Meet Dr. Barrie Tan

BARRIE'S OWN STORY

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The Joy and Wonder of Discovery

I was born and raised in Malaysia. After high school, I traversed the world with an insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge and education. I earned my Bachelor of Science and a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Otago, New Zealand. I moved to the United States for my postdoctoral work in Auburn, Alabama. Later, I became a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, first in chemistry, then in food science and nutrition. My research included vitamin E, cholesterol and fats, prediabetes, diabetes, cancer and free radicals, along with lipid-soluble materials such as carotenoids, CoQ10, and omega-3s.

Fast forward to 1983, and while visiting palm oil plantations in my homeland of Malaysia, I noticed brightly colored pigments. I couldn’t stop staring and wondering what might be the precise chemical components inside the oil. With dogged determination and extensive research, I answered this question: What was the color? Vitamin E, but not exactly. It was the strongest concentration of the tocotrienol form of vitamin E ever found at that point in time – and, it was right in my own backyard!

When a prince of Thailand calls

Several years later, I received an unexpected phone call from a counselor to one of the princes of Thailand. He wished to set up a meeting to discuss a research-and-development proposal. The prince wanted to sponsor research dedicated to discovering new plant-based nutraceuticals. It was through this research that I discovered that rice, too, was a source of tocotrienols.

While, remarkably, I had discovered the two known major sources of tocotrienol, ultimately these sources were not good enough (they contained too much tocopherol) for the medical breakthroughs needed.

Back to the drawing board

While remarkably, I had discovered the two known major sources of tocotrienol, ultimately these sources were not good enough (they contained too much tocopherol) for the medical breakthroughs needed. In the early 1990’s, I set upon another quest and went to South America in search of a giant marigold flower that could potentially help many people with age-related eye health.

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As fate would have it…

I found this giant flower, and this is when the most magnificent discovery occurred. Just thirty feet away, I noticed an annatto plant. I couldn’t help but be drawn to its beauty. When I opened the fruit pod, I found that it contained only seeds (no flesh) and it instantly stained my hands red. It was immediately obvious why this plant had been nicknamed the lipstick plant!

I was transfixed – how could the seeds of this plant keep their bright red color without any flesh to protect them? Intuitively, I suspected that there must be a very powerful antioxidant at play and immediately started my research on the plant.

When the results emerged, I was shocked to learn that I had discovered a natural form of vitamin E that contained 100% tocotrienols!

This was one of my happiest and most unexpected moments as a scientist.

I believe that Tocotrienols might be the most important antioxidant discovery in our lifetime

It is my hope that once you’ve learned about tocotrienol, you will be able to make changes that will improve both your health and your life.

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