A vegetable oil derived from the jatropha plant has been partially used as fuel for a commercial flight operated by Air New Zealand.

Air New Zealand (ANZ) successfully flew a Boeing 747 - a 400 passenger plane - powered by a 50-50 blend of standard jet fuel and the newly invented vegetable oil, on Tuesday.

The test flight came as another move to introduce alternative fuels, in order to lessen airlines dependence on crude oil amid rising prices. The increased use of biofuels is being criticised by many human rights activists as the prime cause for world-wide food shortages, food price increases and food riots in many third world countries.