebih dikenali sebagai agarwood oil di peringkat dunia.

Minyak yang menghasilkan aroma yang mewangi ini mendapat permintaan yang amat tinggi di Timur Tengah, terutamanya Arab Saudi dan Dubai, berikutan adat masyarakat di sana yang gemarkan wangi-wangian. Ia sama ada dicampur dengan minyak lain untuk menghasilkan minyak wangi atau minyak atar, atau dijual tulen.

Malaysia sebaliknya lebih cenderung untuk mengeksport hasil kayu ini dalam bentuk kepingan kayu karas atau damar gaharu berbanding minyak yang diekstrak.

Malah sehingga tahun 1997, Lembaga Perkayuan Malaysia (MTC) melaporkan bahawa negara ini pernah mengeksport gaharu dalam bentuk kepingan bernilai lebih RM50 juta dalam tempoh lima tahun.

"Saya sudah terlibat dalam perniagaan karas-gaharu ini sejak 18 tahun lalu. Tujuh tahun pertama saya mulakan dengan menjual kepingan kayu karas dan damarnya sahaja, sama ada ke pasaran Thailand ataupun tempatan.

"Tetapi setelah melihat cara kayu-kayu ini diproses serta pulangan yang cukup lumayan daripada penjualan minyaknya, saya memutuskan untuk pergi lebih jauh," ujar Mazalan Mohamed, 40, yang ditemui di kilang memproses minyak gaharunya yang terletak di Kampung Star Baru, Gua Musang, Kelantan.

Mesin pengisar yang didatangkan dari Thailand

Mazalan turut beroperasi tanpa orang tengah, selain mengubah pendekatan perniagaan dengan menjual minyak gaharu berbanding sekadar kepingan kayu karas.

Jika sebelum ini Mazalan hanya memenuhi permintaan Thailand dan tempatan, kini minyak gaharu keluaran PMW Enterprise sudah berada dalam pasaran Dubai, Arab Saudi dan Bahrain.

Menjenguk kilang-kilang pemprosesannya, bahang yang berkuap di dalam dirian sederhana itu tidak sedikit pun melunturkan semangat krewEKSTRA untuk meninjau lanjut.

Kedatangan yang disambut dengan pemandangan dua wanita berusia yang sedang mencincang kepingan kayu karas yang memenuhi ruang lantai menambah lagi keinginan untuk meneroka.

Biarpun bertubuh kurus dan sudah berusia, kedua-dua wanita ini pantas saja melakukan kerja. Sekali-sekala melemparkan senyuman ke arah kami, tangan mereka terus menghentak parang dalam genggaman.

Potongan kayu karas itu kemudiannya dimasukkan ke dalam sebuah mesin pengisar yang berdiri tegap di satu sudut. Kongsi Mazalan, mesin itu berharga tidak kurang daripada RM12,500 sebuah.

"Hasil kisaran kemudiannya diperam di dalam air selama dua minggu. Selepas itu ia akan dikeringkan. Untuk karas gred rendah, kami asingkan untuk dijual bagi membuat colok.

"Hasil daripada karas gred bermutu lebih tinggi akan dimasak di dalam dapur antara lima hingga 10 hari, bergantung kepada gred, untuk mengekstrak minyaknya," jelas anak kelahiran Kampung Chasi, Tok Uban, Pasir Mas, Kelantan ini.

Bahagian pemprosesan yang menggunakan teknologi yang 'diimport' dari Thailand ini memperlihatkan 60 dapur berbaris panjang dengan setiap satunya dilengkapi tong gas sendiri. Kata Mazalan, kos keseluruhan pembinaan dapur ini ialah RM50,000.

"Satu pusingan memasak serbuk kayu karas untuk gred C rendah, yang mengambil masa lima hari, menghabiskan sehingga dua tong gas 16.5 kilogram.

"Tetapi untuk gred C tinggi dan ke atas yang dimasak sehingga 10 hari, empat tong gas yang sama diperlukan," tambah bapa kepada empat orang anak ini.

KOS pembuatan dan pemasangan dapur ini mencecah RM50,000.

Selepas lima hari, minyak gaharu akan terkumpul di dalam tabung suling dan terapung di lapisan atas permukaan air. Ekstrak ini akan 'dikutip' pada setiap lima hari mengikut jadual yang ditetapkan.

Mendirikan tiga buah kilang, dengan sebuah di Bukit Beruntung, Selangor, Mazalan berkata pemprosesan dijalankan 24 jam sehari. Ini kerana jika api dapur dimatikan, proses pemanasan akan menggunakan lebih banyak gas dan memakan masa.

Untuk tujuan eksport, Mazalan menyimpan minyak gaharu yang telah dikumpul ke dalam botol aluminium bermuatan 1.2 liter. Dalam sebulan, dapur itu dapat menghasilkan enam botol aluminium minyak gaharu.

"Minyak ini dijual pada harga RM420 setiap 12 gram, iaitu menyamai satu botol tolal.

"Kami dapat menjual pada harga ini kerana kami dapat menyediakan minyak gaharu yang pekat sebagaimana diminta pembeli," katanya yang menjelaskan, semakin pekat minyak gaharu, semakin tinggi nilainya.

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Kementerian Tingkatkan Penghasilan Minyak Pati Berskala Komersil

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:36:00 +0800

Kementerian Tingkatkan Penghasilan Minyak Pati Berskala Komersil
ALOR GAJAH, 16 Jun (Bernama) -- Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani akan mempertingkatkan penghasilan minyak pati berskala komersil yang boleh dipakejkan sebagai satu entiti pelaburan untuk dieksport .

Timbalan Menterinya, Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim berkata Institut Penyelidikan dan Kemajuan Pertanian Malaysia (MARDI) menerusi pusat inkubator di Kuala Linggi di sini memberi tumpuan kepada produk minyak pati berasaskan herba.

"Permintaan kepada minyak pati yang sebagai bahan utama minyak wangi mencecah kepada lima tan metrik sebulan oleh beberapa negara Kesatuan Eropah (EU) termasuk Switzerland," katanya kepada pemberita pada majlis pelancaran inkubator teknologi penyulingan minyak pati dan penutup bulan teknologi pertanian di stesen Mardi Kuala Linggi di sini.

Inkubator Teknologi Minyak Pati di Kuala Linggi adalah inkubator perintis dan satu-satunya di negara ini yang telah beroperasi sejak 2006.

Pada masa ini, katanya MARDI yang telah membangunkan pusat inkubator teknologi minyak pati dan pemprosesan produk berasaskan minyak pati hanya berupaya menghasilkan 40 kilogram sehari.

"Penghasilan berskala kecil ini masih jauh untuk memenuhi permintaan sebanyak lima tan metrik sebulan," katanya.

Menurut Rohani, bagi memenuhi permintaan sebanyak lima tan metrik sebulan oleh EU, memerlukan saiz tanah seluas 300 hektar bagi pengeluaran pokok nilam yang menghasilkan minyak pati.

Beliau berkata MARDI telah melantik Syarikat Essfa Sdn Bhd sebagai inkubati bagi inkubator teknologi di Kuala Linggi dan penghasilan lima tan metrik yang diperlukan akan bergantung kepada keupayaan syarikat berkenaan memenuhi permintaan.

"Pada masa kini, penghasilan minyak pati di Kuala Linggi dihasilkan menerusi ladang di Pagoh, Muar dan sekitar Kuala Linggi pada skala kecil iaitu kira-kira 30 hektar," katanya.

Harga semasa bagi satu kilogram minyak pati yang dieksport mencecah AS$100 (kira-kira RM353).

Beliau berkata saiz pasaran minyak pati dunia bernilai AS$7.5 bilion (RM26.5 bilion) setahun dan usaha mengkomersilkan minyak pati diharap dapat mengurangkan import minyak pati yang kini mencecah RM200 juta setahun.

Katanya kementerian juga merancang untuk membina sebuah lagi inkubator teknologi minyak pati di Bintulu, Sarawak.

Antara negara di rantau ini yang merupakan negara pengeluar minyak pati ialah Indoensia, China dan India.

Yang turut hadir di majlis itu ialah Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pembangunan Desa dan Pertanian negeri Datuk Mohamad Hidhri Abu Hassan dan Ketua Pengarah MARDI Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Abdul Rahman.

-- BERNAMA

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

MINISTRY AIMS TO RAISE ESSENTIAL OIL OUTPUT FOR EXPORT

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:19:00 +0800

LOR GAJAH, June 16 (Bernama) -- The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry will intensify efforts to increase the production of commercial essential oils for export, Deputy Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim said today.

She said the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) through its incubator centre at Kuala Linggi here was giving focus to herbal-based essential oils.

The demand for essential oils for use in perfumes has breached five metric tonnes per month in several European countries, including Switzerland, she told reporters at the closing ceremony of Agricultural Technology Month here.

The essential oil technology incubator here has been in operation since 2006 with a production capacity of 40 kilogrammes each day.

"The output is small and far from being able to meet the monthly demand," Rohani said.

She said that to meet the current demand, a site of 300 hectares will be needed to cultivate the plants to produce the essential oils.

Rohani said MARDI has appointed Syarikat Essfa Sdn Bhd as an incubatee at the incubator centre to help increase the production of essential oils.

She said that currently, the essential oils produced by the incubator came from plants in Pagoh, Muar and Kuala Linggi, totalling about 30 hectares.

Rohani said the current price for each kilogramme of essential oils was over US$100 (about RM353) and the market was estimated to be worth US$7.5 billion (RM26.5 billion).

She said that efforts to commercialise the essential oils could help to reduce the import of such oils which was more than RM200 million annually.

Rohani also said that the ministry was planning to set up another technology incubator in Bintulu, Sarawak.

Other essential oil exporters in the region included Indonesia, China and India, she added. -- BERNAMA

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

TROPICAL BIOESSENCE SDN BHD COMPANY PROFILE

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Tue, 9 Jun 2009 09:59:00 +0800

INTRODUCTION

Tropical Bioessence Sdn. Bhd. (TBESB) began as Research-Develoment-

Commercial operation in March 2005 at Melaka Institute of Biotechnology. We

have grown steadily for over a year become a major supplier extracts in the

booming natural products industry, aromatherapy especially. Currently we are

the major supplier in Malaysia for essential oil, essential oil-based products and

also herbal extracts. This outstanding performance throughout the years reflects

our close harmony with both industry trends and the values of natural products

consumers.

TBESB has demonstrated a strong business growth. The business was originally

structured as a producer of essential oil and herbal extracts to end user.

However with the great demand of natural product especially in aromatherapy

products, TBESB now has several distributor and marketer in order to fulfill the

demand.

The most sustained and dramatic success with product expansion has been in

the area of aromatherapy. Early in history, TBESB accommodate its customer by

buying bulk quantity of essential oils, blending and rebottling them in 10ml and

100ml bottles. This line grew steadily as the concept and practice of

aromatherapy became increasingly popular in Malaysia. In an effort to meet as

many customer requests as possible, TBESB expanded its nature of business, as

a manufacturer of essential oils and few lines of essential oil-base products with

added many uncommon herbs and spices oil.

To realize the vision, in June 2006, with the assist of Majlis Amanah Rakyat

(MARA) TBESB has rent 5,300 sq. ft factory to build commercial essential oil and

herbal extract plants. As a result, TBESB started their full commercial scale

extraction by January 2007.

Company’s Vision

To be an international leadership in production, value adding and marketing of

essential oil, herbal and medicinal plant extracts.

Company’s mission

1. To produce standard quality essential oil, herbal and medicinal products

suitable for both local and international market.

2. To promote awareness and understanding of markets on essential oil, herbal

and medicinal products to end-user as multi purpose home usage.

3. Improving continues effort on R&D in order to foster efficient industry

development on essential oils and herbal extracts.

4. Encouraging the development of new crops and products to take advantage of

market opportunities.

5. Improving yield and quality through technological advances.

TBESB will focus on products that have good market potential. Strategic

alliance with R&D institutions will enable the organization control its

manufacturing efficiency in production by improving extraction process, value

adding, implementing quality assurance and control programs to guarantee

consistency of quality.

We at TBESB believe in giving the best products and services to our customers.

COMPANY PROFILE

a. Name Of Company - Tropical Bioessence Sdn Bhd.

b. Company Registration Number - 683554-V

c. Date of Incorporation - 8 March 2005

d. Registered Address

- Suite 3-2, Aras 3, Menara MITC, Jalan Konvensyen, Kompleks MITC, 75450 Melaka

e. Operation Address - Factory

No. ST 519, Jalan Tunas Baru, Seksyen ¼,

Kawasan Perindustrian Masjid Tanah MIEL,

78300 Masjid Tanah, Melaka

g. Marketing Address

Tropical Bioessence Marketing, No 88 Jalan TU2, Taman Tasik Utama, Hang Tuah Jaya, 75450 Ayer Keroh,

Melaka, Malaysia.

Phone : +606-2324188

Fax : +606-2323887

h. email and homepage of company

email: aromasutra@live.com

Website : www.sutraessential.com

i. Equity Structure:

Authorized Capital : RM100, 000.00

Paid-Up Capital : RM100,000.00

PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

The company has a well equipped manufacturing unit with state-of-the-art

technology. The various unit operations are carried out using mechanized

technology, eliminating human handling operations to a great extent. This

ensures uniformity in production, avoid contamination and affirms reproducibility

and consistency of products from batch to batch.

The production facility contains steam distillation with capacity 200kg per day,

multipurpose extractor, water extractor, spray dryer, oven dryer, milling,

blending and bottling equipment.

CAPACITY

a) Essential oil : 200kg raw material per day with total 300L essential oil per

annum

b) Pure Herbal extracts : i) water based with 300L per day with 1200 kg per

annum

c) Aromatherapy handmade soap : 1000pcs per day

PRODUCTS

Essential Oil Products:

1) Pure Essential Oil

2) Blended Essential Oil

3) Aromatherapy Massage Oil

ESSENTIAL OIL AND HERBAL BASED PRODUCTS

I. Aromatherapy Soap

a. Rectangular shape (100g)

II. Foot and Bath Salts

III. Therapeutic grade massage oils

IV. Aromatherapy Hair & Body Shampoo (250ml)

V. Body & Hand Lotion (tba)

VI. Body Scrub (tba)

VII. Beauty Products (tba)

QUALITY

TBESB Quality Control laboratory is well equipped with modern analytical

instruments such as Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, refractive index

and specific gravity. Our quality management and quality assurance policy

ensures reliability and assures that enquiries and orders are given prime

importance and are dealt wisely in a systematic and timely manner

Raw material supply:

In order to have enough and continuously supply of raw material, TBESB has

done some contract farming with government agencies and individual who are

capable and have strength in financial aspect. Currently we have practiced

INTERGRATION SYSTEM where our contract farmers will growth planting

material which originated from tissue culture techniques. This planting material

will be supplied by Invitro Tech Sdn. Bhd. Our company will buy back the

material from the farmers. Therefore, this system will provide win-win situation

to the plant supplier, farmer and approximately our company. This system will

promise the continuity and reliable supply of raw material.

CONTRACT AND SERVICES

1.1 TBESB also offers contract manufacturing of;

1.1.1 Essential oil

1.1.2 Blended oil

1.1.3 Massage oil

1.1.4 Essential oil-based liquid hand soap

1.1.5 Essential oil-based shower gel and shampoo

1.2 TBESB also offer contract services for ;

1.2.1 Extraction of essential oil

1.2.2 Blending oil and bottling

1.2.3 Extraction of herbal extracts

COLLABORATIONS

1) MELAKA INSTITUTE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

I. Product's production method and protocol

II. Research and development for product proving evidence

III. Product testing for quality assurance and quality control

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

How Essential Oils Work

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Mon, 1 Jun 2009 00:25:00 +0800

How Essential Oils Are Produced

From HowStuffWorks.com

There are several different ways to extract essential oils, and all require elaborate equipment. As you will see from the following descriptions, most extraction techniques are based on the fact that the majority of essential oils mix with oils, fats, alcohol, and certain solvents, but not with water. Some methods are more suitable for certain plants than others, depending on the plant's chemical make-up.

Producing essential oils involves
complex and elaborate equipment, and
is beyond the scope of anything
you can do in the home.

Distillation

Most pure essential oils are extracted from plants through steam distillation. Freshly picked plants are suspended over boiling water, and the steam pulls the oils out of the plant. The steam rises, is captured in a vessel, and is pushed along tubing. Then the steam is rapidly cooled, causing it to condense back into water. Since water and essential oils do not mix, the two separate, and the essential oil is collected.

A byproduct of this distillation is the remaining water. Some plants contain aromatic compounds that are so water soluble, they remain in the water that is left over after distillation. Such waters are very fragrant and are prized by aromatherapists, who refer to them as hydrosols. In aromatherapy, hydrosols are used mostly in cosmetics to moisturize skin.

Expression

The most direct method of producing essential oils is pressing them from the plant's flesh, seeds, and skins -- a process similar to that used to obtain olive oil. This technique is used mostly with citrus peels, such as orange, lemon, lime, or grapefruit, because the oil in their peels is easily pressed out.
Enfleurage

This very old method is rarely used today except in France. It is a long and complicated process that has become very expensive. Blossoms are set on sheets of warm fat that absorb the oil from the flowers. Originally animal fat or lard was used, but now vegetable fats are more common. Once the essential oil has been incorporated into the fat, the "exhausted" flowers are removed and replaced with fresh ones. The process is repeated several times until the fat is infused with fragrance. Then the fat is separated out with solvents, leaving just the essential oil.

Solvents

Aromatherapists tend to shy away from oils obtained through chemical solvents, worrying that slight traces of the solvent may remain even though they are supposed to be completely removed. First, the plant is dissolved in a solvent such as benzene, hexane, or chlorure of methylene. The solvent, which has a low boiling point, is then evaporated off, sometimes with the help of a machine that uses vacuum or centrifugal force to help pull it away from the essential oil.

The resulting oils are called "absolutes." A similar method uses paraffin waxes as the solvent, but does not evaporate them off. Instead, the remaining paraffins cause the final product to be solid, and thus it is called "concrete."

Even though the evaporated solvent is recaptured and cooled back into liquid so that it can be reused, this process is still expensive. As a result, it is reserved for costly oils that cannot be distilled, such as jasmine and vanilla, or for rose essential oil, which is slightly less expensive when obtained through this process rather than through distillation.
Carbon Dioxide

New methods of obtaining essential oils are currently being introduced. One of the most interesting processes, although extremely expensive, extracts the oil with carbon dioxide. The delightful result is an essential oil scent that is very close to that of the plant itself.

Depending on the way the essential oil is produced the quality and concentration can be greatly affected.

Essential Oil Quality

Since they are products of nature, the quality of essential oils is affected by growing conditions, the particular species of plant, extraction techniques, and storage, among other factors. Even the type of soil, temperature, and cloud cover affect some oils.

To determine the quality of an essential oil, you'll need to be concerned with three crucial characteristics -- purity, grade, and integrity. The information below and lots of experience will guide you.

Purity

Purity is an important concern to anyone purchasing essential oils. They can be adulterated, cut, or entirely replaced with a cheaper substitute or extended or diluted with vegetable oils, alcohol, or solvents. These substitutes and extenders might not be derived from a plant at all. But even if they are, the oil will not be as potent as it should be, nor will it function as expected. Unfortunately, a label claiming a product is a pure essential oil is no guarantee that it is the real thing. An oil labelled rose or vanilla may have been produced in a laboratory out of synthetic chemicals, but it can still be labeled an essential oil.

Inexpensive oils such as orange, cedar, or peppermint are seldom altered. However, alteration is common with expensive oils that are in great demand, such as rose, melissa, and jasmine.
Dilution with vegetable oil is usually easy to detect. Dilution with alcohol may be a bit more difficult to determine, but these oils do have a slight alcohol odor. Oils adulterated with a clear, non-oily solvent are the most difficult to recognize. This is a potential health hazard as well, since such solvents are readily absorbed into the body when rubbed on the skin or inhaled through the lungs.
Grades

Many essential oils are sold to distributors in different grades. Their prices often reflect this: The better grades command up to double the cost of the lesser grades. For example, lavender is commonly available in at least a dozen different grades and lemon in four. The lesser grades are often still pure essential oil, but they contain less of the most important aromatic principles.

Different processing methods can produce different grades. For example, redistillation produces oil that is stronger in some compounds than others. This is typically done with peppermint oil so the chewing gum and candy it flavors has a lighter, fresher taste and smell.

Once your nose has had a little experience with essential oils, you'll find that higher grades generally are more intense and carry a richer bouquet of fragrance. Lower quality oils usually smell less complicated or weak because they do not contain a full range of aromatic compounds.

When two bottles of the same kind of oil smell differently, it does not necessarily mean that one is better than the other. The best quality oils are similar to fine wine in that even experts don't agree on their favorites. For example, one geranium essential oil might carry a distinctly stronger hint of citrus while another smells more like rose. Which is better? Most people will prefer the rose, but that doesn't make it better.
Integrity

By integrity we mean that the oil is pure and natural and comes from a single species of plant (and probably even from the same region and harvest). An oil with integrity is not whipped up in a laboratory or composed of cheaper essential oils. But inexpensive lemongrass or citronella essential oils sometimes masquerade as the very expensive melissa (lemon balm) oil. To make an artificial rose oil in the laboratory, rose geranium may be used as a starting point, then chemically altered to mimic, although never completely accurately, a rose scent.

The problem here is that although the end product still contains only pure, natural essential oils, it will not have the properties you want and expect. Asking for an oil by its Latin name may help, but it doesn't guarantee that you will get what you want.

How to Buy Essential Oils

At first, it may seem a formidable task to detect the difference between good and poor grades of oil or to spot a synthetic. But you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it becomes, after only a little practice, to sniff out good essential oils.

Until your nose knows, you'll have to trust your source. Each essential oil company decides the quality it will offer. Some companies consistently sell the poorer, cheaper grades while others prefer to sell the higher grades. They will rarely offer you, as a retail consumer, a choice in grades. As a result, some lines tend to be more expensive than others. But do not use price alone to judge an oil's quality, since lower grades of oil may be sold for far more than they are worth. Remember, too, that store clerks do not always know much about aromatherapy and may naively think that anything labeled an essential oil comes from the plant named.

^©Sutra Essential
Cheaper essential oils may actually end up costing you more
money in the end because they are weaker and you might have
to use more to achieve the same effect.

Sophisticated advertising and fancy packaging may also be misleading. And, because not everyone cares about the healing effects, a few companies have filled the growing demand for scents with the cheapest means at their disposal. The most unscrupulous will sell low quality oils for the price of better ones.

This being said, you will find oils and related supplies at natural food stores, herb stores, specialty mail-order catalogs, and of course, at aromatherapy and skin care outlets. Some stores also have retail sites on the Internet.

Some essential oil mail-order companies are run by aromatherapists who stake their reputation on supplying high quality oils, so they may be the best way for you to get what you want. However, you need to know exactly what you want since you will not have the opportunity to sniff before purchase.

Price

There is great variation in the price of essential oils because some are more expensive to produce. In Bulgaria, schoolgirls labor in the misty morning, picking delicate rose petals just before the hot rays of the sun can release the fragrant oils into the air. Bulgaria produces the world's finest rose oil, but it takes about 600 pounds of petals to make a single ounce of oil! Rose oil also is expensive because the flowers must be carefully cultivated, pruned, and hand-picked.

Jasmine oil is expensive for similar reasons. Producing an ounce of pure jasmine requires 20 days labor for an experienced picker, followed by costly methods of extraction. As a result, rose and jasmine demand top dollar. On the other hand, peppermint is much less costly because the plant contains more essential oil, is relatively easy to grow and tend, and is harvested with machinery. The price of essential oils varies from $5 to an incredible $800 an ounce or more, reflecting the difficulty involved in their production.

Many other factors, such as difficult growing conditions, the rarity of the plant, or where the plant is grown, affect essential oil prices. Essential oils produced in the United States automatically demand a higher price to cover the greater costs of labor.

Surprisingly, cheaper oils will probably end up costing you more in the long run. Lesser quality oils are often weaker than high quality ones, and you will have to use more of them to achieve the same effect as a smaller amount of the high quality oil. Depending on how much more you have to use, you may end up spending more than if you'd simply purchased the better quality oil to begin with.

How to Store Essential Oils

Once you've purchased quality essential oils, you certainly will want to keep them that way. Store them in glass containers. Some essential oils can actually dissolve plastic, and storing them even temporarily in it may contaminate the oil. Don't store essential oils in dropper bottles either, as it doesn't take long for the rubber seals and squeeze bulbs to melt into a gooey mess.

The color of the bottle doesn't really matter. Just be sure to keep all essential oils out of direct sunlight and away from heat so they don't lose their potency.

Essential oils are natural preservatives and will help preserve your carrier oils. Their scent will change and fade over time, however, and eventually lose its quality. Properly stored, most oils will keep for at least several years. The citrus oils, such as orange and lemon, are most vulnerable to losing their smell, but even they will keep for a couple of years if refrigerated.

A few essential oils, including patchouli, clary sage, benzoin, vetiver, and sandalwood, actually help fix the scent of other aromas combined with them. And they get better with age. The same is true for thick resins such as myrrh. Patchouli that has been stored for many years smells so rich, few people recognize it -- even those who otherwise dislike it! Essential oils such as these become yet more valuable with age.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathi Keville is director of the American Herb Association and editor of the American Herb Association Quarterly newsletter. A writer, photographer, consultant, and teacher specializing in aromatherapy and herbs for over 25 years, she has written several books, including Aromatherapy: The Complete Guide to the Healing Art and Pocket Guide to Aromatherapy, and has written over 150 articles for such magazines as New Age Journal, The Herb Companion, and New Herbal Remedies.

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

AROMATHERAPY THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE TREATMENT EFFECT

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:40:00 +0800

Therapeutic effect

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A therapeutic effect is a consequence of a medical treatment of any kind, the results of which are judged to be desirable and beneficial. This is true whether the result was expected, unexpected, or even an unintended consequence of the treatment. An adverse effect, on the other hand, is a harmful and undesired effect.

What constitutes a therapeutic effect versus a side effect is a matter of both the nature of the situation in which a treatment is used and the goals of treatment. There is no inherent difference between therapeutic and undesired side effects; both responses are behavioral/physiologic changes which occur as a response to the treatment strategy or agent. However, those changes which are viewed as desirable, given the situation, are called therapeutic; those undesirable for the situation are viewed as unfavorable.

For example, it widely promoted that "natural" or "organic" agents are more healthy. However, everything in the world has multiple and varying responses when used; both desirable and undesirable effects are inherent parts of the total response. Even water – on which all life on earth depends – can have undesirable, even fatal effects; while increased intake of water can save a dehydrated patient, too much water can lead to water intoxication, sometimes resulting in death, such as in severe pulmonary edema.

As a simple example, the therapeutic effect of diphenhydramine, when used for nasal congestion, is to lessen mucous membrane secretions and the side effect is drowsiness. However, when used for insomnia, as in many over-the-counter preparations, the therapeutic effect of diphenhydramine is drowsiness and the side effect is mucous membrane dryness, which is undesirable, especially if the person using the agent for sleep is already suffering from dry membranes. The more important issue is not the agent, but the situation in which the therapeutic agent is used; a change in the situation can easily totally reverse what is usually considered a therapeutic versus an undesirable side effect.

Diphenhydramine was originally marketed under the brand name Benadryl in the early 1950s. When taken orally, it typically induces two behavioral responses: (1) drying of mucous membranes, potentially helpful in cases of increased nasal congestion and (2) drowsiness. Diphenhydramine was promoted for reducing nasal congestion, thus response 1 was the considered the therapeutic effect. Since response 2, the drowsiness response, was typically not viewed as desirable, drowsiness was termed a side effect.

When diphenhydramine is used as treatment, these two effects, individual responses, are always bound together and cannot be separated. Even though the dose can be changed and the relative degree of the two responses may be reduced or increased and the degree of the two different responses may be somewhat different at different doses, the two responses cannot be separated. For simplicity of illustration, only two typical responses are mentioned. For completeness, be aware that as with most treatments people usually exhibit additional behavioral responses to diphenhydramine beyond the two mentioned. [1]

The desire to simplify clinical situations and variables is one of the important reasons that physicians often prefer highly refined and regulated prescription drug preparations, as opposed to less refined and regulated products, often marketed as "natural" to imply safety.

Products from nature are essentially always complex mixtures of large numbers of different chemical agents, many only partially understood in term of usual desirable and undesirable responses, relationships of these effects to specific doses and with varying amounts of dose present within any given sample available.

The pharmaceutical industry highly purifies, concentrates and sometimes makes very controlled modifications of agents obtained from natural sources, when there is no alternative source, so as to select out and greatly reduce the variables in the treatment agent offered. Ratios of relative responses, often summarized using the concept therapeutic index, are utilized to help understand and communicate treatment responses.

A pharmaceutical grade agent does not make the patient any more simple but it does greatly simplify, narrow and make more definable and predictable both the usual desirable and undesirable effects of the treatment agent, based on careful tracking of the responses of many individuals who have taken the agent, in widely varying amounts and situations, in the past. This purification can greatly improve the probability for both the patient and the physician that the resulting responses to the treatment are likely to be more predictable and controllable.

Alat penyulingan minyak pati skala sederhana.

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:09:00 +0800

Alat penyulingan minyak pati skala sederhana.

Sistem penyulingan mengandungi unit tabung bahan, satu unit dandang setelit, satu unit kondenser, satu unit pemisah minyak dan satu unit sistem gentri. Setiap tabung bahan mempunyai kapasiti 23.4 m3 yang boleh dimasukkan lebih kurang 500 kg daun tea-tree yang baru dituai. Dandang setelit menjana 120-150 kg/jam wap yang sederhana kering ditekanan atmosfera. Diesel digunakan sebagai bahan bakar.

Wap dimasukkan ke dalam dua tabung bahan menerusi dua paip. Penyulingan berlaku di dalam dua tabung bahan mengandungi bahan sulingan. Wap yang mengandungi minyak pati disalurkan kepada kondenser di mana wap dan air akan menjadi cecair dan dikumpulkan di dalam pemisah minyak. Minyak pati yang diperolehi kemudian dipisahkan dari air. Tabung bahan, dandang setelit, kondenser dan pemisah minyak adalah diperbuat daripada besi kalis karat gred 304 dengan ketebalan yang tertentu. Kecekapan sistem ini adalah seperti berikut:

1. Perolehan kembali (recovery) 90% dan jumlah masa ekstraksi adalah lebih baik dari teknik penyulingan basah (60%) untuk tea-tree.

2. Rekabentuk tabung bahan menggunakan ukuran asas (masa asas, ukuran kenaikan paras ketinggian bahan suling dan faktor lag) suatu penyuling ujian terbukti berjaya.

3. Penggunaan wap yang sederhana kering mengurangkan kehilangan minyak melalui â€œrun offâ€ dan kesan â€œhydrophillicâ€.

4. Dandang wap menjana wap secukupnya ditekanan atmosfera (120-150 kg/jam) melalui paip-paip condong selari (38 mm jejari) yang terletak di bawah dandang wap, memberikan mekanisma pemanasan yang cepat melalui pusingan air di dalam dandang. LPG, disel dan minyak tanah sebagai bahan bakar.

5. Wap di dalam tiub kondenser memberi kondensasi yang cekap bagi wap mengandungi minyak pati.

6. Ciri keselamatan tabung bahan mematuhi ASME-Section II (1998).

Kebaikan alat penyuling adalah seperti berikut:

1. Ia boleh digunakan di ladang tanpa menggaji seorang boilerman kerana ia dijalankan ditekanan atmosfera.

2. Sistem penyulingan boleh dibuat oleh kilang tempatan dan ini menjimatkan tukaran wang asing kerana tidak perlu mengimport sistem penyulingan menggunakan dandang komersial.

3. Bakal pengguna ialah penanam dan pemeroses tanaman minyak pati.

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Sistem Penyulingan Untuk Minyak Pati

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:10:00 +0800

Sistem Penyulingan Untuk Minyak Pati

NAMA TEKNOLOGI: Sistem Penyulingan Untuk Minyak Pati

Penyelidik-Penyelidik Utama

Ketua Projek: Ahmad bin Ab. Wahab

Penyelidik-penyelidik bersama: Abdul Rahman bin Idris, Mansor bin Puteh

Teknologi

Beberapa rekabentuk untuk penyulingan minyak pati seperti tea-tree, serai wangi, serai makan, nilam, kayu manis, lada hitam, pala, akar wangi, allspice, cucur atap, limau purut, limau bali, limau pagar dan lain-lain telah dibangunkan. Reka bentuk alat penyulingan adalah terbahagi kepada tiga seperti berikut:

1. Alat penyulingan skala kecil

2. Alat penyuling skala sederhana

3. Alat penyuling skala besar

Keterangan ringkas teknologi

a. Alat penyuling skala kecil menggunakan wap yang lembap di kadar 1.8 â€“ 2.0 kg/jam. Alat penyuling boleh menampung 50-80 kg bahan sulingan bagi satu penyulingan (bergantung jenis tanaman minyak pati). Suatu â€œvapour-in-tubes condenserâ€ yang diletakkan menegak diguna. Rekabentuk ini adalah jenis mudah-alih dan sesuai sebagai sistem penyulingan untuk pekebun kecil.

b. Alat penyuling skala sederhana mengandungi dua unit tabung bahan, satu unit dandang satelit, satu unit â€œcondenserâ€, satu unit pemisah minyak dan satu unit sistem gentri. Dandang satelit menghasilkan 120-150 kg/jam wap yang kering ditekanan atmosfera dan menggunakan disel sebagai bahan bakar. Wap dimasukkan ke dalam dua tabung bahan menggunakan dua hos wap. Penyulingan berlaku di dalam dua tabung bahan yang mengandungi bahan sulingan dan wap yang terhasil akan disalurkan kepada kondenser di mana wap dan minyak akan bertukar menjadi cecair dan dikumpulkan di dalam pemisah minyak. Minyak pati kemudian dipisahkan dari air. Tabung bahan, dandang satelit, kondenser pemisah minyak dibuat dari besi kalis karat 304 dengan ketebalan yang sesuai. Sistem ini disertakan lengkap dengan bakul-bakul pengisian/pengeluaran bahan suling.

c. Alat penyuling skala besar mengandungi empat unit tabung bahan, satu unit dandang komersil, dua unit kondenser, dua unit pemisah minyak dan satu unit sistem gentri. Setiap tabung bahan mempunyai isipadu 23.4m3 yang boleh menampung 500 kg bahan suling. Dandang komersil menjana 200-500 kg/jam wap ditekanan tertentu menggunakan disel sebagai bahan bakar. Wap dimasukkan ke dalam empat tabung bahan yang mengandungi bahan suling dan wap yang mengandungi air. Minyak pati disalurkan ke kondenser yang mana wap air dan minyak akan bertukar menjadi cecair dan dikumpulkan di dalam pemisah minyak. Minyak pati kemudian dipisahkan dari air. Tabung bahan kondenser, pemisah minyak diperbuat daripada besi kalis karat 304. Sistem ini disertakan lengkap dengan bakul-bakul pengisian/pengeluaran bahan suling.

Ulasan am berkaitan dengan pengkomersilan

Penanaman tumbuhan minyak pati patut digalakkan dahulu sebelum mempromosikan teknologi penyulingan ini. Sementara menunggu kebun tanaman-tanaman ini diadakan, bahan-bahan mentah dari negara jiran boleh diimport dan dipasarkan sebagai produk-produk bernilai tambah melalui â€œfractionationâ€ dan pembangunan produk.

Bukti penyelidikan

Penerbitan

1. Abd. Rahman Azmil, I., Omar, T. and Ahmad, A.W. (2201). Effect of agronomic practices on the yield and oil quality of kesum (Polygonum minus) J. Trop. Agric. and Food Sc. 29 (1).

2. Ahmad, A.W., Abd. Rahman Azmil, I. and Mohd. Noh. J. (1999). Production and processing of essential oils (tea-tree, kesum patchouli and vanilla). Kertas kerja yang dibentangkan di International Conference and Exhibition on Herbs, 9-10 Nov. 1999, The Mines Resort, Serdang, Selangor.

3. Ahmad, A.W., Mansor, P., Abdul Malek, Y. and Jaafar, H. (1998). Distillation of tea-tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) oil. I. Establishment of basic parameters and standard conditions for a test distiller and evaluation of two prototype distillers. J. Trop. Agric. and Food Sc. 26(2): 175-187.

4. Ahmad, A.W., Mansor, P. and Tunku Kassim, T.A.R. (1998). Distillation of tea-tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) oil. II. Comparison of different fuels for steam generation using a prototype distiller. J. Trop. Agric. and Food Sc. 26 (2): 189-194.

5. Muhamad Ghawas, M. and Ahmad A.W. (2202. Yield performance and chemical constituents of selected local lines of Ocimum accessions. J. Trop. Agric. and Food Sc. 30(2): 145-150. Puat, N.A., Abdul Rahman Azmil, I., Mansor, P. and Ahmad, A.W. (2002). Effect of planting density, nitrogen fertilizer and harvesting frequency on the Performance of tea-tree (Melaleuca alternifolia). Kertas kerja yang dibentangkan di Workshop RMKe-7 Research Project Achievements, RIC Center, MARDI 20-21 August 2002, Sutra Beach Resort Terengganu.

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

WE WILL BE AT SMIDEX EXHIBITION 2009, KLCC CONVENTION CENTRE, 3-6 JUNE 2009.

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:13:00 +0800

To all that live in KL, Selangor and nearby, those interested to get our SUTRA AROMATHERAPY products, can come visit our booth at SMIDEX EXHIBITION AT KLCC on 3-5 JUNE 2009 because we are offering price discounts for you there.

We also will tell about the business opportunity by becoming our SUTRA SHOPPE, SUTRA POINT and RAKAN SUTRA at the exhibition. You will have an opportunity to meet our first SUTRA SHOPPE. We will help you to get monetary finance for those that do not have modal.

EXHIBITION INFORMATION:

DATE: 3-5 JUNE 2009

DAY: WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

VENUE: KUALA LUMPUR CONVENTION (KLCC),KUALA LUMPUR.

VISIT OUR BOOTH THERE !!

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY WITH SUTRA ESSENTIAL

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:15:00 +0800

WE TROPICAL BIOESSENCE MARKETING WANTS TO INVITE THOSE THAT INTERESTED TO BECOME SUTRA SHOPPE, SUTRA POINT AND RAKAN SUTRA. THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY IS VERY WIDE FOR THOSE INTERESTED BECAUSE WE WILL HELP IN TERMS OF PROMOTIONS, ADVICE, TRAINING, AND ALL THE NEEDED. SINCE OUR COMPANY IS ONE OF THE BUMIPUTRA AROMATHERPY PRODUCT MANUFACTURER IN MALAYSIA, WE PROMISED A GREAT INCOME FOR THOSE THAT INTERESTED TO BECOME OUR STOCKIST. CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

1. SUTRA SHOPPE

Sutra Shoppe is the one that will be become our dealer in every state. SUTRA SHOPPE will supply our products to our SUTRA POINT.

2. SUTRA POINT

Sutra Point is the one that will sell our products in their shop/spa/saloon/boutique. If you have Spa, saloon, boutique, we wants to invite you to join us to become our Sutra Point to sell our products.

3. RAKAN SUTRA RM188

RAKAN SUTRA is people who interest in selling Sutra product as a part time job by using catalog that we provide in this RAKAN SUTRA PACKAGE. After becoming RAKAN SUTRA, you will get:

8 types of Aromatherapy Handmade Soaps
6 types of role on Perfume
Membership card (where it must renew every 1 year)
Product catalog.

INTERESTED? CONTACT US:

MOBILE: 019-7526867(MR RUSDI)
MOBILE: 019-7706867(MR IBRAHIM)
MOBILE: 019-7596867 (MISS NORISHAN)

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Minyak Pati Serai Wangi - Citronella

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:55:00 +0800

Tanaman serai wangi dipercayai berasal sama ada dari Selatan India atau Sri Lanka. Serai wangi juga tumbuh liar di kebanyakan negara di Asia Tropika, Amerika dan Afrika. Di Malaysia, serai wangi biasanya ditanam di halaman rumah sebagai tanaman dapur dan kebelakangan ini terdapat beberapa pengusaha yang berminat untuk menanamnya bagi menghasilkan minyak pati. Serai wangi ialah sejenis tanaman rumput yang tinggi dan mempunyai rimbunan daun yang lebat. Ia boleh tumbuh sehingga 1.0–1.5 m. Daunnya bersifat tirus, panjang sehingga 70 – 80 cm dan 2 – 5 cm lebar. Ia berwarna hijau muda, kasar dengan urat yang selari dan mempunyai aroma yang lebih kuat jika dibandingkan dengan serai makan. Serai wangi jarang berbunga dan hanya berbunga bila sudah cukup matang iaitu pada peringkat umur melebihi 8 bulan.

Botani Tanaman:

Pokok: Serai wangi ialah rumput saka yang tinggi dan berbau wangi. Ia mengeluarkan rumpun daun yang lebat daripada rizom yang padat dan boleh membesar sehingga 1-1.5 m tinggi.

Daun: Daun sesil yang berwarna hijau dan licin. Purata saiz ialah 60 cm panjang x 2.5 cm lebar.

Hujung daun adalah runcing.

Batang: Tiada batang tulen. Sarung daun berperanan sebagai batang palsu.

Akar/rizom: Rizom padat dan merayap. Berwarna kekuningan.

BAHAGIAN YANG DIGUNAKAN: Daun

Penuaian Hasil:

Kematangan tanaman: 2.5 - 3 bulan

Cara mengutip hasil: Bahagian hasil dikerat 5 cm atas pada batang palsu. Daun dijemur layu

sehingga kandungan air dikurangkan sebanyak 30-50 % sebelum diproses untuk mengeluarkan pati minyak.

Kutipan hasil berikutnya dilakukan selepas jangkamasa 1.5 bulan.

Kegunaan dalam perubatan:

1. Sakit perut: Minyak pati disapukan untuk melegakan kesakitan

2. Menghalau serangga: Daun kering digunakan sebagai penghalau serangga

3. Cucian selepas bersalin: Gunakan gandingan air rebusan serai wangi, gandarusa dan daun sirih.

Kegunaan bahan kimia

1. Caryophyllene

2. Citronellol

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Testimoni Produk SUTRA ESSENTIAL

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:10:00 +0800

1. Saya dari gemencheh negeri sembilan… semasa saya pergi karnival halal dekat melaka hari tu. Ada promoter tu offer saya guna produk SUTRA. saya pilihlah lavender aromatherapi soap… balik rumah trylah… uihh… bestnyer.. aroma dia..best. kulit sy jadi lembut…..memang terbukti….sabun sutra nie berkesan. [ lavender soap ] [ ann, n9 ]

2. Baru-baru nie saya pulang ke kampung saya yang terletak di Kelantan. Tahu jelah Melaka ke Kelantan bukannye dekat..Erm..hampir 12 jam perjalanan. So, my dad kenelah drive for along journey….Anak-anak sume pempuan xleh la nak tukar-tukar drive. Then, sepanjang perjalanan tu, everytime die rasa penat jerk.. My mom urutkan bahu ayah guna minayk urut Sutra-Refreshing, bagi badan ayah segar dan tak letih untuk drive. Alhamdulilah massage oil-refreshing tub g kesan ynag baik to my dad n membantu die menyergarkan badan n pulihkan tenaga n hilangkan lenguh-lenguh badan… [ massage oil - refreshing ] [ hanim ]

3. Saya selalu balik kerja lewat . Sampai rumah dah rasa penat x bertenaga lag ink buat kerja. Kemudian saya diperkenalkan dengan energizing blended oil. Balik keje saja, saya terus letakakn beberapa titik denagn shower gel n mandi seperti biasa. Baunye membuatkan saya bertenaga n rileks. Kini saya bbertanbah bertenaga untuk membuat kerja dengan energizing blended essential oil. [ Energizing blended oil ] [ elsa, sarawak ]

4. Selepas menggunakan massage oil Sleep Well, bahu melegakan, menyihatkan dan senang untuk tido. Keesokannya senang bangun dan terasa lebih segar. Tidak rugi isteri saya memperkenalkan produk ini kepada saya.. [ Massage Oil – Sleep Well ] [ Zozli ]

5. Mula-mula saya x berapa percaya tentang keberkesanan sabun ini, tapi apabila telah menggunakannya saya dapati kulit saya yang berjerawat di lengan tangan semakin berkurangan dan baunya memebuatkan saya selesa. [ Soap – Lemongrass ] [ shan, Melaka ]

6. Sebelum ni saya pengguna bodyshop sebab sebab saya suka bau dia yang tahan lama tapi lepas saya guna perfume Sutra Juliet, saya rasa produk ini standing dengan perfume bodyshop yang kite tau sedia maklum international yang mahal harganya. So apa salahnya kita gn produk Negara kita Malaysia kan.. [ Perfuma – Juliet ] [ hanis ]

[ perfume – My Heart ] [ anim, from Melaka ]

8. Pada awal bulan april yang lepas saya telah menemui satu laman web yang memasarkan produk-produk aromatherapy iaitu aromasutra.com. Ianya buatan Malaysia. Pada mulanya saya agak ragu-ragu untuk mencuba kerana tidak pernah mendengar berkenaan produk ini sebelumnya. Oleh kerana harganya yg agak murah jadi saya memutuskan untuk mencuba. Hasilnya………………….sungguh menakjubkan. Dalam masa sebulan mencuba saya amat berpuas hati dengan kesannya. Penggunaan pati minyak tulen lavender bukan shj memberi kesegaran pada tubuh badan, bahkan telah membantu memulihkan dari demam. Ianya berkesan …..saya telah perolehi apa yang diinginkan dengan harga yg berpatutan. Anda juga patut mencubanye.. [ Essential Oil – Lavender ] [ anisa, 22thn ]

9. “ Saya mengetahui tentang produk aromatherapy Sutra ini dari teman lebih kurang 3 minngu yang lalu. Mereka syorkan kepada saya untuk dunakan sabun Sutra n perfume keluaran Sutra..Keinginan untuk mencuba, saya membeli 2 produk iaitu sabun-tea tree n ferfume –juliet. TERNYATA ianya berbaloi. Sabun tea tree telah membuatkan masalah kulit muka saya berkurang. Penggunaan kedua-dua produk ini membuatkan diri saya lebih berkenyakianan. Haruman Juliet telah memberikan kesegaran sepanjang hari. Ianya benar-benar memuaskan hati saya. Sungguh berpatutan.. Sesiapa pun patut mencubanya.. [ Soap – Tea Tree ] [ Perfume – Juliet ] [ hida, 24 thn ]

10. [ Pammy Leo, Kuala Lumpur ] I’ve tried aromatherapy handmade soap (serai wangi). I love it smell anf of course I loved it and want to buy more…

11.[ En Sofi , n9 ] Saya kerja terlalu kuat, Lengan, leher dan bahu saya terasa begitu sakit dan lenguh-lenguh. Teman wanita saya menghadiahkan saya Rfreshing massage oil. Setelah menggunakan sengal-sengal di bahu, lengan dan leher saya mula pulih. Kini saya rasa segar dan tak perlu riso dengan rasa sakit lagi. Sebab saya ada Sutra….. J [Massage Oil – Refreshing ]

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Potensi Besar Minyak Pati Perangi Nyamuk

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:47:00 +0800

Oleh Melati Mohd Ariff

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Sept (Bernama) -- Di sebalik pelbagai pencapaian dalam bidang sains perubatan dekad kebelakangan ini, penyakit yang berpunca daripada nyamuk seperti demam denggi, Japanese encephalitis (JE), filiarisis, malaria dan chikungunya terus menjadi penyakit paling digeruni.

Di Malaysia, penyakit-penyakit ini sememangnya semakin dapat dikawal tetapi rasa bimbang terhadap ancamannya menular lagi tetap ada.

Ini memandangkan nyamuk dan pathogen (agen yang menyebabkan penyakit seperti bakteria atau kulat/fungus) yang dibawa oleh nyamuk berkenaan boleh menjadi kebal dan tidak boleh dihapuskan oleh racun serangga dan ubat.

"Wabak demam denggi yang merebak di seluruh dunia boleh dikatakan berpunca daripada pembiakan serta penyesuaian nyamuk Aedes aegyptii dan Aedes albopictus, yang menyebabkan wabak denggi masih menyerang rantau Asia," kata Dr Nor Azah Mohamad Ali ke Bernama baru-baru ini.

Beliau adalah pegawai penyelidik kanan, program Tumbuhan Ubatan, Bahagian Bioteknologi Hutan, Institut Penyelidikan Perhutanan Malaysia (FRIM).

LANGKAH TANGANI NYAMUK

Dr Nor Azah berkata langkah terbaik bagi mengawal pembiakan nyamuk ialah sama ada memusnahkan larva atau mengambil langkah perlindungan seperti penggunaan produk racun serangga untuk kegunaan rumah serta penghalau serangga.

"Kawalan nyamuk pembawa kuman pada masa ini bergantung kepada racun serangga kimia dan penyembur sintetik seperti dimethyl phthalate, malathion dan dimethyl-m-toluamide (DEET).

"Meskipun berkesan, sesetengah kimia ini mungkin berbahaya kepada manusia serta alam sekitar (pengurangan ozon) dan penggunaan yang berterusan mungkin menjadikan nyamuk pembawa kuman ini menjadi kebal kepada racun serangga," jelasnya.

POTENSI REMPAH DAN HERBA

Dr Nor Azah mencadangkan kemungkinan rempah dan herba, yang diketahui mempunyai ciri-ciri yang boleh melawan serangga yang kerap ditemui di bahagian minyak patinya, digunakan dalam racun serangga.

Katanya aktiviti minyak pati lazimnya terjadi kerana kehadiran monoterpenoid seperti limonene, citronellol, geraniol dan citronellal yang dilaporkan mempunyai ciri penghalau pelbagai serangga.

"Memandangkan bau memainkan peranan penting dalam mengawal kelakuan serangga, minyak pati boleh digunakan sebagai penghalau serangga," jelas beliau.

Beliau berkata kajian awal FRIM mendapati banyak minyak pati seperti Cymbopogon nardus, Litsea eliptica, Melaleuca cajuputi dan Cinnamomum spp mempunyai ciri penghalau serangga untuk melawan gigitan Aedes aegyptii.

Katanya contoh minyak pati tumbuhan lain yang dilapor boleh menghalau serangga ialah minyak geranium (Pelargonium citrosum), gaharu (Aquilaria malaccensis) dan Sweet Basil (Ocimum spp).

"Terdapat juga spesies beraroma lain yang boleh ditemui di dalam hutan Malaysia atau ditanam di taman untuk ciri-ciri perubatannya dan tujuan masakan. Minyak pati daripada spesies ini juga digemari industri minyak pati," kata Dr Nor Azah, yang berkhidmat dengan FRIM sejak 1987.

ANTARA KAJIAN FRIM

FRIM menjalankan kajian ke atas banyak tumbuhan yang berpotensi untuk digunakan ekstraknya sejak awal 1990an.

"Kajian kami bertumpu kepada kajian proses mengekstrak. Kita juga masuk ke hutan dan membuat pemilihan rawak ke atas tumbuhan yang mengandungi minyak pati.

"Usaha yang dibuat oleh FRIM ini adalah antara penyelidikan minyak pati yang terawal di Malaysia," katanya.

Menurut Dr Nor Azah, mulai 1994, kerja penyelidikan menjurus kepada kajian menghalau serangga termasuk nyamuk dengan fokus kepada tumbuhan yang menghasilkan minyak yang kuat baunya.

"Kami dapati minyak pati mempunyai penawar semula jadi untuk dijadikan bahan penghalau serangga, selain bahan pewangi," tambahnya.

"Apabila FRIM menubuhkan bahagian tumbuhan ubatan pada 1995, kerja penyelidikan difokus kepada aktiviti bioaktiviti. Pada masa itu, denggi adalah penyakit yang sering berlaku dari semasa ke semasa.

"Penggunaan pelbagai jenis penyembur serangga untuk menghalau atau mematikan nyamuk Aedes, lama kelamaan akan menjadikan nyamuk itu kebal kepada penyembur serangga," jelasnya.

Menurut Dr Nor Azah, penyelidikan dibuat ke atas lebih 30 ekstrak tumbuhan termasuk ekstrak tumbuhan serai wangi, beberapa spesies limau (Citrus), medang, gaharu, kemoyang dan sireh.

DUA FUNGSI MINYAK PATI

Penyelidikan lanjut, katanya, perlu dijalankan ke atas tumbuhan yang menghasilkan minyak yang harum yang boleh bertindak bukan sahaja sebagai penghalau serangga tetapi juga boleh digunakan sebagai haruman.

Bagaimanapun, beliau memberitahu bahawa kajian yang dijalankan di FRIM mendapati tumbuhan beraroma seperti Citrus (limau), Ocimum (selasih), Cymbopogon (serai) dan Cinnamomum(medang) menunjukkan potensi ciri menghalau nyamuk apabila diuji ke atas larva atau jentik-jentik nyamuk Aedes aegyptii.

"Kesan minyak pati dalam mencegah gigitan nyamuk terutama Aedes aegyptii dinilai dengan menggunakan kaedah American Society Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard E951-85," jelasnya.

Dr Nor Azah berkata minyak pati yang paling efektif ditemui kebanyakannya daripada minyak pati Citrus.

"Nyamuk tak suka bau-bau tertentu dan akan lari bila tak tahan dengan bau minyak pati. Fokus kita sekarang ialah untuk kesan minyak pati bagi mematikan atau memengsankan nyamuk," jelasnya.

Tambah beliau, penyelidikan minyak pati yang sedang dijalankan di FRIM adalah juga untuk memahami dengan lebih mendalam kesan terapeutik tumbuhan berkenaan, antaranya ke atas kulit manusia.

"Semua benda walaupun semula jadi, kalau digunakan berlebihan ada mudaratnya. Minyak pati tak digalak digunakan secara terus. Perlu diolah dalam bentuk krim atau losen sebagai contoh.

"Ada juga sesetengah minyak pati yang mungkin mendatangkan alahan kepada wanita mengandung," Dr Nor Azah memberi sedikit peringatan.

BEBERAPA HASIL KAJIAN

Antara kejayaan kajian yang dibuat FRIM ialah minyak pati penghalau nyamuk yang diberi nama'Deesrept'. Ia mengandungi satu minyak pati atau sebatian beberapa minyak pati dari keluarga citrus (limau).

Gabungan campuran minyak pati itu, jelas beliau, boleh diolah dalam bentuk krim atau losen.

Menurut Dr Nor Azah, minyak pati itu diekstrak dengan menggunakan proses penyulingan hidro dan disaring kimia bagi mengekalkan tahap ketinggian mutu minyak patinya.

Satu lagi hasil yang mempunyai potensi besar, menurut Dr Nor Azah, ialah produk minyak pati dengan kesan adultisidal iaitu mengesan dan membunuh nyamuk dewasa.

"Produk ini berasaskan herba semula jadi terdiri daripada sebatian minyak pati sebagai penghalau serangga dan mempunyai manfaat aromaterapi.

"Aroma yang menyenangkan ini begitu menyegarkan dan menjadikan kita relaks. Kajian FRIM menunjukkan produk minyak pati ini boleh menghalau nyamuk ke tahap boleh membunuhnya," jelas Dr Nor Azah.

Beliau berkata produk berkenaan boleh juga digunakan sebagai penyembur badan atau penyegar udara.

Katanya sebuah syarikat Bumiputera sedang mengusahakan produk berkenaan untuk tujuan komersial.

PERLU KAJIAN LEBIH MENDALAM

Bagaimanapun, beliau berkata penggunaan ekstrak herba dan minyak pati memerlukan kajian yang lebih mendalam terutama dari segi keselamatan (tidak toksik) serta mempunyai tahap keberkesanan yang optimum," jelasnya.

Dr Nor Azah berkata pihaknya akan membuat lebih banyak kajian kerana ada banyak lagi minyak pati dari khazanah hutan negara yang belum diterokai.

Beliau turut memberitahu bahawa kesedaran masyarakat umum mengenai produk alternatif untuk mengatasi masalah nyamuk sememangnya tinggi.

Namun yang menjadi masalahnya ialah kekurangan produk di pasaran, antaranya kerana sumber bahan mentah yang tidak mencukupi untuk diproses.

Penggunaan bahan mentah herba asli juga menjadikan kos pemprosesan tinggi, tambahnya.

FRIM sendiri, kata beliau, sudah mewujudkan satu stesen kecil penyelidikan di Maran, Pahang untuk menanam tumbuhan herba termasuk serai wangi untuk dijadikan bahan penyelidikan dan tujuan komersial.

Dalam masa yang sama, FRIM, juga kata Dr Nor Azah, turut mengambil langkah proaktif dalam menjaga sumber alam semula jadi.

"Sememangnya hutan kita mengandungi banyak khazanah herba yang berpotensi tetapi jika kita ambil apa-apa spesies untuk kajian, kita akan tanam balik.

"Kita kena usahakan penanaman ini sebab kita tidak mahu orang berkata kita ini hanya pandai buat produk mesra alam tetapi dalam masa yang sama kita juga musnahkan hutan," katanya.

-- BERNAMA

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

INKUBATOR TEKNOLOGI PEMPROSESAN MINYAK PATI MARDI

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:23:00 +0800

Minyak pati ialah sejenis minyak meruap dan beraroma yang didapati daripada tumbuh-tumbuhan secara sulingan. Bahagian tumbuh-tumbuhan di mana minyak pati boleh diperolehi termasuklah bunga, buah (kulit), daun, biji, akar atau keseluruhan tumbuhan. Minyak pati biasanya digunakan di dalam industri wangian dan kosmetik terutama bagi penghasilan minyak wangi, penyegar udara, bahan cucian dan mandian, aromaterapi, minyak urut, balm dan sebagainya. Minyak pati juga berguna di dalam industri makanan sebagai bahan perisa dan bauan seperti minyak pudina di dalam gula-gula, minyak cengkih dan kayu manis di dalam minuman ringan. Selain itu, minyak pati digunakan dalam pengeluaran bahan kawalan serangga, antiseptik, anti kulat (fungal) dan pelbagai aplikasi dalam industri perubatan.

Industri herba Malaysia mempunyai potensi yang tinggi untuk berkembang dan produk berasaskan herba tempatan (tropika) mempunyai ruang pasaran luas (domestik dan ekspot). Dianggarkan saiz pasaran minyak pati dunia ialah sebanyak USD 7.5 billion. Pada masa ini negara kita banyak bergantung kepada pengimportan minyak pati untuk kegunaan tempatan. Nilai import minyak pati ke dalam Malaysia adalah sebanyak RM 200 juta setahun dan nilai permintaan tempatan untuk produk yang berasaskan minyak pati (kosmetik dan produk penjagaan diri) dianggarkan sebanyak RM500 juta setahun. Justeru itu, industri herba Malaysia berpotensi untuk berkembang dengan lebih pesat lagi jika pengeluaran minyak pati berskala komersil dapat dibangunkan. Secara keseluruhannya kegiatan ini merangkumi aktiviti pengeluaran tanaman, pengurusan lepas tuai, pengekstraktan minyak pati, pembangunan produk berasaskan minyak pati serta perawatan bahan buangan kepada silaj dan kompos.

Industri herba tempatan telah berkembang dengan pesatnya sejak kebelakangan ini tetapi tidak seimbang. Untuk membangunkan industri herba tempatan, pembangunan menyeluruh industri tersebut perlu dilaksanakan termasuk pembangunan pasaran dan penjenamaan.

Di dalam program inkubator teknologi minyak pati MARDI, beberapa teknologi telah dibangunkan. Program ini merangkumi teknologi pengeluaran tanaman, pengeringan, penyulingan, penghasilan produk-produk berasaskan minyak pati, silaj dan kompos. Tanaman-tanaman yang telah dibangunkan terdiri daripada tiga jenis herba iaitu nilam, serai makan dan serai wangi. Teknologi penanaman telah dapat menghasilkan masing-masing sebanyak 30 tan, 40 tan dan 55 tan sehektar/tahun bagi tanaman nilam, serai makan dan serai wangi. Proses pengeringan pula telah dapat dilakukan melalui pembangunan teknologi pengeringan rumah solar yang berkapasiti pengeluaran sebanyak 750 kg/sehari.

Teknologi pengekstraktan minyak pati melibatkan dua proses iaitu proses penyulingan (distillation) dan penyulingan berperingkat (fractionation). Proses penyulingan menggunakan wap tekanan tinggi yang dibangunkan berupaya menghasilkan 16,000 ml minyak pati sehari. Proses penyulingan berperingkat pula dapat menghasilkan minyak pati tulen berbilang gred.

Rangkaian operasi dalam inkubator teknologi produk berasaskan minyak pati meliputi sistem pemprosesan sabun, sistem pemprosesan produk toiletri bentuk cecair dan krim kosmetik, sistem pengisian produk cecair secara automatik dan sistem pembungkusan. Teknologi pemprosesan produk melibatkan pembangunan kilang yang menepati keperluan Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) dengan spesifikasi susun atur mesin dan tatacara penyusunan bilik bersesuaian. Teknologi pembangunan produk (formulasi) berasaskan minyak pati ini berupaya mengeluarkan sebanyak 15,700 ml bahan aromaterapi dan 3,000 ketul sabun penjagaan diri dan ’toileteries’ sehari.

Untuk melengkapkan program inkubator teknologi minyak pati, kesemua bahan buangan dari proses ini turut dirawat menjadi silaj dan kompos untuk menambahnilaikan lagi pakej teknologi ini juga menjadikannya lebih berdaya maju dan mesra alam. Teknologi penghasilan silaj melibatkan pemeraman (fermentation) bahan buangan daripada sistem penyulingan di dalam tong kedap udara yang dicampurkan bakteria IMO (Indigenous Microbial Organism). Silaj boleh digunakan sebagai sumber serat (fiber) untuk makanan ternakan ruminan seperti lembu dan kambing. Teknologi kompos pula melibatkan pemeraman terbuka (open fermentation) bahan buangan dari penyulingan dan dicampur dengan bahan-bahan lain seperti IMO, urea dan molases. Bahan kompos yang dihasilkan amat sesuai digunakan sebagai baja organik untuk pelbagai tanaman.

Untuk mempercepatkan proses pengkomersilan teknologi ini MARDI telah membangunkan pusat inkubator teknologi minyak pati dan kilang perintis pemprosesan produk berasaskan minyak pati di Stesen MARDI Kuala Linggi, Melaka. Pusat inkubator teknologi ini telah dibangunkan sejak 2006 dan dijangka dapat melatih inkubati pertama pada penghujung tahun 2007. Jangkamasa pembangunan usahawan sebagai inkubati dalam sistem inkubator ini ialah selama 14 – 24 bulan bagi program inkubator teknologi penyulingan dan 6-12 bulan bagi penghasilan produk berasaskan minyak pati. Melalui kaedah ini sekurang-kurangnya dua syarikat inkubati dapat dibangunkan dalam setiap pusingan.

Program inkubator teknologi minyak pati ini telah dibangunkan berasaskan kepada teknologi pakej yang telah dihasilkan juga unjuran analisis kewangan. Kilang yang dibangunkan diunjur memerlukan bekalan bahan mentah (nilam, serai wangi dan serai makan) yang perlu dihasilkan dari ladang yang sekurang-kurangnya seluas 45 hektar.

Analisis kewangan pengeluaran minyak pati dan produk berasaskan minyak pati menunjukkan pelaburan ini secara teknikalnya berkebolehan (feasible) dan berdaya maju (viable) dari segi ekonomi. Berasaskan kepada saiz operasi kilang yang menghasilkan sebanyak 16,000 ml minyak pati sehari pelaburan ini dijangka dapat memberi kadar pulangan dalaman (Internal Rate of Return) sebanyak 28%, nilai kini bersih (Net Present Value) sebanyak RM4.9 juta, nisbah keuntungan kepada perbelanjaan (Benefit Cost Ratio) sebanyak 1.3 dan tempoh bayar balik modal (Payback Period) selama 4 tahun.

Untuk perancangan masa hadapan, inkubator teknologi minyak pati MARDI di Kuala Linggi akan membangunkan minyak-minyak pati berasaskan herba-herba lain seperti limau purut, sireh, kulit kayu manis, tee-tree, bunga cengkih dan bunga-bunga haruman. Pembangunan produk minyak pati akan dipertingkatkan kepada produk-produk spa khusus dan terpilih yang mempunyai potensi pasaran tempatan dan ekspot. Pembungkusan (packaging) dan penjenamaan (branding) yang sesuai akan juga dibangunkan di masa hadapan bagi meningkatkan penguasaan pasaran tempatan dan antarabangsa. Di masa hadapan, dijangkakan lebih ramai lagi usahawan dapat dibangunkan melalui sistem inkubator luar-capaian (out-reached incubator) yang boleh diwujudkan apabila teknologi ini dikembangkan ke kawasan-kawasan pertumbuhan yang lain.

Inkubator teknologi minyak pati ini merupakan pakej teknologi lengkap yang mengintegrasikan aktiviti-aktiviti huluan (up-stream), hiliran (down-stream) dan pemasaran (market). Program inkubator teknologi ini adalah berasaskan kepada teknologi-teknologi asli yang dibangunkan oleh MARDI. Pakej teknologi ini dijangka dapat membantu meningkatkan lagi pembangunan industri herba tempatan ke tahap berdaya maju dan berdaya saing.

Teknologi minyak pati ini telah dapat dipakejkan sebagai satu entiti pelaburan yang dapat memberi pulangan yang lumayan dan disyorkan kepada pengusaha-pengusaha enterprise kecil dan sederhana (EKS). Teknologi minyak pati ini dapat memperkasakan konsep aktiviti perniagaantani dari ladang ke kilang (farm to factory).

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Meneroka manfaat dan khasiat halia

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:12:00 +0800

Oleh KHAIRUNNISA SULAIMAN

HALIA sememangnya mempunyai nilai perubatan tersendiri.

Tanaman halia bukan saja digunakan dalam masakan tetapi tumbuhan herba ini juga terkenal sebagai makanan kesihatan malah penyeri landskap.

Penanaman halia mempunyai sejarah yang panjang dan dikatakan bermula di China sebelum tersebar ke Asia Tenggara, Afrika Barat dan kepulauan Caribbean.

Halia mengandungi sehingga tiga peratus minyak pati yang memberikannya aroma. Rizom (akar) halia muda biasanya berjus dan mempunyai rasa pedas yang lembut.

Halia jeruk boleh dimakan sebagai snek dan air halia yang ditambah dalam teh bersama-sama madu akan menambahkan keenakannya.

Dari segi saintifiknya, semua jenis halia berada dalam Order Zingiberales dan Famili Zingiberaceae.

Pensyarah Kanan, Institut Sains Biologi Universiti Malaya (UM), Prof. Halijah Ibrahim berkata, famili ini dapat dibezakan kerana seluruh atau bahagian tertentu tumbuhan herba ini adalah aromatik.

Menurutnya, halia tergolong dalam tumbuhan herba yang mempunyai rizom misalnya kunyit, halia dan lengkuas yang biasa digunakan dalam makanan.

"Keluarga Zingiberaceae mempunyai saiz yang pelbagai dan boleh dibezakan dengan taburan padat di kawasan Asia Tenggara," katanya yang telah lebih 20 tahun menjalankan kajian mengenai halia.

Pada masa ini, terdapat 350 spesies halia yang dikenal pasti di seluruh negara, manakala Thailand mempunyai lebih 300 spesies.

Biasanya halis jenis Zingiberaceae terdapat di kawasan tropika dan subtropika dan juga terdapat lebih 52 genera dengan 1,300 hingga 1,500 spesies.

"Di Malaysia saja terdapat 21 hingga 22 genera dengan lebih 350 spesies," hurai Halijah.

Beliau berkata, disebabkan halia banyak digunakan dalam pelbagai budaya di seluruh dunia, halia mempunyai kepentingan dalam ekonomi.

Terdapat halia yang boleh dimakan dan biasanya ditambah dalam masakan seperti rempah atau sebagai ulaman.

"Kunyit atau Cucurma domestica, Zingir officianale (halia), Elettaria cardamimum (buah pelaga), Alpinia galanga (lengkuas), E elation (kantan), kaempteria galanga (cekur) biasa digunakan dalam masakan," katanya.

Selain dalam masakan dan minuman, keluarga halia juga banyak digunakan dalam perubatan tradisional yang menggunakan campuran herba.

Sehingga kini terdapat 30 hingga 40 spesies halia yang direkodkan digunakan dalam perubatan tradisional.

"Tentu saja masyarakat kenal dengan Zingiber zerumbet (lempoyang), Z. ottensini (lempoyang hitam), Z. officinale var rubrum (halia bara), Ccurcuma aeruginosa (kunyit hitam/temu hitam), C. zanthorrhiza (temu lawak), C. mangga (temu pauh/mangga), C. zedoria (temu putih/kunyit putih).

"Semua bahan ini banyak digunakan sebagai campuran dalam perubatan tradisional," katanya.

Halia yang mempunyai bentuk bunga yang cantik dan beraroma juga boleh dijadikan tanaman hiasan dan landskap.

Beberapa tanaman halia seperti Alpinia purpurata (halia merah), Z. spectabile (cut flower), Alpinia zurember (shell ginger), A. mutica, A. malaccensis, A. latiladis (landskap), Kaemferia spp. sesuai dijadikan tanaman hiasan kerana mudah dikendalikan.

Tanaman halia yang mempunyai aroma merupakan sumber minyak pati bagi minyak wangi, perisa dan aroma terapi.

Katanya, kajian perlu dijalankan dengan mendalam memandangkan halia boleh dijadikan sumber kanji manakala dalam dunia perubatan, keluarga halia didapati mempunyai aktiviti biologi yang baik sebagai anti kanser, anti mikrobial, anti oksidan dan anti radangan.

"Di negara jiran Indonesia, keluarga halia seperti temu, kunyit dan halia banyak digunakan dalam jamu, kosmetik dan teh.

"Di sini semakin banyak produk dihasilkan daripada halia seperti teh, kosmetik, aroma terapi, krim wajah, krim pemutih dan krim anti penuaan," katanya.

Beliau yang menyertai Ekspedisi Lanjak Entimau di Sarawak, baru-baru ini untuk meneroka khazanah alam semula jadi berharap akan dapat menemui lebih banyak spesies bagi menambah lagi bilangan, mengemaskini data kepelbagaian halia.

"Pelbagai aspek kajian mengenai spesies yang baru ditemui dan terdapat kajian yang akan menjadi asas kepada etnobotanikal terutama dalam kepentingan perubatan.

"Ini akan menjurus kepada menemui dan memulihara spesies endemik yang masih tidak diketahui kegunaannya," katanya.

Katanya lagi, pihaknya akan mengkaji spesies halia yang berpotensi bagi tumbuhan ornamental untuk dibiakbaka secara tisu kultur untuk dikomersialkan.

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Rakan Sutra Membership Card Promotion @ RM 188.00

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:01:00 +0800

RAKAN SUTRA MEMBERSHIP CARD IS NOW OPEN WITH ONLY RM 188!!

RAKAN SUTRA is people who interest in selling Sutra product as a part time job by using catalog that we provide in this RAKAN SUTRA PACKAGE. After becoming RAKAN SUTRA, you will get:

1. 8 types of Aromatherapy Handmade Soaps

2. 6 types of role on Perfume

3. Membership card (where it must renew every 1 year)

4. Product catalog.

WHY YOU NEED TO BE RAKAN SUTRA?

As become RAKAN SUTRA, we will give much benefit to you, such as:

1. Sutra product catalog

Each member will get our product catalog that will be use to promote our product to customer. (Catalog business).

2. Discount 10% if you get a service from Spa, Beauty Boutique, Saloon or any registered business that will register under our company.

If SUTRA POINT/ RAKAN SUTRA do have Spa, Beauty Boutique, Saloon, or any registered business, you can register under us and we will list down your Spa, Beauty Boutique, Saloon or any registered business inside our web sitewww.sutraessential.com. If RAKAN SUTRA interest to get treatments, services or products from spa, beauty boutique, saloon or any registered business, you will get 10% discount through your membership card. SUTRA POINT/ RAKAN SUTRA who register their business under us will get benefits where their business will get attention from RAKAN SUTRA who interest. So, for all spa, beauty boutique, saloon or any owner of registered business, this is a chance for you to promote your business to RAKAN SUTRA which register under us. Imagine how much benefit you will get if many RAKAN SUTRA wants to get treatments, services and product from you after this!!

3. Discount 10% for repeat purchase of Sutra product.

We also offering you 10% discount for repeat purchase of Sutra product. You will get a chance to get our product in a cheaper price.

4. Health assurance better by using our product.

Besides selling our product, you also have a chance to take care of your health by using our product because aromatherapy is one of the alternative treatments to cure disease.

You also have a chance to:

Join vacation for Sutra Group

Join Family Day activity for Sutra Group once in each 6 month.

Meeting with all Sutra Group in each 6 month.

Sutra Essential @ sutraessential.blogspot.com

Sutra Essential's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:57:00 +0800

I found this fascinating quote today:

SUTRA ESSENTIAL at Ekspo Harta Intelek Malaysia 2009 in KLCCOur SUTRA ESSENTIAL Booth at Melaka Pavilion during Ekspo Harta Intelek Malaysia 2009 at KLCC Convention Centre, 22 to 26 April 2009. Posted by mafizah at 11:46 AM Labels: aromaterapi, aromatherapi, Aromatherapy from International Therapy Examination Council, aromatherapy oil, Harta Intelek, KLCC, Minyak Wangi Aromaterapi Dari Tumbuh-Tumbuhansutraessential, Sutra Essential's Blog, May 2009

You should read the whole article.

Cinnamon - Kayu Manis

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:28:00 +0800

Cinnamon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Cinnamon (disambiguation).

Cinnamon

Cinnamon foliage and flowers

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Lauraceae
Genus:	Cinnamomum
Species:	C. verum

Binomial name

Cinnamomum verum
J.Presl

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, synonym C. zeylanicum) is a small evergreen tree 10–15 metres (32.8–49.2 feet) tall, belonging to the familyLauraceae, and is native to Sri Lanka.^[1]

The leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, 7–18 cm (2.75–7.1 inches) long. The flowers, which are arranged in panicles, have a greenish color, and have a distinct odor. The fruit is a purple one-centimeter berry containing a single seed.

Its flavor is due to an aromatic essential oil that makes up 0.5% to 1% of its composition. This oil is prepared by roughly pounding the bark, maceratingit in seawater, and then quickly distilling the whole. It is of a golden-yellow color, with the characteristic odor of cinnamon and a very hot aromatic taste. The pungent taste and scent come from cinnamic aldehyde or cinnamaldehyde and, by the absorption of oxygen as it ages, it darkens in colour and develops resinous compounds. Chemical components of the essential oil include ethyl cinnamate, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, beta-caryophyllene,linalool, and methyl chavicol.

The name cinnamon comes from Greek kinnámōmon, itself ultimately from Phoenician. The botanical name for the spice—Cinnamomum zeylanicum—is derived from Sri Lanka's former (colonial) name, Ceylon.^[2]

In Malayalam it is called karugapatta and in Tamil pattai or lavangappattai. In Telugu, it is called Dalchina Chakka, Chakka meaning bark or wood. In Indonesia, where it is cultivated in Java and Sumatra, it is called kayu manis and sometimes cassia vera, the "real' cassia.^[3] In Sri Lanka, in the original Sinhala, cinnamon is known as kurundu,^[4] recorded in English in the 17th century as Korunda.^[5] In Sanskrit cinnamon is known as tvak ordārusitā. In Urdu, Hindi, and Hindustani cinnamon is called dalchini, in Assamese it is called alseni, and in Gujarati taj. In Arabic it is called qerfa.

History

Cinnamon (canella) output in 2005

Cinnamomum verum, from Koehler'sMedicinal-Plants (1887)

Quills of true cinnamon bark and ground cinnamon.

Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity; the first mention of a particular spice in the Old Testament is of cinnamon (Exodus 30. 24) where Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon (Hebrew קִנָּמוֹן, qinnāmôn) and cassia in the holy anointing oil; in Proverbs7:17–18, where the lover's bed is perfumed with myrrh, aloe and cinnamon; and in Song of Solomon 4:14, a song describing the beauty of his beloved, cinnamon scents her garments like the smell of Lebanon. It was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a god: a fine inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus.^[6]Though its source was kept mysterious in the Mediterranean world for centuries by the middlemen who handled the spice trade, to protect their monopoly as suppliers, cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka.^[1] It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC, but those who report that it had come from China confuse it with cassia.^[7] It is also alluded to by Herodotus and other classical writers. It was too expensive to be commonly used on funeral pyres in Rome, but the Emperor Nero is said to have burned a year's worth of the city's supply at the funeral for his wife Poppaea Sabina in 65 AD.^[8]

Before the foundation of Cairo, Alexandria was the Mediterranean shipping port of cinnamon. Europeans who knew the Latin writers who were quoting Herodotus knew that cinnamon came up the Red Sea to the trading ports of Egypt, but whether from Ethiopia or not was less than clear. When the sieur de Joinville accompanied his king to Egypt on Crusade in 1248, he reported what he had been told— and believed— that cinnamon was fished up in nets at the source of the Nile out at the edge of the world. Through the Middle Ages, the source of cinnamon was a mystery to the Western world. Marco Polo avoided precision on this score.^[9] In Herodotus and other authors, Arabia was the source of cinnamon: giant Cinnamon birds collected the cinnamon sticks from an unknown land where the cinnamon trees grew, and used them to construct their nests; the Arabs employed a trick to obtain the sticks. This story was current as late as 1310 inByzantium, although in the first century, Pliny the Elder had written that the traders had made this up in order to charge more. The first mention of the spice growing in Sri Lanka was in Zakariya al-Qazwini's Athar al-bilad wa-akhbar al-‘ibad ("Monument of Places and History of God's Bondsmen") in about 1270.^[10] This was followed shortly thereafter by John of Montecorvino, in a letter of about 1292.^[11]

Indonesian rafts transported cinnamon (known in Indonesia as kayu manis- literally "sweet wood") on a "cinnamon route" directly from the Moluccas to East Africa, where local traders then carried it north to the Roman market.^[12]^[13]^[14] See also Rhapta.

Arab traders brought the spice via overland trade routes to Alexandria in Egypt, where it was bought by Venetian traders from Italy who held a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe. The disruption of this trade by the rise of other Mediterranean powers, such as the Mamluk Sultans and the Ottoman Empire, was one of many factors that led Europeans to search more widely for other routes to Asia.

Portuguese traders finally landed in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) at the beginning of the sixteenth century and restructured the traditional production and management of cinnamon by the Salagama (Brahmin) caste, who later held the monopoly for cinnamon in Ceylon. The Portuguese established a fort on the island in 1518 and protected their own monopoly for over a hundred years.

Dutch traders finally dislodged the Portuguese by allying with the inland Kingdom of Kandy. They established a trading post in 1638, took control of the factories by 1640, and expelled all remaining Portuguese by 1658. "The shores of the island are full of it", a Dutch captain reported, "and it is the best in all the Orient: when one is downwind of the island, one can still smell cinnamon eight leagues out to sea." (Braudel 1984, p. 215)

The Dutch East India Company continued to overhaul the methods of harvesting in the wild, and eventually began to cultivate its own trees.

The British took control of the island from the Dutch in 1796. However, the importance of the monopoly of Ceylon was already declining, as cultivation of the cinnamon tree spread to other areas, the more common cassia bark became more acceptable to consumers, and coffee,tea, sugar, and chocolate began to outstrip the popularity of traditional spices.

Cultivation

Leaves of a wild Cinnamon

Cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years and then coppicing it. The next year, about a dozen shoots will form from the roots. These shoots are then stripped of their bark, which is left to dry. Only the thin (0.5 mm) inner bark is used; the outer woody portion is removed, leaving metre-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls ("quills") on drying; each dried quill comprises strips from numerous shoots packed together. These quills are then cut into 5–10 cm lengths for sale.

Cinnamon has been cultivated from time immemorial in Sri Lanka, and the tree is also grown commercially at Tellicherry in southern India, Bangladesh,Java, Sumatra, the West Indies, Brazil, Vietnam, Madagascar, Zanzibar, and Egypt. Sri Lanka cinnamon has a very thin, smooth bark with a light-yellowish brown color and a highly fragrant aroma.

According to the International Herald Tribune, in 2006 Sri Lanka produced 90% of the world's cinnamon, followed by China, India, and Vietnam.^[15]According to the FAO, Indonesia produces 40% of the world's Cassia genus of cinnamon.

Varieties of cinnamon

There are several species of Cinnamon found in South and South-East Asia. In addition to the cultivated cinnamon type (Cinnamomum zeylanicum or C. verum), there reported to be seven other species of wild cinnamon which are endemic to Sri Lanka

Cinnamomum dubium (Wight) (Sinhala: sewel Kurundu or wal Kurundu)
Cinnamomum ovalifolium (Wight)
Cinnamomum litseafolium Thw. (Sinhala: Kudu Kurundu)
Cinnamomum citriodorum (Sinhala: Pangiri Kurundu - rare)
Cinnamomum rivulorum
Cinnamomum sinharajense
Cinnamomum capparu-corende (Sinhala: Kapuru Kurundu)

There are several different cultivars of Cinnamomum zeylanicum based on the taste of bark.

Type 1 Sinhala: Pani Kurundu, Pat Kurundu or Mapat Kurundu
Type 2 Sinhala: Naga Kurundu
Type 3 Sinhala: Pani Miris Kurundu
Type 4 Sinhala: Weli Kurundu
Type 5 Sinhala: Sewala Kurundu
Type 6 Sinhala: Kahata Kurundu
Type 7 Sinhala: Pieris Kurundu

Cinnamon and cassia

Cinnamon (on the left) and Indonesian Cinnamon quills (Cinnamomum burmannii) side-by-side

The name cinnamon is correctly used to refer to Ceylon cinnamon, also known as "true cinnamon" (from the botanical name C. zeylanicum). However, the related species, Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum), Saigon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi), andCinnamomum burmannii are sometimes sold labeled as cinnamon, sometimes distinguished from true cinnamon as "Chinese cinnamon", "Vietnamese cinnamon", or "Indonesian cinnamon"; many websites, for example, describe their "cinnamon" as being cassia[3]. Ceylon cinnamon, using only the thin inner bark, has a finer, less dense, and more crumbly texture, and is considered to be less strong than cassia. Cassia has a much stronger (somewhat harsher) flavour than cinnamon, is generally a medium to light reddish brown, hard and woody in texture, and thicker (2–3 mm thick), as all of the layers of bark are used.^[16]

Due to the presence of a moderately toxic component called coumarin, European health agencies have recently warned against consuming large amounts of cassia.^[17] This is contained in much lower dosages in Cinnamomum burmannii due to its low essential oil content. Coumarin is known to cause liver and kidney damage in high concentrations. True Ceylon cinnamon has negligible amounts of coumarin.

The two barks, when whole, are easily distinguished, and their microscopic characteristics are also quite distinct. Cinnamon sticks (or quills) have many thin layers and can easily be made into powder using a coffee or spice grinder, whereas cassia sticks are much harder. Indonesian cassia (Cinnamomum burmannii) is often sold in neat quills made up of one thick layer, capable of damaging a spice or coffee grinder. Saigon cassia (Cinnamomum loureiroi) and Chinese cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum) are always sold as broken pieces of thick bark, as the bark is not supple enough to be rolled into quills. It is a bit harder to tell powdered cinnamon from powdered cassia. When powdered bark is treated with tincture of iodine (a test for starch), little effect is visible in the case of pure cinnamon of good quality, but when cassia is present, a deep-blue tint is produced, the intensity of the coloration depending on the proportion of cassia.^{[citation needed]}

Cinnamon is also sometimes confused with Malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala) and Saigon cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi).

Uses

Cinnamon bark

Cinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavoring material. It's used in the preparation of chocolate, especially in Mexico, which is the main importer of true cinnamon.^[18] It is also used in the preparation of some kinds of desserts, such as apple pie and cinnamon buns as well as spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa, and liqueurs. True cinnamon, rather than cassia, is more suitable for use in sweet dishes. In the Middle East, it is often used in savory dishes of chicken and lamb. In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavor cereals, bread-based dishes, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling. Cinnamon bark is one of the few spices that can be consumed directly. Cinnamon powder has long been an important spice inPersian cuisine, used in a variety of thick soups, drinks, and sweets. It is often mixed with rosewater or other spices to make a cinnamon-based curry powder for stews or just sprinkled on sweet treats (most notably Sholezard Per. شله زرد)

In medicine it acts like other volatile oils and once had a reputation as a cure for colds. It has also been used to treat diarrhea and other problems of the digestive system.^[19] Cinnamon is high in antioxidant activity.^[20]^[21] The essential oil of cinnamon also has antimicrobial properties,^[22] which can aid in the preservation of certain foods.^[23]

Cinnamon has been reported to have remarkable pharmacological effects in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance. However, the plant material used in the study was mostly from cassia and only few of them are truly from Cinnamomum zeylanicum (see cassia's medicinal uses for more information about its health benefits).^[24]^[25] Recent advancement in phytochemistry has shown that it is a cinnamtannin B1 isolated from C. zeylanicum which is of therapeutic effect on Type 2 diabetes,^[26] with the exception of the postmenopausal patients studied on C. cassia.^[27] Cinnamon has traditionally been used to treat toothache and fight bad breath and its regular use is believed to stave off common cold and aid digestion.^[28]

Cinnamon is used in the system of Thelemic Magick for Solar invocations, according to the correspondences listed in Aleister Crowley's work Liber 777. In Hoodoo, it is a multipurpose ingredient used for purification, luck, love, and money.^[29]

Cinnamon has been proposed for use as an insect repellent, although it remains untested.^[30] Cinnamon leaf oil has been found to be very effective in killing mosquito larvae.^[31] The compounds cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, eugenol, and anethole, that are contained in cinnamon leaf oil, were found to have the highest effectiveness against mosquito larvae.^[31]

It is reported that regularly drinking of Cinnamomum zeylanicum tea made from the bark could be beneficial to oxidative stress related illness in humans, as the plant part contains significant antioxidant potential.^[32]

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Cinnamon". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2008. "(species Cinnamomum zeylanicum), bushy evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the neighboring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar (Burma), and also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The bark is widely used as a spice due to its distinct odor."
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/south_asia_sri_lanka0s_spice_of_life/html/1.stm
^ "Cassia, also known as bastard cinnamon or Chinese cinnamon is a tree which has bark similar to that of cinnamon but with a rather pungent odour," remarks Maguelonne Toussant-Samat, Anthea Bell, tr. The History of Food, revised ed. 2009, p.437.
^ The Epicentre, Encyclopedia of Spices, Cinnamon, retrieved on 2008-07-15
^ Knox, Robert, An Historical Relation Of The Island Ceylon, retrieved on 2008-07-15
^ Toussaint-Samat 2009, p. 437
^ "The Indians obtained cassia from China" (Toussaint-Samat 2009, p. 437).
^ Toussaint-Samat 2009, p. 437f.
^ Toussaint-Samat 2009, p. 438 discusses cinnamon's hidden origins and Joinville's report.
^ Tennent, Sir James Emerson, Account of the Island of Ceylon, retrieved on 2008-07-15
^ Yule, Col. Henry, Cathay and the Way Thither, retrieved on 2008-07-15
^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1984_June/ai_3289703
^ http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=588&art_id=iol1078376795319P146&set_id=1
^ http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0075-4358(1970)60%3C222%3ATSTOTR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ Harris, Emily, German Christmas Cookies Pose Health Danger, retrieved on 2007-05-01
^ http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae017e/ae017e12.htm
^ Felter, Harvey, Cinnamomum.—Cinnamon., retrieved on 2007-05-01
^ Shan B, Cai YZ, Sun M, Corke H (October 2005). "Antioxidant capacity of 26 spice extracts and characterization of their phenolic constituents". J. Agric. Food Chem. 53 (20): 7749–59. doi:10.1021/jf051513y. PMID 16190627.
^ Mancini-Filho J, Van-Koiij A, Mancini DA, Cozzolino FF, Torres RP (December 1998). "Antioxidant activity of cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, Breyne) extracts". Boll Chim Farm 137 (11): 443–7. PMID 10077878.
^ López P, Sánchez C, Batlle R, Nerín C (August 2005). "Solid- and vapor-phase antimicrobial activities of six essential oils: susceptibility of selected foodborne bacterial and fungal strains". J. Agric. Food Chem. 53(17): 6939–46. doi:10.1021/jf050709v. PMID 16104824.
^ George Mateljan Foundation, Cinnamon, ground, Research: Thalido..., retrieved on 2007-05-01
^ Khan A, Safdar M, Ali Khan MM, Khattak KN, Anderson RA (December 2003). "Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes". Diabetes Care 26 (12): 3215–8. PMID 14633804.
^ Verspohl, Eugen J. et al. (2005). "Antidiabetic effect of Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum zeylanicum In vivo and In vitro". Phytotherapy Research 19 (3): 203–206. doi:10.1002/ptr.1643.
^ Taher, Muhammad et al.. "A proanthocyanidin from Cinnamomum zeylanicum stimulates phosphorylation of insullin receptor in 3T3-L1 adipocyties" (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
^ Vanschoonbeek, Kristof et al.. "Cinnamon Supplementation Does Not Improve Glycemic Control in Postmenopausal Type 2 Diabetes Patients". Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
^ Alice Hart-Davis (16 January 2007). "Chillies Are the Spice of Life". Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
^ Yronwode, Cat, http://www.luckymojo.com, retrieved on 2007-12-12
^ Beck, Leslie, Cinnamon — December 2006's Featured Food, retrieved on 2007-05-01
^ ^a ^b "Cinnamon Oil Kills Mosquitoes". www.sciencedaily.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-05.
^ Ranjbar, Akram et al.. "Antioxidative stress potential of Cinnamomum zeylanicum in humans: a comparative cross-sectional clinical study". doi:10.2217/14750708.3.1.113. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Braudel, Fernand (1984). The Perspective of the World, Vol III of Civilization and Capitalism.
Corn, Charles (1998). The Scents of Eden: A Narrative of the Spice Trade. New York: Kodansha International.
"Cinnamon Extracts Boost Insulin Sensitivity" (2000). Agricultural Research magazine, July 2000.
Alan W. Archer (1988). "Determination of cinnamaldehyde, coumarin and cinnamyl alcohol in cinnamon and cassia by high-performance liquid chromatography". Journal of Chromatography 447: 272–276.doi:10.1016/0021-9673(88)90035-0.
Medicinal Seasonings, The Healing Power Of Spices Book by Dr. Keith Scott
Department of Export Agriculture, Sri Lanka

SUTRA ESSENTIAL at Ekspo Harta Intelek Malaysia 2009 in KLCC

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:46:00 +0800

Our SUTRA ESSENTIAL Booth at Melaka Pavilion during Ekspo Harta Intelek Malaysia 2009 at KLCC Convention Centre, 22 to 26 April 2009.

Citronella oil - Serai Wangi

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:13:00 +0800

Citronella oil - Serai Wangi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Citronella oil is one of the essential oils obtained from the leaves and stems of different species of Cymbopogon. The oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals such ascitronellal, citronellol and geraniol. These chemicals find extensive use in soap, perfumery, cosmetic and flavouring industries throughout the world.^[1]

Citronella oil is also a renowned plant-based insect repellent, and has been registered for this use in the United States since 1948.^[2] The United States Environmental Protection Agency‎considers oil of citronella as a biopesticide with a non-toxic mode of action.^[3] Research also shows that citronella oil has strong antifungal properties,^[4]^[5] and is effective in calming barking dogs.^[6]

Types

Citronella oil is classified in trade into two chemotypes:^[7]

Ceylon type (obtained from Cymbopogon nardus Rendle) consists of geraniol (18-20%), limonene (9-11%), methyl isoeugenol (7-11%), citronellol (6-8%), and citronellal (5-15%).

Java type (obtained from Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt) consists of citronellal (32-45%), geraniol (11-13%), geranyl acetate (3-8%), limonene (1-4%). The higher proportions ofgeraniol and citronellal in the Java type make it a better source for perfumery derivatives.^[8] ^[9] The name Cymbopogon winterianus is given to this selected variety to commemorate Mr. Winter—an important oil distiller of Ceylon, who first cultivated and distilled the Maha Pangeri type of citronella in Ceylon.

Both types probably originated from Mana Grass of Sri Lanka, which according to Finnemore (1962) occurs today in two wild forms--Cymbopogon nardus var. linnae (typicus) and C. nardusvar. confertiflorus. Neither wild form is known to be used for distillation to any appreciable extent.

Citronella oil from Cymbopogon species should not be confused with other similar lemony oils from Corymbia citriodora and Pelargonium citrosum.

World production

At present, the world production of citronella oil is approximately 4,000 tonnes. The main producers are China and Indonesia - producing 40% of the world's supply. The oil is also produced in Taiwan, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Sri Lanka, India, Argentina, Ecuador, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mexico, and South Africa.

The market for natural citronella oil has been eroded by chemicals synthesised from turpentine derived from conifers. However, natural citronella oil and its derivatives are preferred by the perfume industry.^[10]

Use as an insect repellent

Citronella oil is popular as a 'natural' insect repellent. Its mosquito repellent qualities have been verified by research,^[11] including effectiveness in repelling Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito). ^[12]^[13] To be continually effective most citronella repellent formulas need to be reapplied to the skin every 30-60 minutes.^[14]

Research also indicates that citronella oil is an effective repellent for body louse and head louse. ^[15] ^[16]

Citronella may irritate skin and cause dermatitis in certain individuals. It should not be used on the skin of young children (under 3 years old).

The US Environmental Protection Agency states that citronella oil has little or no toxicity when used as a topical insect repellent, with no reports of adverse effects of concern over a 60 year period. [citation needed] Because some products are applied to human skin, EPA requires proper precautionary labeling to help assure safe use. If used according to label instructions in the US, citronella is not expected to pose health risks to people, including children and other sensitive populations.^[17] The US Food & Drug Administration consider citronella oil as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

Canadian regulatory concerns with citronella as an insect repellent are primarily based on data-gaps in toxicology, not on incidents.^[18] ^[19] In Europe, Ceylon type citronella oil is placed on the category 3 list, with some safety concern regarding methyl eugenol.^[20]

Reference

^ Lawless, J., The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, 1995, ISBN 1-85230-661-0
^ "U.S. EPA Citronella Factsheet". Retrieved on July 20 2007.
^ * EPA citronella reregistration fact sheet
^ Kazuhiko NAKAHARA*, Najeeb S. ALZOREKY1 , Tadashi YOSHIHASHI, Huong T. T. NGUYEN2 and Gassinee TRAKOONTIVAKORN, "Chemical Composition and Antifungal Activity of Essential Oil from Cymbopogon nardus (Citronella Grass)", Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS),(Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8686, Japan), JARQ - October 2003 - (Vol. 37 No. 4 )
^ PATTNAIK S., SUBRAMANYAM V. R., KOLE C., 2006, "Antibacterial and antifungal activity of ten essential oils in vitro", Microbios, Vol. 86, No. 349, pp237-246 [1]
^ Segelken, Roger (1996). "Study: 'Nuisance-barking' dogs respond best to citronella spray collars". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved on 2009-04-22.
^ Chang, Yu Shyun, 2007, 8 Map species from Malaysia for ICS, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Workshop on NFP, 28-29 May 2007, Nanchang, PR China[2]
^ Lawless, J., The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, 1995, ISBN 1-85230-661-0
^ Online referenced article, Torres, R.C., Tio, BDJ, Citronella oil industry: challenges and breakthroughs [3]
^ FOODNET, The Association for Strengthening Agricultural research in Eastern and Central Africa [4]
^ Jeong-Kyu KIM, Chang-Soo KANG, Jong-Kwon LEE, Young-Ran KIM, Hye-Yun HAN, Hwa Kyung YUN, Evaluation of Repellency Effect of Two Natural Aroma Mosquito Repellent Compounds, Citronella and Citronellal, Entomological Research 35 (2), 117–120, 2005
^ Ibrahim Jantan, and Zaridah Mohd. Zaki, Development of environment-friendly insect repellents from the leaf oils of selected Malaysian plants, ASEAN Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (ARBEC), May 1998.
^ Trongtokit Y, Rongsriyan Y, Komalamisra N, Apiwathnasom L, Comparative repellency of 38 essential oils against mosquito bites, Phytother Res. 2005 Apr;19(4):303-9 [5]
^ "Test: Mosquito Repellents, The Verdict" Choice, The Australian Consumers Association
^ Muncuoglu K.Y., Galun R., Bach U., Miller J., Magdassi S., Repellency of essential oils and their components to the human body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus, Entomologia experimentalis et applicata (Entomol. exp. appl.) ISSN 0013-8703 CODEN ETEAAT, vol. 78, no3, pp. 309-314 (14 ref.), 1996. [6]
^ Mumcuoglu,-K-Y; Magdassi,-S; Miller,-J; Ben-Ishai,-F; Zentner,-G; Helbin,-V; Friger,-M; Kahana,-F; Ingber,-A; Repellency of citronella for head lice: double-blind randomized trial of efficacy and safety, Isr-Med-Assoc-J. 2004 Dec; 6(12): 756-9 [7]
^ "U.S. EPA Citronella Factsheet". Retrieved on July 20 2007.
^ (PDF) Re-evaluation of Citronella Oil and Related Active Compounds for Use as Personal Insect Repellents. Pest Management Regulatory Agency (Canada). 2004-09-17. ISBN 0-662-38012-6.
^ "So Then: Who’s Afraid of Citronella Oil? Update!" Cropwatch Newsletter Vol 2,Issue 1, No. 1
^ Chang, Yu Shyun, 2007, 8 Map species from Malaysia for ICS, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Workshop on NFP, 28-29 May 2007, Nanchang, PR China[8]

Cajuput Oil - Minyak Kayu Putih

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Sun, 10 May 2009 01:39:00 +0800

Cajuput oil is a volatile obtained by distillation from the leaves of the myrtaceous tree Melaleuca leucadendra, and probably other Melaleuca species. The trees yielding the oil are found throughout the Malay archipelago, the Malay Peninsula and over the hotter parts of the Australian continent; but the greater portion of the oil is produced from Sulawesi. The name “cajuput” is derived from its Malay name, “kayu putih” or "white wood".

The oil is prepared from leaves collected on a hot dry day, which are macerated in water, and distilled after fermenting for a night. This oil is extremely pungent, and has the odor of a mixture of turpentine and camphor. It consists mainly of cineol (see terpenes), from which cajuputene, having a hyacinth-like odor, can be obtained by distillation with phosphorus pentoxide. The drug is a typical volatile oil, and is used internally in doses of 2 to 3 minims, for the same purposes as, say, clove oil. It is frequently employed externally as acounterirritant. It is an ingredient in some liniments for sore muscles such as Tiger Balm and Indonesian traditional medicine Minyak Telon.

It is also used as an ingredient in inhalants/decongestants such as Olbas Oil.

Kayu putih (Melaleuca leucadendra syn. M. leucadendron) merupakan pohon anggota suku jambu-jambuan (Myrtaceae) yang dimanfaatkan sebagai sumber minyak kayu putih (cajuput oil). Minyak diekstrak (biasanya disuling dengan uap) terutama dari daun dan rantingnya. Namanya diambil dari warna batangnya yang memang putih.

Tumbuhan ini terutama tumbuh baik di Indonesia bagian timur dan Australia bagian utara, namun demikian dapat pula diusahakan di daerah-daerah lain yang memiliki musim kemarau yang jelas.

Minyak kayu putih mudah menguap. Pada hari yang panas orang yang berdekatan dengan pohon ini akan dapat membauinya dari jarak yang cukup jauh.

Sebagai tumbuhan industri, kayu putih dapat diusahakan dalam bentuk hutan usaha (agroforestri. Perhutani memiliki beberapa hutan kayu putih untuk memproduksinya. Minyak kayu putih yang diambil dari penyulingan biasa dipakai sebagai minyak balur atau campuran minyak pengobatan lain (seperti minyak telon) atau campuran parfum serta produk rumah tangga lain.

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth; - Herba Nilam

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:21:00 +0800

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth; also patchouly or pachouli) is a species from the genus Pogostemon and a bushy herb of the mintfamily, with erect stems, reaching two or three feet (about 0.75 metre) in height and bearing small pale pink-white flowers. The plant is native to tropical regions of Asia and is now extensively cultivated in Caribbean countries, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines, West Africa andVietnam.

Etymology

The scent of patchouli is heavy and strong. It has been used for centuries in perfumes and continues to be so today. The word derives from the Tamilpatchai (Tamil: பச்சை) (green), ellai (Tamil: இலை) (leaf). In Assamese it is known as xukloti.

Pogostemon cablin, P. commosum, P. hortensis, P. heyneasus and P. plectranthoides are all cultivated for their oils and all are known as 'patchouli' oil, but P. cablin is considered superior.

Extraction of the essential oil

Extraction of the essential oil is by steam distillation, requiring the cell walls of the leaves to be first ruptured. This can be achieved by steam scalding, light fermentation, or by drying.

Leaves are harvested several times a year, and where dried may be exported for distillation of the oil. Sources disagree over how to obtain the best quality oil. Some claim the highest quality oil is usually produced from fresh leaves, distilled close to the plantation,^[1] while others claim baling the dried leaves and allowing them to ferment a little is best.^[2]

Uses

In Europe and the US, patchouli oil and incense underwent a surge in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly among devotees of the free love and hippie lifestyles.

Conditioner and repellent

It has also been used as a hair conditioner for dreadlocks. One study suggests Patchouli oil may serve as an all-purpose insect repellent.^[3]

In several Asian countries, such as Japan and Malaysia, Patchouli is also used as an antidote for venomous snakebites. The plant and oil have a number of claimed health benefits in herbal folk-lore, and its scent is used with the aim of inducing relaxation. Chinese medicine uses the herb to treat headaches, colds, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Patchouli oil can be purchased from mainstream Western pharmacies and alternative therapy sources as an aromatherapy oil.

Perfume uses

Patchouli is also in widespread use in modern industry. It is a popular component in perfumes, including more than half of perfumes for men.^{[citation needed]} Patchouli is also an important ingredient in East Asian incense. It is also used as a scent in products like paper towels, laundry detergents, and air fresheners. Two important components of the essential oil ispatchoulol and norpatchoulenol.

During the 18th and 19th century silk traders from China travelling to the Middle East packed their silk cloth with dried patchouli leaves to prevent moths from laying their eggs on the cloth.^{[citation needed]} Many historians speculate that this association with opulent eastern goods is why patchouli was considered by Europeans of that era to be a luxurious scent. It is said that Patchouli was used in the linen chests of Queen Victoria in this way.^{[citation needed]}.

Cultivation

Patchouli grows well in warm to tropical climates. It thrives in hot weather but not direct sunlight. If the plant withers due to lack of watering it will recover well and quickly once it has been watered. The seed-bearing flowers are very fragrant and bloom in late fall. The tiny seeds may be harvested for planting, but they are very delicate and easily crushed. Cuttings from the mother plant can also be rooted in water to produce further plants.

References

^ Grieve, Maude(1995) A Modern Herbal [1]. 2007
^ Leung A, Foster S Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs and cosmetics John Wiley and Sons 1996
^ Phytotherapy Research 2005, vol 19, pp 303–9.

A Two Day Hands-on Course on..AROMATHERAPY FOR WELLNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY, CEPP UTM

noreply@blogger.com (mafizah) — Fri, 8 May 2009 10:42:00 +0800

A Two Day Hands-on Course on..

AROMATHERAPY FOR WELLNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY

Introduction.

Malaysia has the potential to be a prominent essential oil producer due to the abundant availability of herbs and spices. Local herb and spices provide a wide range of essential oils. Aromatherapy is an art of employing volatile plant oils, externally and internally, for preventive health care, healing and relaxation. Aromatherapy is now available in beauty saloon, fitness clubs and hairdresser. Essential oils are used therapeutically in modern hospitals as well as complementary health centers. Hence, essential oils and aromatherapy products have the potential sales and remain attractive enough for companies to conduct

experiment and sales.

Course content;

Essential oils from plants to final product
Plant physiology distillation and other methods
History of aromatherapy - ancient and modern
How to use essential oils for health and productivity
Essential oils – storage, carriers & methods of use, safety data
How to perform a consultation for aromatherapy
Demonstration of facial aromatherapy
Aromachemistry – the chemistry of essential oils
Aromatherapy - uses and applications including massage, bath, inhalation and compress
Coverage of 12 essential oils their characteristics, - therapeutic uses and how to apply them
Essential oils blending
Popular recipes of essential blends
Hands-on essential oils blending and product formulation - candle, soap, perfume and massage oil
Participants work in pairs – facial aromatherapy

At the end of the course, participants will be able to

Apply the essential oils in aromatherapy product.
Highlight the potential uses of essential oil as aromatherapy materials in a wide variety of products such as fragrance, cosmetics, toiletries, detergents and pharmaceuticals.
Updated with the current trends and developments in essential oil and aromatherapy industry.
Practice aromatherapy on a self-employed basis working from a clinic or at home.
Gain employment as aromatherapy for example at a clinic or health spa.
Work as a volunteer providing aromatherapy to patients in residential care, hospice and hospitals.

Who should attend;

Entrepreneurs, Scientists and Engineers working in the following industry:

HERBAL .
NUTRACEUTICAL
COSMETICS .
PHARMACEUTICAL
and OTHER RELATED INDUSTRIES

Tutors;

Ms. Nor Zalina Othman

Nor Zalina Othman graduated from University of Plymouth with a Bachelor in

Biological Science, majoring in Biotechnology and holds a Diploma in Microbiology from Universiti Teknologi Mara. She specializes in the development of microbiology technique for biotechnology application especially in microbiology aspects in industrial product and fermentation technology. Being one of the experienced Research Officers for CEPP UTM, she is also a qualified aromatherapist accreditted by International Therapy Examination Council (ITEC), London with a Diploma in Aromatherapy and a Diploma in Holistic Massage.

Ms. Rosnani Hasham@Hisam

Rosnani Hasham has 5 years experience as a full time Research Officer at CEPP UTM and specializes in phytochemical product formulations. Being responsible as Head of the Flavour and Fragrance Business Unit, she possesses wide experience in the research of essential oils and usage. She has successfully developed Aromatherapy Sleep Inducer for the insomnia clients. Currently, she serves as course tutor for the short courses related to aromatherapy at CEPP. She graduated from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia with a degree in Chemical Engineering (Bioprocess). She also holds a Diploma in Holistic Massage and a Diploma in Aromatherapy from International Therapy Examination Council (ITEC),London.

For more information please contact :-

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PILOT PLANT

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

81310 UTM Skudai, Johor

Tel : +607- 5531559 Fax : +607 - 5569706

Attn : Miss Adibah Email : adibah@cepp.utm.my

CEPP Rumah Semarak, UTM INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS

54100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 - 2615 4358 Fax : +603 - 26937921

Attn : Mrs. Yatie Email : nikyati@cepp.utm.my