Kappaphycus alvarezii is a species of red algae, and one of the most important carrageenan
sources for food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. It is commercially cultivated in the
eastern part of Malaysia. Although K. alvarezii is rich in nutrients, it is limited in its integration
into Malaysian food products. Therefore, the present work was conducted to investigate the
quality characteristics, sensorial attributes, and antioxidant activity of K. alvarezii in Malaysian
food products. Seaweed puree (SP) from K. alvarezii at 10%, 20% and 30% concentrations were
prepared in the formulations of fish sausages, flat rice noodles and yellow alkaline noodles.
Proximate analysis, physicochemical analysis, microbial count, total phenolic content (TPC),
sensory evaluation, and consumer acceptance survey of the formulated food were conducted.
The incorporation of K. alvarezii significantly increased the fibre, moisture, and ash content in
formulated foods. In addition, the TPC content of K. alvarezii food also significantly increased
up to 42 mg GAE/100 g. The presence of SP in food at higher concentration decreased the
microbial counts. Sensory analysis confirmed that only fish sausages added with SP was
overall acceptable as compared to control. Based on customer survey, functional foods that are
“research proven” were the most preferred. In conclusion, K. alvarezii has the potential to be
incorporated in Malaysian food products and developed as functional food.
Vegetative proteins from Malaysian strains of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis strains (Bt 11, Bt 12, Bt 15, Bt 16, Bt 17, Bt 21 and Bt 22) and Bacillus sphaericus H-25 strains (Bs 1 and Bs 2) were screened for haemolytic, cytotoxic and larvicidal activity. SDS-PAGE profiles of the Bacillus thuringiensis strains studied consistently showed major bands of 33-37 kDa and 47 kDa. Bt 16 also showed two bands of 66 kDa and 45 kDa similar to the previously reported binary vegetative protein, Vip1Ac (66 kDa) and Vip 2Ac (45 kDa). Both the Bacillus sphaericus strains showed a 35 kDa band that was similiar to a previously reported vegetative protein, the Mtx2 protein. Bs 2 also contains a 37 kDa band, similar to another vegetative protein, the Mtx 3 protein. With the exception of Bt 17 and Bt 21, vegetative proteins from all Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus sphaericus strains were highly haemolytic to human erythrocytes, causing more than 75% haemolysis at the highest concentration of 200 microg/ml. High haemolytic activity was associated with high cytotoxic activity with most of the haemolytic strains being indiscriminately cytotoxic to both CEM-SS (human T lymphoblastoid) and HeLa (human uterus cervical cancer) cell lines. Interestingly, the less haemolytic vegetative proteins from Bt 17 and Bt 21 demonstrated cytotoxic activity comparable to that of the highly haemolytic vegetative proteins. Bt 21 displayed toxicity towards both cell lines while Bt 17 was more toxic towards CEM-SS cells. Bioassay against Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus larvae revealed that vegetative proteins from the Bacillus thuringiensis strains had activity against both species of larvae but vegetative proteins from Bacillus sphaericus were weakly larvicidal towards Cx. quinquefasciatus only.