KUALA LUMPUR: The hardy armour of the kerang (cockle) may help mend the bones of cancer patients and victims of road accidents.
Universiti Putra Malaysia head of the Department of Veterinary Preclinical Sciences, Associate Professor Dr Md Zuki Abu Bakar said it could also be used in cosmetic surgery.
He said calcium carbonate from the cockle shells, when mixed with other ingredients, could speed up the healing process and bone regeneration.
He said the cockle shell was ground into powder and mixed with dextrin, dextran, gelatin and water and implanted into the defective area of bone.
"For so long, we have considered the cockle as only being good for eating. But now it has revealed a use that will go a long way in helping humanity."
Zuki said although the product had yet to undergo clinical trials, extensive research here had shown that there were no toxic or harmful side-effects.
He said the product had been successfully tested on rabbits with bone formation starting a few days later.
"It was phenomenal to see how the product worked on rabbits. I hope to one day see it having the same effect on humans."
He said his five-man team planned to conduct clinical tests of the product possibly by next year.
The team also comprised two of his staff -- Associate Professor Dr Nordin Mohamed Mustapha and Dr Bahaa Fakhri Hussein. The others are UPM Faculty of Science lecturer Professor Dr Alias Saion and Malaysian Institute of Nuclear Technology and Research reseacher Dr Norimah Yusof.
Zuki said the product had been patented here and in Europe.
He started conducting studies on cockle shells three years ago after a proposal to conduct research on corals for the same purpose was rejected.
"There are very limited studies conducted on cockle shells and so I thought I should conduct such research as the shells are abundant here."
He said his team was planning to enter the product into PECIPTA 2009, a competition for inventions and innovations, organised by Universiti Malaya and the Higher Education Ministry in October.
"After that, we will start entering our finding in international competitions."
There are plans to commercialise the product with the medical industry as the prime users.
"According to our research, treatment cost for resurrecting five centimetres or six centimetres of bone will only cost between RM40 and RM60, excluding the cost of surgery.
"We do not have the financial capacity to conduct tests on human beings as it has financial implications. But we hope companies involved in such fields will come forward to invest because the product has been patented."
Major cultivation areas for cockles here include Juru in Penang, Matang in Perak and Kuala Selangor.
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