FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to compositions having antimicrobial properties and
comprises compounds extracted from plant material. More particularly, the present
invention relates to a composition comprising botanical extracts containing phenolic
compounds from vegetation liquor of oil palm for a wide scope of antimicrobial
applications.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
In the health Industry of the emergent world, bacterial related diseases and infections
which are recognized or identified are mostly therapeutically prevailed by way of
antibiotics and bacteriostatic agents. Accordingly, there is a great momentum in
producing modern microbial antibiotics and medicaments globally. Nonetheless, such
modern antibiotics and medicaments may represent a considerable number of
complications including prohibitively expensive in terms of its sources and increasing
toxic effects. Owing to this eminent circumstance, substantial progress has been made in
this regard in order to further determine and thus provide a natural origin solution to
economically produce such antibiotics or bacteriostatic based treatments.
Proceeding from the above, one of the natural origin solutions is discovered in plants,
whereby the usage of phenolics and flavanoids, which are most abundant and ubiquitous
products of secondary plant metabolism, has been recently implicated therapeutically.
Under normal condition, they are often used as a defense mechanism against animal
predation and the like.
Plants which are used for medicinal studies contain a wide range of substances and
compounds that can be used to treat chronic as well as infectious diseases. Such
implication is increasing rapidly, more particularly in areas where the use of plant based
medicines Is of great importance.

Additionally, recent studies have begun to examine and heightened the role of plants
extract In the context of producing treatments or medications against microbial diseases.
Further studies on the extracts and biologically active compounds isolated from plants
have significantly increased in the past decades.
A relatively conventional exemplary of a plant species which is found to be exhibiting
considerable antimicrobial effect Is the sesame leaves (Shittu 2006). Studies were
conducted based on the leaves of the said plant species (Sesame radiatum) for
antimicrobial activity, and the ethanolic extract of said plant has shown mild inhibitory
effect on the growth of streptococcus pneumoniae and Candida albicans. The said
ethanolic extract contained essential oils, mainly phenolic and carboxylic acids groups.
The present invention focuses on the enhancement of the medicinal properties of another
prominent plant species, namely the palm fruit (Elaies guineensis). It is presently known
in the art that the palm fruit botanical extract contains a rich source of phenolic
compounds, beta-carotene and vitamin E, which are prominent nutritional antioxidants
that act as scavengers of oxygen atom or free radicals, and thus known to be effective
against skin aging, heart disease and cancer.
In addition, the palm fruit Is the source of palm oil which is obtained from palm fruit and
palm kernel oil, whereby the source is the fruit seeds. According to studies, palm oil and
palm kernel oil are composed of about 50% and 80% of fatty acids, respectively. The
palm fruit contains fatty acids ranging from C6 to C18, at which the palm oil is found to
contain high amount of palmitic acid while the palm kernel oil is found to contain high
amount of lauric acid. In addition to the phenolic compounds, Vitamin E and beta-
carotene, the high content of fatty acids in palm fruit may also play a significant role in

providing the bacteriostatic effect on certain and antimicrobial activity on certain micro-
organisms.
Apart from the above, high content of phenolics may contribute significantly to
bactericidal properties in palm fruit based extract.
The present invention provides a new approach in using palm fruit, particularly in
preparing a composition based on botanical extracts obtained from oil palm vegetation
liquor for providing bacteriostatic or inhibitory effect against a number of micro-
organisms.
It is further added that the high content of phenolics in the composition in accordance
with the present invention provides bactericidal effect against micro-organisms.
Consequently, the primary object of the present invention to provide a composition based
on compounds extracted from vegetation liquor of the palm oil milling process where the
composition exhibits inhibitory effect against micro-organisms.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved composition and
method based on compounds extracted from vegetation liquor of the palm oil milling
process for producing a broad spectrum antimicrobial effect which is non-toxic.
It is further the object of the present invention to provide an improved composition and
formulation for producing a composition containing antioxidants and phenolics obtained
from the botanical extracts of oil palm vegetation liquor devoid of chemically prepared
adverse drug reactions In a patient in need thereof.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a composition and formulation
for producing a composition containing compounds obtained from the botanical extracts
oil palm vegetation liquor having antimicrobial or bacteriostatic effect.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a composition and formulation
for producing a composition containing compounds obtained from the botanical extracts
oil palm vegetation liquor having bactericidal effect against micro-organisms due to the
high content of phenolics in the said composition.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention discloses an antimicrobial composition comprising compounds
extracted from the vegetation liquor of the palm oil milling process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Further understanding of the object, construction, characteristics and functions of the
invention, a detailed description with reference to the embodiments is given in the
following.
The Inventors of the present Invention discovered that the composition prepared from the
extract of oil palm vegetation exhibits enhanced antimicrobial activity.
It is therefore purpose of this invention is to present a composition containing extract of
oil palm vegetation liquor from the oil palm milling process for antimicrobial applications,
in particular for treatments of bacterial related diseases and infections.
The composition of the present invention may prevent/inhibit the growth of micro-
organism(s). This may include slowing or arresting a micro-organism, such as bacteria or

by eliminating the said micro-organism(s) present on contact with the composition of the
present invention.
It is noted that it would be advantageous for the composition of the present invention to
be bactericidal or bacteriostatic effective against gram positive and gram negative
bacteria.
Accordingly, the present invention also relates to an extraction process of antioxidants
from the oil palm vegetation liquor from the milling process. The processing of oil palm
produces larger amounts of vegetation liquor rich in phenolic compounds, fruit acids, fruit
sugars and glycerol which can be further enriched using conventional membrane
filtration technology.
It is noted that extracts derived from the vegetation liquor of oil palm, wherein the major
constituents are phenolics, fruit acids, fruit sugars and glycerol have properties that
exhibit antimicrobial activity and bactericidal effect against certain micro-organisms.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Materials and Methods
Extract Materials
The preparation of the composition of the present invention is described in detail by
referring to the experimental examples. However, the present invention is not limited to
these examples.
Accordingly, the present Invention also relates to an extraction process of antioxidants
from the oil palm vegetation liquor from the milling process. The processing of oil palm
produces larger amounts of vegetation liquor rich in phenolic compounds, fruit acids, fruit

sugars and glycerol which can be further enriched using conventional membrane
filtration technology.
For the experimental examples, inventors Isolated botanical extracts comprising phenolic
compounds, fruit acids, fruit sugars and glycerol from oil palm vegetation liquor from the
palm oil milling process and the prepared formulations containing these extracts.
Preparation of Extracts
Unless otherwise specified, throughout the following examples, the oil palm phenolic
extract employed is a crude solvent-free extract.
The present invention focuses on antimicrobial compositions comprising of high content
of phenolic compounds which is discovered to exhibit antimicrobial and bactericidal
properties.
The biologically active extracts of palm vegetation liquor useful in this invention can be
prepared by any means capable of extracting phenolic compounds from the vegetation
liquor using standard extraction techniques or techniques well known in the art. Such
extractions Include but are not limited to ethanol, methanol, acetone, ethyl acetate and
butanol.
In addition to direct use of an extract, it is also possible to use different fractions of the
oil palm phenolic compounds. What constitutes an effective amount of an extract, or an
active portion therof, will depend on the purity of the extract. For example, if a crude
phenolic-containing extract of about 10% purity is employed, the extract will normally be
used at a concentration range of about 0.01-20% by weight of the composition. At a
higher level of purity, a smaller percentage will be required to achieve the same effect.

Assuming a substantially pure phenolic extract, i.e. an extract containing at least 80%
active phenolics, the level will be about 0.01 to about 8% by weight of the composition.
Antimicroblal Screening
One of the conventional steps which may be employed in regards to the antimicrobial
screening methodology is agar-well diffusion method of the modified Collins et. al (1995)
whereby the antimicrobial activity of the composition of the present invention against a
number of micro-organisms is accordingly tested.
It should be noted that other suitable conventional methodologies may also be selected
for the purpose of the antimicrobial screening.
Antimicrobial Activity
The antimicrobial activity may be employed based on the conventional disc or paper
diffusion method. In the disc diffusion method, different concentrations of extracts are
loaded on the sterile dlsc, and subsequently placed on the surface of the medium as
prepared. The plates are prepared with the suitable media, poured into petri plates.
Subsequently, the said plates are allowed to solidify and a predetermined amount of
innoculum suspension is swabbed uniformly across the plates and allowed to dry within a
predetermined period. In the next step, the loaded disc accordingly positioned on the
surface of the medium and allowed to diffuse within a predetermined period of time. The
plates are therefore kept for incubation at a suitable temperature and period of time.
Upon completion of incubation, the inhibition zones are formed around the disc and thus
measured. The results indicate that the extract performed inhibitory activity against the
tested micro-organisms. This experiment may be performed in triplicate.

It should be noted that other suitable conventional methodologies may also be selected
for the purpose of the antimicrobial activity.
Application(s)
The antimicrobial composition in accordance with the present invention may be used for
a wide range of applications.
In one aspect it is understood by a person skill in the art that the composition of the
present invention may be used In pure form or in combination with additional
components which preferably do not materially affect the properties of the composition.
In another aspect, the composition may be incorporated in pharmaceutical formulations
for treatment of one or more diseases or infections.
In a further aspect, the composition may be used for personal hygiene or cosmoceutical
applications.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred
embodiments and examples thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a
variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of
the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

WE CLAIM:
1. An antimicrobial composition comprising compounds extracted from the
vegetation liquor of the palm oil milling process.
2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition is rich in antioxidants.
3. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the compounds
comprising phenolic compounds, fruit acids, fruit sugars and glycerol from oil
' palm vegetation liquor from the palm oil milling process.
4. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the composition
exhibits inhibitory effect against micro-organisms.
5. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the composition is
bactericidal or bacteriostatic effective against gram positive and gram negative
bacteria.
6. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the composition
aids in slowing or arresting a micro-organism, such as bacteria or by
eliminating the said mlcro-organism(s) present on contact with the
composition.
7. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the composition is
devoid of chemically prepared adverse drug reactions in a patient in need
thereof.

8. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the composition
may be used in pure form or in combination with additional components which
preferably do not materially affect the properties of the composition.
9. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the composition is
incorporated in pharmaceutical formulations for treatment of one or more
diseases or infections.
10. An antimicrobial composition as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the composition
may be used for personal hygiene or cosmoceutical applications.

The present invention provides an antimicrobial composition comprising compounds
extracted from the vegetation liquor of the palm oil milling process has been suggested.
This composition Is rich in antioxidants and exhibits enhanced antimicrobial activity and
bactericidal effect against a number of micro-organisms.