Compiled by RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM, BEH YUEN HUI and R. ARAVINTHAN
A UNIVERSITY in Pahang is researching the scientific benefits of ketum for medicinal purposes, Utusan Malaysia reported.
Rector of UiTM Pahang’s Jengka campus Prof Dr Mohd Ilham Adenan said when other ingredients were not included, pure ketum could be used as a natural energy booster and had been used to treat high blood pressure, cough, muscle pain and diarrhoea for ages.
He said the Health Ministry had permitted the Jengka campus to plant ketum since January 2020 to conduct research on the scientific potential of the plant for health and medicinal purposes.
He said the permit, issued on an annual basis, had given researchers at the university the liberty to conduct clinical trials on the plant.
To date, some 80 ketum plants have been planted in the campus’ green house.
“This project is a continuation of my research for the past 25 years on the potential of ketum (Mitragyna Speciosa) which has been used traditionally by the Malays in the region,” he said.
Mohd Ilham said the scientific community had also been studying the toxicity aspects and side effects of ketum, which leads to addiction and hallucination.
He said the potential to develop ketum as a therapeutic agent was limited due to its classification under the Poison Act 1952.
> As the screen adaptation of the novel Andai Itu Takdirnya became popular, an additional 10,000 copies of the novel will be published this year due to high demand, Sinar Harian reported.
Karangkraf chairman and chief executive officer of Karangkraf Books Firdaus Hussamuddin said more than 150,000 copies of the novel had been published since 2008.
She said there was a high demand for the novel penned by Siti Rosmizah.
Actress of the drama series, Esma Daniel, said she was proud to act in the best-seller novel’s screen adaptation and immediately seized the offer without thinking long and hard.
Atikah Suhaime, who also starred in the series, said the novel depicted the lives of many married couples.
“The story is on family and love as well as the strength of a wife in defending her children who have been abused by their father,” she said.
> A durian seller in Kuantan has offered free pulut to his customers to go with the fruit for three days a week.
Berita Harian quoted Mohd Kamarul Hafsan Mohd Kamarul, 37, as saying that this was his way to give back to customers who came to his stall, “Mok marah jual mahal”.
The free pulut is available on Fridays to Sunday.
“After buying various durian such as musang king, kunyit, udang merah, IOI, kasak merah, tupai king and durian kampung, they can enjoy the fruit with pulut here,” he said.
Mohd Kamarul said he was also able to keep the prices of durian low as he sourced his fruits from farms at a cheaper rate.
The durian are priced from RM6 to RM30 per kg.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
