Swietenia Mahagoni, also known as ‘tunjuk langit’ in Malaysia is used traditionally to treat various diseases such as diabetes, gout, arthritis, high blood pressure, and various other diseases. These Swietenia Mahagoni has attracted the interest of researchers and scientist to do more research on its benefits.
In addition, to reduce blood sugar levels, this fruit which has 1,001 nutrients is also able to help individuals who are overweight as well as used as treatment for migraines.
Through the content of various types of nutrients such as vitamins A, B6, and B other than protein, calcium, and magnesium, this fruit also helps to handle gout, joint pain, high blood pressure, smooth blood flow as well as improve the body fitness.
Additionally, there is also a professional opinion from biotechnology scientists who say that the seeds contain many natural nutrients that can be used as a preserve to help and improve the circulatory system in the human body.
This fruit was found growing wild in tropical rainforests with dry and humid temperatures, and this Swietenia Mahagoni tree can be found mostly in South America, Western India, the Indonesian Islands, Fiji, Honduras, the Solomon Islands and even Malaysia. In scientific studies, it has shown that there is a high content of flavonoids and saponins in Swietenia Mahagoni seed which gives a high antioxidant effect to Swietenia Mahagoni.
A researcher from the School of Chemical Engineering and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Associate Prof Dr Liza Md Salleh has conducted research to produce high quality celestial seed oil through high technology without using any hazardous chemicals after recognizing that Swietenia Mahagoni seeds has a variety of benefits and nutrients.
The results of her laboratory analysis proved that this oil has a very low saturated fat content compared to other legume oils such as almonds, chia seeds and others. Lecturers and researchers from this local university have proven that the extraction processing and formulations studied by her are safe to ensure that the nutrients of the seeds can be used by the public as healthy eating practices.
The results of the study were obtained after struggling for seven years starting in 2013 and for this period, she had successfully produced a total of 10 indexed journal papers that have been published and the Swietenia Mahagoni seeds extraction technology formulation has been patented as intellectual property by the Malaysian Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO).
Furthermore she produced a prototype product in the form of soft gel oil with the intention of better storage and eliminates the natural bitter taste when the oil is consumed. This prototype has been recognized as the best innovation product and won gold medals at the International Innovation Competitions such as Pecipta’19 and Seoul International Invention Fair (SIFF) 2019.
Notwithstanding gaining international as well as national recognition, Dr Liza is in no hurry to commercialize the Swietenia Mahagoni seeds based products that have been registered under the Go Swiet brand to the market as she wants to ensure to develop consistent and accurate research results first.
In anti-diabetic studies conducted, it was found that the oil extract is able to lower the glucose level through the action of enzymes and some early user testimonials of this prototype product show that it is able to control blood glucose levels too.
Otherwise this research conducted by her team also found that this oil contains a high content of Omega 6 additionally Omega 9 and also Beta Sitosterol which is good for energy and prostate disease problems for men. The products that developed by her now have received full approval from the Ministry of Health Malaysia and Halal recognition from JAKIM.