Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 128 in total

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  1. Fulltext Evaluation of the effect of soluble polysaccharides of palm kernel cake as a potential prebiotic on the growth of probiotics
    Bello B, Mustafa S, Tan JS, Ibrahim TAT, Tam YJ, Ariff AB, et al.
    3 Biotech, 2018 Aug;8(8):346.
    PMID: 30073131 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-018-1362-4
    This paper deliberates the extraction, characterization and examination of potential application of soluble polysaccharides of palm kernel cake (PKC) as a prebiotic. The PKC was defatted and crude polysaccharide was obtained through water, citric acid or NaOH extraction. The physiochemical properties of the extracted polysaccharides viz. total carbohydrates, protein content, solubility rate, monosaccharides composition, structural information and thermal properties were also determined. The extracted soluble polysaccharides were further subjected to a digestibility test using artificial human gastric juice. Finally, their prebiotic potential on two probiotics, namely Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 and Lb. rhamnosus ATCC 53103 were evaluated in vitro. It was observed that PKC contained ash (5.2%), moisture (7.4%), carbohydrates (65.8%), protein (16.5%) and fat (5.1%). There were significant differences (P  95%). Protein content in SCPW, SCPCA and SCPN are 0.72, 0.40 and 0.58, respectively, and the peaks which indicated the presence of protein were observed at approximately 1640 cm-1 (amide I). FTIR spectroscopy revealed that the polysaccharides extracts were linked to β and α-glycosidic bonds and thermal analysis using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) showed the main degradation temperature of SP is about 121 to 125 °C. The SP were found to be highly resistance (> 96%) to hydrolysis when subjected to artificial human gastric juice. The prebiotics potentials of the polysaccharides on probiotics in vitro demonstrated an increase in proliferation of Lb. plantarum ATCC 8014 and Lb. rhamnosus ATCC 53103 with decrease in the pH of the medium and producing organic acids.All the above findings strongly indicated that polysaccharides extracted from PKC, an industrial waste, have a potential to be exploited as novel prebiotics.
  2. New perspectives on marine biodiversity
    Mustafa S
    Ambio, 2010 Nov;39(7):528-30.
    PMID: 21090008
    Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are so fundamentally different in some aspects that many of the issues concerning biodiversity cannot be interpreted using a single theory of common application to all ecosystems. Their limitation is evident when it comes to highly biodiverse and interconnected marine ecosystems such as coral reefs. Trophic links are a major factor, but space, breeding, shelter from predators, environmental cues, behavior ingrained in genotypes, genetic variability, mutations, and connectivity of marine critical habitats are also important. The importance of the connectivity of habitats such as coral reefs, seagrasses, and mangrove in biodiversity preservation should be recognized. Migratory species require corridors for gene flow and that influences diversity. The existing theories do not address the biodiversity issues related to life in the abyssal plains and deep sea trenches and the challenge posed by climate change. An accurate understanding of marine biodiversity requires comprehensive knowledge of ecological interrelationships and new perspectives that reflect the reality of global environmental change.
  3. Fulltext Determinants of functional status among survivors of severe sepsis and septic shock: One-year follow-up
    Al Khalaf MS, Al Ehnidi FH, Al-Dorzi HM, Tamim HM, Abd-Aziz N, Tangiisuran B, et al.
    Ann Thorac Med, 2015 Apr-Jun;10(2):132-6.
    PMID: 25829965 DOI: 10.4103/1817-1737.150731
    RATIONALE: Sepsis is a leading cause of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions worldwide and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Limited data exist regarding the outcomes and functional status among survivors of severe sepsis and septic shock.
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the functional status among survivors of severe sepsis and septic shock a year after hospital discharge.
    METHODS: Adult patients admitted between April 2007 and March 2010 to the medical-surgical ICU of a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia, were included in this study. The ICU database was investigated for patients with a diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock. Survival status was determined based on hospital discharge. Patients who required re-admission, stayed in ICU for less than 24 hours, had incomplete data were all excluded. Survivors were interviewed through phone calls to determine their functional status one-year post-hospital discharge using Karnofsky performance status scale.
    RESULTS: A total of 209 patients met the eligibility criteria. We found that 38 (18.1%) patients had severe disability before admission, whereas 109 (52.2%) patients were with severe disability or died one-year post-hospital discharge. Only one-third of the survivors had good functional status one-year post-discharge (no/mild disability). After adjustment of baseline variables, age [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.04] and pre-sepsis functional status of severe disability (aOR = 50.9, 95% CI = 6.82-379.3) were found to be independent predictors of functional status of severe disability one-year post-hospital discharge among survivors.
    CONCLUSIONS: We found that only one-third of the survivors of severe sepsis and septic shock had good functional status one-year post-discharge (no/mild disability). Age and pre-sepsis severe disability were the factors that highly predicted the level of functional status one-year post-hospital discharge.
    KEYWORDS: Disability; functional status; septic shock; severe sepsis
  4. Fulltext Detection of Entamoeba histolytica in experimentally induced amoebic liver abscess: comparison of three staining methods
    Ning TZ, Kin WW, Mustafa S, Ahmed A, Noordin R, Cheong TG, et al.
    Asian Pac J Trop Biomed, 2012 Jan;2(1):61-5.
    PMID: 23569836 DOI: 10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60191-3
    To compare the efficacy of three different tissue stains, namely haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), periodic-acid Schiff (PAS) and immunohistochemical (IHC) stains for detection of Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) trophozoites in abscessed liver tissues of hamster.
  5. Fulltext Isolation of Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10 with ability to secrete bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance from milk products for applications in food industry
    Abbasiliasi S, Tan JS, Ibrahim TA, Ramanan RN, Vakhshiteh F, Mustafa S, et al.
    BMC Microbiol, 2012;12:260.
    PMID: 23153191 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-12-260
    Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be isolated from traditional milk products. LAB that secrete substances that inhibit pathogenic bacteria and are resistant to acid, bile, and pepsin but not vancomycin may have potential in food applications.
  6. Fulltext In vitro assessment of Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10 for its potential use in the food industry
    Abbasiliasi S, Tan JS, Bashokouh F, Ibrahim TAT, Mustafa S, Vakhshiteh F, et al.
    BMC Microbiol, 2017 May 23;17(1):121.
    PMID: 28535747 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-017-1000-z
    BACKGROUND: Selection of a microbial strain for the incorporation into food products requires in vitro and in vivo evaluations. A bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacterium (LAB), Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10, isolated from a traditional dried curd was assessed in vitro for its beneficial properties as a potential probiotic and starter culture. The inhibitory spectra of the bacterial strain against different gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, its cell surface hydrophobicity and resistance to phenol, its haemolytic, amylolytic and proteolytic activities, ability to produce acid and coagulate milk together with its enzymatic characteristics and adhesion property were all evaluated in vitro.

    RESULTS: P. acidilactici Kp10 was moderately tolerant to phenol and adhere to mammalian epithelial cells (Vero cells and ileal mucosal epithelium). The bacterium also exhibited antimicrobial activity against several gram-positive and gram-negative food-spoilage and food-borne pathogens such as Listeria monocytgenes ATCC 15313, Salmonella enterica ATCC 13311, Shigella sonnei ATCC 9290, Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182, Enterobacter cloaca ATCC 35030 and Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 12378. The absence of haemolytic activity and proteinase (trypsin) and the presence of a strong peptidase (leucine-arylamidase) and esterase-lipase (C4 and C8) were observed in this LAB strain. P. acidilactici Kp10 also produced acid, coagulated milk and has demonstrated proteolytic and amylolactic activities.

    CONCLUSION: The properties exhibited by P. acidilactici Kp10 suggested its potential application as probiotic and starter culture in the food industry.

  7. Fulltext An integrated linkage map of interspecific backcross 2 (BC2) populations reveals QTLs associated with fatty acid composition and vegetative parameters influencing compactness in oil palm
    Yaakub Z, Kamaruddin K, Singh R, Mustafa S, Marjuni M, Ting NC, et al.
    BMC Plant Biol, 2020 Jul 29;20(1):356.
    PMID: 32727448 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-020-02563-5
    BACKGROUND: Molecular breeding has opened new avenues for crop improvement with the potential for faster progress. As oil palm is the major producer of vegetable oil in the world, its improvement, such as developing compact planting materials and altering its oils' fatty acid composition for wider application, is important.

    RESULTS: This study sought to identify the QTLs associated with fatty acid composition and vegetative traits for compactness in the crop. It integrated two interspecific backcross two (BC2) mapping populations to improve the genetic resolution and evaluate the consistency of the QTLs identified. A total 1963 markers (1814 SNPs and 149 SSRs) spanning a total map length of 1793 cM were integrated into a consensus map. For the first time, some QTLs associated with vegetative parameters and carotene content were identified in interspecific hybrids, apart from those associated with fatty acid composition. The analysis identified 8, 3 and 8 genomic loci significantly associated with fatty acids, carotene content and compactness, respectively.

    CONCLUSIONS: Major genomic region influencing the traits for compactness and fatty acid composition was identified in the same chromosomal region in the two populations using two methods for QTL detection. Several significant loci influencing compactness, carotene content and FAC were common to both populations, while others were specific to particular genetic backgrounds. It is hoped that the QTLs identified will be useful tools for marker-assisted selection and accelerate the identification of desirable genotypes for breeding.

  8. In vitro binding of mutagenic heterocyclic aromatic amines by Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4
    Faridnia F, Hussin AS, Saari N, Mustafa S, Yee LY, Manap MY
    Benef Microbes, 2010 Jun;1(2):149-54.
    PMID: 21831754 DOI: 10.3920/BM2009.0035
    Consumption of probiotics has been associated with decreased risk of colon cancer and reported to have antimutagenic/ anti-carcinogenic properties. One possible mechanism for this effect involves physical binding of the mutagenic compounds, such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs), to the bacteria. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the binding capacity of bifidobacterial strains of human origin on mutagenic heterocyclic amines which are suspected to play a role in human cancers. In vitro binding of the mutagens Trp-p-2, IQ, MeIQx, 7,8DiMeIQx and PhIP by three bacterial strains in two media of different pH was analysed using high performance liquid chromatography. Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 showed the highest decrease in the total HCAs content, followed by Bifidobacterium longum, and Escherichia coli. pH affects binding capacity; the highest binding was obtained at pH 6.8. Gram-positive tested strains were found to be consistently more effective than the gram-negative strain. There were significant decreases in the amount of HCAs in the presence of different cell concentrations of B. pseudocatenulatum G4; the highest decrease was detected at the concentration of 10(10) cfu/ml. The results showed that HCAs were able to bind with all bacterial strains tested in vitro, thus it may be possible to decrease their absorption by human intestine and increase their elimination via faeces.
  9. Fulltext Optimization of milk-based medium for efficient cultivation of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 using face-centered central composite-response surface methodology
    Abdul Khalil K, Mustafa S, Mohammad R, Bin Ariff A, Shaari Y, Abdul Manap Y, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:787989.
    PMID: 24527457 DOI: 10.1155/2014/787989
    This study was undertaken to optimize skim milk and yeast extract concentration as a cultivation medium for optimal Bifidobacteria pseudocatenulatum G4 (G4) biomass and β -galactosidase production as well as lactose and free amino nitrogen (FAN) balance after cultivation period. Optimization process in this study involved four steps: screening for significant factors using 2(3) full factorial design, steepest ascent, optimization using FCCD-RSM, and verification. From screening steps, skim milk and yeast extract showed significant influence on the biomass production and, based on the steepest ascent step, middle points of skim milk (6% wt/vol) and yeast extract (1.89% wt/vol) were obtained. A polynomial regression model in FCCD-RSM revealed that both factors were found significant and the strongest influence was given by skim milk concentration. Optimum concentrations of skim milk and yeast extract for maximum biomass G4 and β -galactosidase production meanwhile low in lactose and FAN balance after cultivation period were 5.89% (wt/vol) and 2.31% (wt/vol), respectively. The validation experiments showed that the predicted and experimental values are not significantly different, indicating that the FCCD-RSM model developed is sufficient to describe the cultivation process of G4 using skim-milk-based medium with the addition of yeast extract.
  10. Fulltext Stability of Bacteriocin-Like Inhibitory Substance (BLIS) Produced by Pediococcus acidilactici kp10 at Different Extreme Conditions
    Md Sidek NL, Halim M, Tan JS, Abbasiliasi S, Mustafa S, Ariff AB
    Biomed Res Int, 2018;2018:5973484.
    PMID: 30363649 DOI: 10.1155/2018/5973484
    Nowadays, bacteriocin industry has substantially grown replacing the role of chemical preservatives in enhancing shelf-life and safety of food. The progress in bacteriocin study has been supported by the emerging of consumer demand on the applications of natural food preservatives. Since food is a complex ecosystem, the characteristics of bacteriocin determine the effectiveness of their incorporation into the food products. Among four commercial media (M17 broth, MRS broth, tryptic soy broth, and nutrient broth) tested, the highest growth of Pediococcus acidilactici kp10 and bacteriocin-like-inhibitory substance (BLIS) production were obtained in the cultivation with M17. BLIS production was found to be a growth associated process where the production was increased concomitantly with the growth of producing strain, P. acidilactici kp10. The antimicrobial property of BLIS against three indicator microorganisms (Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus) remained stable upon heating at 100°C but not detectable at 121°C. The BLIS activity was also observed to be stable and active at a wide pH range (pH 2 to pH 7). The BLIS activity remained constant at -20°C and -80°C for 1 month of storage. However, the activity dropped after 3 and 6 months of storage at 4°C, -20°C, and -80°C with more than 80% reduction. The ability of bacteriocin from P. acidilactici kp10 to inhibit food-borne pathogens while remaining stable and active at extreme pH and temperature is of potential interest for future applications in food preservatives.
  11. Identification of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus fermentum from honey stomach of honeybee
    Tajabadi N, Mardan M, Saari N, Mustafa S, Bahreini R, Manap MY
    Braz J Microbiol, 2013;44(3):717-22.
    PMID: 24516438
    This study aimed to isolate and identify Lactobacillus in the honey stomach of honeybee Apis dorsata. Samples of honeybee were collected from A. dorsata colonies in different bee trees and Lactobacillus bacteria isolated from honey stomachs. Ninety two isolates were Gram-stained and tested for catalase reaction. By using bacterial universal primers, the 16S rDNA gene from DNA of bacterial colonies amplified with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Forty-nine bacterial 16S rDNA gene were sequenced and entrusted in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis showed they were different phylotypes of Lactobacillus. Two of them were most closely relevant to the previously described species Lactobacillus plantarum. Other two phylotypes were identified to be closely related to Lactobacillus pentosus. However, only one phylotype was found to be distantly linked to the Lactobacillus fermentum. The outcomes of the present study indicated that L. plantarum, L. pentosus, and L. fermentum were the dominant lactobacilli in the honey stomach of honeybee A. dorsata collected during the dry season from Malaysia forest area - specifically "Melaleuca in Terengganu".
  12. Fulltext Formation of biofilm by Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19112 at different incubation temperatures and concentrations of sodium chloride
    Lee HY, Chai LC, Pui CF, Mustafa S, Cheah YK, Nishibuchi M, et al.
    Braz J Microbiol, 2013;44(1):51-5.
    PMID: 24159283 DOI: 10.1590/S1517-83822013005000004
    Biofilm formation can lead to various consequences in the food processing line such as contamination and equipment breakdowns. Since formation of biofilm can occur in various conditions; this study was carried out using L. monocytogenes ATCC 19112 and its biofilm formation ability tested under various concentrations of sodium chloride and temperatures. Cultures of L. monocytogenes ATCC 19112 were placed in 96-well microtitre plate containing concentration of sodium chloride from 1-10% (w/v) and incubated at different temperature of 4 °C, 30 °C and 45 °C for up to 60 h. Absorbance reading of crystal violet staining showed the density of biofilm formed in the 96-well microtitre plates was significantly higher when incubated in 4 °C. The formation of biofilm also occurs at a faster rate at 4 °C and higher optical density (OD 570 nm) was observed at 45 °C. This shows that storage under formation of biofilm that may lead to a higher contamination along the processing line in the food industry. Formation of biofilm was found to be more dependent on temperature compared to sodium chloride stress.
  13. Effect of alginate and chitosan on viability and release behavior of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 in simulated gastrointestinal fluid
    Kamalian N, Mirhosseini H, Mustafa S, Manap MY
    Carbohydr Polym, 2014 Oct 13;111:700-6.
    PMID: 25037405 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.05.014
    The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different coating materials (i.e. Na-alginate and chitosan) on the viability and release behavior of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 in the simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). This study reports the viability of encapsulated B. pseudocatenulatum G4 coated using different alginate (2-4 g/100mL) and chitosan (0.2-0.8 g/100mL) concentrations. The results indicated that the highest concentration of alginate (4.4142 g/100mL) along with 0.5578 g/100mL chitosan resulted in the highest viability of B. pseudocatenulatum G4. The release behavior of the encapsulated probiotics in SGF (pH 1.5) in 2h followed by 4h in SIF (pH 7.4) was also assessed. The resistance rate of alginate-chitosan capsule in SGF was higher than SIF. The alginate-chitosan encapsulated cells had also more resistance than alginate capsules. The current study revealed that alginate encapsulated B. Pseudocatenulatum G4 exhibited longer survival than its free cells (control).
  14. Fulltext Entropy and Gaussian Filter-Based Adaptive Active Contour for Segmentation of Skin Lesions
    Mustafa S, Iqbal MW, Rana TA, Jaffar A, Shiraz M, Arif M, et al.
    Comput Intell Neurosci, 2022;2022:4348235.
    PMID: 35909861 DOI: 10.1155/2022/4348235
    Malignant melanoma is considered one of the deadliest skin diseases if ignored without treatment. The mortality rate caused by melanoma is more than two times that of other skin malignancy diseases. These facts encourage computer scientists to find automated methods to discover skin cancers. Nowadays, the analysis of skin images is widely used by assistant physicians to discover the first stage of the disease automatically. One of the challenges the computer science researchers faced when developing such a system is the un-clarity of the existing images, such as noise like shadows, low contrast, hairs, and specular reflections, which complicates detecting the skin lesions in that images. This paper proposes the solution to the problem mentioned earlier using the active contour method. Still, seed selection in the dynamic contour method has the main drawback of where it should start the segmentation process. This paper uses Gaussian filter-based maximum entropy and morphological processing methods to find automatic seed points for active contour. By incorporating this, it can segment the lesion from dermoscopic images automatically. Our proposed methodology tested quantitative and qualitative measures on standard dataset dermis and used to test the proposed method's reliability which shows encouraging results.
  15. Successful sperm cryopreservation of the brown-marbled grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus using propylene glycol as cryoprotectant
    Yusoff M, Hassan BN, Ikhwanuddin M, Sheriff SM, Hashim F, Mustafa S, et al.
    Cryobiology, 2018 04;81:168-173.
    PMID: 29355519 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2018.01.005
    This study developed the cryopreservation of brown-marbled grouper spermatozoa for practical application. We examined 32 cryodiluents, developed from four types of cryoprotectants [propylene glycol (PG), dimethyl-sulphoxide (Me2SO), dimethyl-acetamide (DMA) and ethylene glycol (EG)] at four concentrations of 5, 10, 15 and 20% in combination with two extenders [Fetal bovine serum (FBS) and artificial seminal plasma (ASP). Cooling rates were examined by adjusting the height of straws (2.5-12.5 cm) from the liquid nitrogen (LN) vapor and cooled for 5 min before immersion into LN. DNA laddering was used to detect DNA damage in cryopreserved sperm. In fertilization trials, 0.5 g of eggs was mixed with cryopreserved sperm stored for 30 days in LN. The best motility of post-thaw sperm was achieved using 15% PG + 85% FBS (76.7 ± 8.8%); 10% PG + 90% FBS was also effective as cryodiluent. Generally, FBS gave better post-thaw motility compared to ASP. The optimum cooling rate was at 17.6 °C min-1 obtained by freezing at the height of 7.5 cm surface of LN. The results obtained showed that cryopreserved sperm of brown-marbled grouper suffered slight DNA fragmentation, which resulted in significantly lower motility. However, the fertilization (90.9 ± 0.5%), hatching (64.5 ± 4.1%) and deformity rates (3.8 ± 0.2%) obtained from cryopreserved sperm showed no significant difference with fresh sperm. These findings show that the developed protocol for cryopreservation of brown-marbled grouper sperm was viable and will be useful for successful breeding and seed production of brown-marbled grouper.
  16. Inhibitory and resistance-modifying potential of plant-based alkaloids against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
    Mohtar M, Johari SA, Li AR, Isa MM, Mustafa S, Ali AM, et al.
    Curr Microbiol, 2009 Aug;59(2):181-6.
    PMID: 19475447 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-009-9416-9
    Increased prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major threat to the health sector worldwide due to their virulence, limited therapeutic options and their distribution in both hospital and community settings. Discovery and development of new anti-MRSA agents as alternatives to the very few antibiotics left in the armamentarium are, thus, urgently required. Recently, an efflux mechanism in MRSA has been identified as one of the main contributors of resistance towards various structurally unrelated antibiotics. The potential of reserpine (a phytoalkaloid) as efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) against various microbes remains limited as the concentration needed for inhibition is toxic to humans. This study therefore aimed to evaluate 13 alkaloid compounds as potential inhibitory agents and/or potential EPIs against a panel of three MRSA isolates which not only differ in their susceptibility to vancomycin (amongst the last drugs available to treat serious MRSA infection), but also exhibited active efflux activity. Results indicated berberine's moderate inhibitiory activity against two MRSA isolates scoring a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 125 microg/ml. Notable efflux inhibitory activity (ranging from two- to eightfold Ethidium Bromide MIC reduction) meanwhile was detected from quinine, piperine and harmaline using reserpine as the positive control. Findings from this study support the opinion that a vast number of potential phytocompounds with pharmacological potential await discovery. Therapeutic application of these compounds, however, warrants further investigation to ascertain their pharmacodynamics and safety aspects.
  17. Seasonal variability of anthropogenic indices of PAHs in sediment from the Kuala Selangor River, west coast Peninsular Malaysia
    Masood N, Halimoon N, Aris AZ, Zakaria MP, Vaezzadeh V, Magam SM, et al.
    Environ Geochem Health, 2018 Dec;40(6):2551-2572.
    PMID: 29802607 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-018-0122-z
    Rapid increase in industrialization and urbanization in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia has led to the intense release of petroleum and products of petroleum into the environment. Surface sediment samples were collected from the Selangor River in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia during four climatic seasons and analyzed for PAHs and biomarkers (hopanes). Sediments were soxhlet extracted and further purified and fractionated through first and second step column chromatography. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for analysis of PAHs and hopanes fractions. The average concentrations of total PAHs ranged from 219.7 to 672.3 ng g-1 dw. The highest concentrations of PAHs were detected at 964.7 ng g-1 dw in station S5 in the mouth of the Selangor River during the wet inter-monsoonal season. Both pyrogenic and petrogenic PAHs were detected in the sediments with a predominance of the former. The composition of hopanes was homogeneous showing that petroleum hydrocarbons share an identical source in the study area. Diagnostic ratios of hopanes indicated that some of the sediment samples carry the crankcase oil signature.
  18. Risk assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the Klang River estuary, Malaysia
    Omar TFT, Aris AZ, Yusoff FM, Mustafa S
    Environ Geochem Health, 2019 Feb;41(1):211-223.
    PMID: 30051257 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-018-0157-1
    The concentration profile, distribution and risk assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the coastal surface water from the Klang River estuary were measured. Surface coastal water samples were extracted using offline solid phase, applying polymeric C18 cartridges as extraction sorbent and measuring with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (LC MS-MS) technique. Extraction method was optimized for its recovery, sensitivity and linearity. Excellent recoveries were obtained from the optimized method with percentage of recoveries ranging from 73 to 126%. The optimized analytical method achieved good sensitivity with limit of detection ranging from 0.05 to 0.15 ng L-1, while linearity of targeted compounds in the LC MS-MS system was more than 0.990. The results showed that amoxicillin has the highest concentration (102.31 ng L-1) followed by diclofenac (10.80 ng L-1) and primidone (7.74 ng L-1). The percentage of contribution (% of total concentration) for the targeted PhACs is in the following order; amoxicillin (92.90%) > diclofenac (3.95%) > primidone (1.23%) > dexamethasone (0.75%) > testosterone (0.70%) > sulfamethoxazole (0.33%) > progesterone (0.14%). Environmental risk assessment calculated based on deterministic approach (the RQ method), showed no present risk from the presence of PhACs in the coastal water of Klang River estuary. Nonetheless, this baseline assessment can be used for better understanding on PhACs pollution profile and distribution in the tropical coastal and estuarine ecosystem as well as for future comparative studies.
  19. Occurrence and level of emerging organic contaminant in fish and mollusk from Klang River estuary, Malaysia and assessment on human health risk
    Omar TFT, Aris AZ, Yusoff FM, Mustafa S
    Environ Pollut, 2019 May;248:763-773.
    PMID: 30851586 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.02.060
    The occurrence, level, and distribution of multiclass emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in fish and mollusks from the Klang River estuary were examined. The targeted EOCs for this assessment were phenolic endocrine disrupting compounds (bisphenol A, 4-OP, and 4-NP), organophosphorous pesticides (quinalphos, chlorpyrifos, and diazinon), estrogenic hormones (E2, E1, and EE2), and pharmaceutically active chemicals (primidone, sulfamethoxazole, dexamethasone, diclofenac, amoxicillin, progesterone, and testosterone). Results from this study showed that the prevalent contamination of the Klang River estuary by EOCs with diclofenac, bisphenol A, progesterone, and amoxicillin were predominantly detected in fish and mollusks. Among the EOCs, diclofenac and progesterone had the highest concentrations in fish and mollusk samples, respectively. The concentrations of diclofenac and progesterone in fish and mollusk samples range from 1.42 ng/g to 10.76 ng/g and from 0.73 ng/g to 9.57 ng/g, respectively. Bisphenol A should also be highlighted because of its significant presence in both fish and mollusks. The concentration of bisphenol A in both matrices range from 0.92 ng/g to 5.79 ng/g. The calculated hazard quotient (HQ) for diclofenac, bisphenol A, and progesterone without consideration to their degradation byproduct were less than one, thus suggesting that the consumption of fish and mollusks from the Klang River estuary will unlikely pose any health risk to consumers on the basis of the current assessment. Nonetheless, this preliminary result is an important finding for pollution studies in Malaysian tropical coastal ecosystems, particularly for organic micropollutant EOCs, and can serve as a baseline database for future reference.
  20. Evaluation of distribution and sources of sewage molecular marker (LABs) in selected rivers and estuaries of Peninsular Malaysia
    Magam SM, Zakaria MP, Halimoon N, Aris AZ, Kannan N, Masood N, et al.
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2016 Mar;23(6):5693-704.
    PMID: 26581689 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5804-9
    This is the first extensive report on linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) as sewage molecular markers in surface sediments collected from the Perlis, Kedah, Merbok, Prai, and Perak Rivers and Estuaries in the west of Peninsular Malaysia. Sediment samples were extracted, fractionated, and analyzed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentrations of total LABs ranged from 68 to 154 (Perlis River), 103 to 314 (Kedah River), 242 to 1062 (Merbok River), 1985 to 2910 (Prai River), and 217 to 329 ng g(-1) (Perak River) dry weight (dw). The highest levels of LABs were found at PI3 (Prai Estuary) due to the rapid industrialization and population growth in this region, while the lowest concentrations of LABs were found at PS1 (upstream of Perlis River). The LABs ratio of internal to external isomers (I/E) in this study ranged from 0.56 at KH1 (upstream of Kedah River) to 1.35 at MK3 (Merbok Estuary) indicating that the rivers receive raw sewage and primary treatment effluents in the study area. In general, the results of this paper highlighted the necessity of continuation of water treatment system improvement in Malaysia.
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