Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 940 in total

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  1. Tunung, R., Chai, L.C., Usha, M.R., Lee, H.Y., Fatimah, A.B., Farinazleen, M.G., et al.
    MyJurnal
    Salmonella enterica is one of the major causes of bacterial foodborne infection. The aims of this study were to determine the antibiotic resistance and the genetic diversity of Salmonella enterica isolated from street foods and clinical samples and to understand the correlation between the prevalence of serovars and genotypes with their source (street food and clinical samples) and geographic origin (Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Selangor in Peninsular Malaysia). The enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) PCR analysis distinguished the Salmonella isolates into 19 ERIC types, with one untypable isolate. Dendrograms were specifically constructed for the S. Biafra and S. Typhi isolates. Identical or very similar ERIC types among the S. Biafra isolates from street food samples indicate transmission of the S. Biafra among the street foods, as well as possible cross-contamination of the street foods. In addition, the identical or very similar ERIC types among the S. Typhi isolates from human samples examined suggest possible similarity in their source of infection. All the twenty four isolates were resistant to rifampin and none were resistant to cefuroxime. Most isolates displayed multiple resistances. Dendrogram of antibiotic resistances produced six clusters, with similarity levels between 18.8% and 100%. Generally, street food and clinical isolates tend to cluster apart. Dendrogram to cluster the antibiotic groups showed that they could be grouped according to classes based on mode of inhibition. The findings suggest that street food contaminated with drug-resistant Salmonella enterica can be an important factor in the continuous emergence of antibiotic resistant Salmonella enterica.
  2. Neo, Y.P., Tan, C.H., Ariffin, A.
    MyJurnal
    The fatty acid composition and trans fatty acids (TFA) contents of samples of five Malaysian cream crackers biscuit brands were determined by gas-liquid chromatography, using a 60 m Supelco SP2340 fused silica capillary column and flame ionization detection. The identities of the fatty acids were established by comparing their retention times with authentic standards from Supelco. The results were expressed as relative percentages. The total saturated fatty acids (SFA) in the samples ranged from 48.90% to 54.87% of total fatty acids. As for the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), the total PUFA in the samples ranged from 9.97% to 11.73% of total fatty acids. Total trans fatty acids (TFA) ranged from 0.17% to 0.77% of total fatty acids. The monotrans 18:2 tc or 18:2 ct isomer content ranged from 0.07% to 0.10% of total fatty acids and the ditrans 18:2 isomer (9t, 12t) was not detected. The results indicate that all the fat sources of the 5 sample crackers biscuit brands were palm oil based.
  3. See, E.F., Wan Nadiah, W.A., Noor Aziah, A.A.
    MyJurnal
    The objective of this project was to determine the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of bread supplemented with four different levels (control, 5%, 10%, and 15%) of pumpkin flour. The physical (weight, loaf volume, specific volume and oven spring) and chemical (moisture, protein, fat, fibre and ash) attributes were determined in the raw pumpkin, pumpkin flour (PF), control and supplemented breads. Sensory attributes were conducted on the control and supplemented breads. Increasing the level of substitution from 5% to 15% pumpkin flour significantly (p
  4. Halimatul, S.M.N., Amin, I., Mohd.-Esa, N., Nawalyah, A.G., Siti Muskinah, M.
    MyJurnal
    This study investigated the protein quality of two sets of Roselle seeds processed differently (dried and boiled). Twenty weanling Sprague Dawley rats were used to conduct the growth and nitrogen balance studies. Rats were fed with 10% (w/w) protein from dried (DS) and boiled (BS) Roselle seeds powder for 4 weeks. Casein was used in this study as a standard reference protein. There was a significantly higher (p < 0.05) food intake and weight gain by rats fed with BS compared with DS. In the growth study, there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) in protein efficiency ratio (PER) and net protein ratio (NPR) of BS compared to DS, but it was significantly different with casein (CD). PER value of rats fed with DS was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than casein. In the nitrogen balance study, true nitrogen absorption (TNA) and nitrogen balance (NB) of BS group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than DS group. However, apparent digestibility (AD), true digestibility (TD) and biological value (BV) for both diets was not significantly different. This study showed that the protein quality of dried Roselle seeds was similar to the Roselle seeds boiled at 100oC for 30 minutes.
  5. Wan Rosli, W.I., Babji, A.S., Aminah, A.
    MyJurnal
    Processed meat products, such as burgers, sausages, meatballs, salami and nuggets are currently popular with urban consumers. However, in general, they are high in cholesterol, total lipid and saturated fatty acids. Four beef burger formulations were prepared, each containing 15% fat from either beef fat (control), palm fat (PF), red PF or a blend of PF and red PF at a ratio of 1:1 at 15% fat. A rat assay was carried out to determine lipid profile, apparent digestibility (AD) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of rats fed with beef burger diets containing palm based fats. Treatment with PF and red PF beef burger diets did not affect the total cholesterol concentration but resulted in higher HDL-cholesterol concentration in their blood serum. The rats fed with dried burger diets containing PF and red PF had higher AD value (90.0% and 89.3%, respectively) and was not significantly different (P < 0.05) compared to the group fed with dried burger containing beef fat (90.7) over the 10 days experimental diet period. PER values of all treatments except for casein were not significantly different (P < 0.05). There was also no difference (P < 0.05) in food intake and body weight gain between all rats fed with dried burger containing different types of palm based fats. In summary, the utilization of PF and red PF in beef burger increased the HDLcholesterol and had no effect on the concentration of total cholesterol in rat blood serum. Addition of palm based fats into beef burgers did not change AD and PER.
  6. Rashidah, S., Jinap, S., Nazamid, S., Jamilah, B.
    MyJurnal
    This study was carried out to extract and compare the characteristic ability of globulins from cottonseed, alfalfa seed, pea seed, mung bean and French bean with cocoa seeds to produce cocoa-specific aroma precursors. The extracted globulins were compared through SDS PAGE, amino acid and oligopeptide profiles. A very low recovery was obtained during globulin extraction from different seeds ranging from 0.5% to 2.7%. Cottonseed produced the highest total protein (13.90 mg/g), followed by cocoa seed (11.91 mg/g), whereas alfalfa seed, mung bean, pea seed and French bean produced 7.86, 4.77, 4.59 and 3.89 mg/g respectively. Two distinctive bands of 51.1 and 33.0 kDa were observed for cocoa vicilin-class globulin (VCG) from SDS PAGE. More than three bands were shown for other seed globulins. Comparative HPLC analyses of the obtained peptide mixtures revealed different and complex patterns of predominantly hydrophobic peptides. A similar high content of amides (glutamic acids-glutamine, aspartic acid- asparagine and arginine) and low concentrations of lysine were observed in all seeds globulin.
  7. Yousr, A.H., Nipis, S., Rusul, G.R.A., Son, R.
    MyJurnal
    Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to assay for the detection of specific genes in the genomes of the Aeromonas spp. isolated from environmental and shellfish sources, particularly aero and hlyA genes, responsible for aerolysin and hemolysin toxins production in this genus. The results showed that: (i) the 1500 bp amplicon of the hlyA gene was detected in 20/38 of the Aeromonas hydrophila, 13/38 of the A. caviae and 6/9 of the A. veronii biovar sobria isolates; (ii) the 690 bp amplicon of the aero gene was detected in 20/38 of A. hydrophila, 17/38 of A. caviae and 6/9 of A. veronii biovar sobria isolates; (iii) the nucleotide blast results of aerolysin gene sequences of the representative strains of A. hydrophila, A. caviae and A. veronii biovar sobria revealed a high homology of 94%, 95% and 95% with published sequences, respectively and ; (iv) the protein blast showed 97%, 94% and 96% homology when compared to the published sequences, respectively. The finding of A. hydrophila virulence genes in other members of the genus Aeromonas, may give a new perspective to the significance of these results. The method described here may be a useful detection tool to assist in further investigation of aero and hlyA genes in the genus Aeromonas, especially for food microbiologist.
  8. Huda-Faujan, N., Noriham, A., Norrakiah, A.S., Babji, A.S.
    MyJurnal
    This study was conducted on selected local herbs such as ulam raja (Cosmos caudatus), kesum (Polygonum minus), selom (Oenanthe javanica), pegaga (Centella asiatica) and curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) to investigate their antioxidative activities. The water extracts of the herbs were analysed for total phenolic content, reducing antioxidant power, ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test was also accried out. Polygonum minus showed the highest total phenolic content and reducing power among the herbs. Increasing the concentration of the extracts resulted in increased Fe3+ reducing antioxidant power for all the herbs. FTC and TBA tests on the extracts during seven days of storage showed that all the herbs extracts had the ability to reduce oxidation compared to the control (P < 0.05). From the FTC analysis, Murraya koenigii leaves was best in reducing the oxidation rate (67.67%) compared to the other herbs studied. Analysis of TBA showed that Centella asiatica extract had the highest antioxidant effect. However, both TBA and FTC analysis for these two herbs showed no significant difference (P >0.05) from Polygonum minus and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHT) a synthetic antioxidant. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations between amount of total phenolic content and reducing power (r = 0.75) and antioxidative activities (r = 0.58) in linoleic acid emulsion system. This shows that antioxidative activities of these Malaysian herbal plants especially Polygonum minus may be a potential source of natural antioxidants with similar characteristics to the synthetic antioxidant, BHT.
  9. Xavier, R., Sreeramanan, S., Diwakar, A., Sivagnanam, G., Sethuraman, K.R.
    MyJurnal
    All living organisms including human beings in this biosphere are constantly exposed to a variety of xenobiotics. The enormous chemical load in the environment has been primarily through the modernization, industrialization and changes in lifestyle. The changing food habits to suit modern living pose a serious threat to a healthy life. Among others, consumption of soft drinks invariably forms a part of modern life. Mostly children and adolescents are the target groups vulnerable to frequent consumption, compromising the nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products. Logically, the quality of the soft drinks is determined by the type and quantity of chemicals present, including those present inherently in the water used for such preparations. The impact of soft drinks on human health has been a subject of in depth research. Consumption of soft drinks plays a major role in a variety of diseases like obesity, diabetes, dental and bone disorders and others, more so among children and adolescents. The toxic effects of soft drinks have gained much attention, due to the frequent scientific reports and media attention. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive scrutiny of the impact of soft drinks on health, as well as to suggest alternatives for a healthy life style.
  10. Abdulkarim, S.M., Ghazali, H.M.
    MyJurnal
    HyperDSC™(fast scan rate) was used to study the melting behavior of canola (CLO), sunflower (SFO), palm olein (PO), rice bran oils (RBO), and cocoa butter (CB), and was compared to the melting behaviors using conventional DSC. There was an increase in sensitivity with increase in scan rate. Slow scan rate (5 to 20C/min) gave low sensitivity, which increased when the scan rates were increased to 50, 100 and 200C/min. Peak resolution was affected by scan rate depending on the sample weight. Increase in the size of sample coupled with the use of fast scan rate decreased the peak resolution. Generally small sample sizes gave better peak resolution. Results of the effect of scan rate on glass transition (Tg) shows that Tg, which is a weak transition especially in crystalline and low amorphous materials was not detected using conventional scan rates (5 to 20oC/min). It was however detected using of hyperDSC™ scan rates (100 to 200oC/min). Increasing the scan rate resulted in an increase in the peak temperature and the elimination of shoulder peaks, which were caused due to the polymorphic behavior of the triacylglycerols in the oils. The increase in peak temperature caused a shift in the peak position towards a higher temperature value. There is a positive correlation between the peak temperature and scan rate. The correlation coefficients (r) for CLO, SFO, PO, RBO and CB were 0.96, 0.95, 0.97, 0.96 and 0.96 respectively.
  11. Ong, S.B., Zuraini, M.I., Jurin, W.G., Cheah Y.K., Tunung, R., Chai, L.C., et al.
    MyJurnal
    Three restriction enzymes were used in Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) using the mitochondrial cytochrome b region to establish a differential diagnosis which detect and discriminate between three meat species: pork, cow and chicken. DNA was extracted from samples containing meat of a single animal such as raw pork (Sus scrofa domesticus), chicken (Gallus gallus) and cow (Bos taurus) as well as mixed samples of two species of animals in different ratios. The amplified 359 base pairs (bp) portion of the mitochondrial cyt b gene from pure or mixed samples in different ratios was cut using three different restriction enzymes resulting in species specific restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). This technique proved to be extremely reliable in detecting the presence of low levels of target DNA obtained from a 0.25 mg component in a particular mixed meat sample. This revealed the cyt b region as highly conserved and consequently a good molecular marker for diagnostic studies. Thus, this technique can be applied to food authentication for the identification of different species of animals in food products.
  12. Mohd. Adzahan, N., Benchamaporn, P.
    MyJurnal
    The application of non-thermal processing technology (NTP) is increasing within the food industry. The absence of heat in this technology offer some advantages such as the sensory and nutritional attributes of the product remaining unaffected, thus yielding products with better quality compared to traditional processing methods. Suitability of technology for a certain application varies according to the nature of the reason and the purpose for processing. Some NTP has long been used in the food industry in Southeast Asia, but most are still at the initial stage of research. Despite several existing challenges, these technologies have the potential to be taken up as an alternative to processing of value-added food products especially now when consumer and trade demands as well as economic strength in the region is changing.
  13. Yetti, M., Nazamid, B.S., Roselina, K., Abdulkarim, S.M.
    MyJurnal
    The native sago starch exists as a compact crystalline structure and is not efficiently hydrolyzed by Raw Starch Degrading Enzyme (RSDE). In order to enhance its hydrolysability, the starch was treated with acid and heated below its gelatinization temperature, thus increasing the accessibility of the sago starch granule to enzymatic attack. Results showed that treatment of sago starch with acid at pH 2.0 and temperature 65oC for 2 hours greatly enhanced its conversion rate to glucose from 53.3% to 71.9%. It is clearly shown that high yield of glucose is produced during hydrolysis of acid-treated sago starch using the Raw Starch Degrading Enzyme from Acremonium sp. The difference between the acid-treated and untreated sago starch in this study could be due to the differences on the surface of the sago starch granule which may influence the accessibility and diffusion of enzyme into the starch during hydrolysis.
  14. Abdulkarim, S.M., Lai, O.M., Muhammad, S.K.S., Long, K., Ghazali, H.M.
    MyJurnal
    Solvent-extracted Moringa oleifera seed oil was transesterified using immobilized lipase (Lipozyme IM 60) (Novozymes Bagsvaerd Denmark) at 1% (w/w) concentration, shaken at 60oC and 200 rpm for up to 24h. After transesterification, the oil was fractionated with acetone at -18oC and without acetone at 10oC to obtain two fractions, stearin and olein fractions. Incubation of the transesterified oil at 10oC for 24 h resulted in the formation of fat crystals, which settled at the bottom of the flask in sample transesterified for 24 h, while the control (0 h) sample became rather viscous with fat crystals in suspension. Transesterification resulted in a change in the triacylglycerol (TAG) profile of the oil, which in turn affected its solid fat content (SFC) and thermal behavior. The SFC value at 0oC after 24 h of reaction was 10.35% and significantly (P
  15. Abu Bakar, F.
    MyJurnal
    Microbiological quality analysis of freshwater prawns from three sampling sites in Peninsular Malaysia viz: Site 1- Kg. Jumbang, Negri Sembilan; Site 2- Kg. Cangkat Tin, Perak and Site 3- Kg. Cenderiang, Perak for total mesophilic and psychrophilic aerobic counts, proteolytic bacterial counts, histamine producing bacteria, cadaverine producing bacteria and putrescine producing bacteria in the prawns and pond water for the three sites showed that the microbiological quality of freshwater prawns is related to the microflora of pond water in which they were grown. The initial bacterial counts indicated the values were in the range of log 4+ CFU/g for all samples. Total mesophilic and psychrophilic counts of the head regions were higher than that of the body regions for all prawn samples and types of growth media tested. All samples showed an increase in counts with time and temperature of storage up to log 7+ CFU/g for mesophilic counts after 12 hours at ambient, 6 days at 10 ± 2°C and 12 days at iced storage. The samples from Site 2 had relatively higher counts compared to the other two sites which correlated well with the levels determined in the pond water. Similar trends were observed for psychrophilic counts but at lower values for the different types of media studied.
    Effects of preservatives on quality changes and shelf life of shrimp during iced storage indicated that boric acid, lactic acid and sodium metabisulphite managed to inhibit psychrophilic bacteria and biogenic amines formation in prawns while maintaining the mesophilic counts at lower levels during iced storage.
  16. Chong, L.C., Noor Aziah, A.A.
    MyJurnal
    Evaluation on the physicochemical and sensory properties of wheat flour doughnuts substituted with banana flour (BF) was investigated. Wheat flour was substituted with green banana (Musa paradisiaca var. Awak) flour at 0% (control), 10%, 20% and 30% levels in yeast-raised doughnut prepared by the straight dough method. Chemical (moisture, fat, protein, ash, carbohydrate, crude fibre, total dietary fibre and caloric content), physical (volume, specific volume and colour) and sensory evaluation were conducted on all samples. Chemical analyses result indicated a higher percentage of total dietary fibre and caloric content in doughnut substituted with BF than the control. Colour evaluation showed that the dough, crust and crumb of doughnut with BF ranged from 68.97 ± 0.59 – 84.78 ± 0.16 (red – yellow quadrant). The change from light to darker colour correlated with the amount of BF added. Results also showed that the volume and specific volume was significantly affected (p < 0.05) by levels of BF substituted. Doughnut substituted with 20% BF showed the highest score in overall acceptability (6.71 ± 1.40).
  17. Chai, L.C., Fatimah, A.B., Ghazali, F.M., Lee, H.Y., Tunung, R., Shamsinar, A.T., et al.
    MyJurnal
    Antibiotic resistance in campylobacter is an emerging global public health problem after MRSA and VRE. Fluoroquinolone and macrolide resistance have been found to be more common in this world leading foodborne pathogen. A total of fifty-six isolates of Campylobacter jejuni obtained from raw vegetables
    which are consumed as ulam (salad) in Malaysia, were tested with 12 antibiotics used clinically and
    agriculturally. The resistance was determined using the disk diffusion method. Results were determined
    by hierarchic numerical methods to cluster strains and antibiotics according to similarity profiles. Fifty
    five C. jejuni isolates from different isolation sites were all clustered together into ten groups. This indicates that the commodities (raw salad vegetables/ulam) where the isolates originated might share a similar source of cross-contamination along the production route. All antibiotics tested correlated and there were four groupings reflecting their mode of actions. Generally, C. jejuni isolates were found to be highly resistant to erythromycin (91.1%) and tetracycline (85.7%). Both agents are popular antibiotics used clinically to treat bacterial infections. On the other hand, the C. jejuni isolates showed high percentage (80.4%) of resistance towards enrofloxacin, an extensively used antimicrobial agent in agriculture practices. This study showed that C. jejuni isolates were highly multi-resistance to as many as 10 antibiotics. Therefore, in terms of biosafety, the presence of antibiotic resistance strains in the food chain has raised concerns that the treatment of human infections will be compromised.
  18. Wan Aida, W.M., Ho, C.W., Maskat, M.Y., Osman, H.
    MyJurnal
    Sensory attributes of four different palm sugars were related to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis using partial least squares regression (PLS). The sweet caramel and burnt-like sensory attributes were strongly associated with 2-furfural and 2-furan methanol volatile compounds. The sensory scores for roasty and nutty were also associated with the GC/MS ratings for roasty and nutty-like aroma by its highest scores obtained from 2-ethyl-5-methyl pyrazine, 2,5-dimethyl pyrazine and 2,3-dimethyl pyrazine volatile compounds along the PC1 dimension. PLS analysis did not show correlation for the character impact compound furaneol, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl pyrazine (EDMP) and 2,3-diethyl-5-methyl pyrazine (DEMP), which are perceived to be responsible for the sweet caramel-like and roasty/nutty attributes of palm sugars, respectively. This lack of relationship could partially be explained by covariance among the sensory ratings for the samples.
  19. Jasbeer, K., Ghazali, F.M., Cheah, Y.K., Son, R.
    MyJurnal
    The introduction of new agricultural commodities and products derived from modernbiotechnology may have an impact on human and animal health, the environment and economiesof countries. As more Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) enter markets worldwide, themonitoring of GMOs is being preferred for obvious reasons such as determination of seed purity,verification of non-GMO status of agricultural crops and fulfilling GMO labeling provisions, tomention a few. Numerous GMO analytical methods which include screening, identification andquantification have been developed to reliably determine the presence and/or amount of GMOin agricultural commodities, in raw agricultural materials and in processed and refined ingredients.The detection of GMOs relies on the detection of transgenic DNA or protein material. For routineanalysis, a good sample preparation technique should reproducibly generate DNA/protein ofsufficient quality, purity and yield while minimizing the effects of inhibition andcontamination.
    The key sample preparation steps include homogenization, pretreatment, extraction andpurification. Due to the fact that analytical laboratories receive samples that are often processedand refined, the quality and quantity of transgenic target analyte (e.g. protein and DNA) frequentlychallenge the sensitivity of any detection method. With the development of GMO analysistechniques, the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique has been the mainstay for GMOdetection, and the real-time PCR is the most effective and important method for GMOquantification. The choice of target sequence; for example a promoter, a terminator, a gene, or ajunction between two of these elements, is the single most important factor controlling the specificity of the PCR method. Recent developments include event-specific methods, particularlyuseful for identification and quantification of GM content. Although PCR technology has obvious
    limitations, the potentially high degree of sensitivity and specificity explains why PCR in its various
    formats, is currently the leading analytical technology employed in GMO analysis. Comparatively, immunoassays are becoming attractive tools for rapid field monitoring for the integrity of agricultural commodities in identity preservation systems, whereby non-specialised personnel can employ them in cost-effective manner. This review discusses various popular extraction methodologies and summarises the current status of the most widely used and easily applicable GMO analysis technologies in laboratories, namely the PCR and immunoassay technologies.
  20. Misnawi, Teguh, W.
    MyJurnal
    Cocoa pod borer (Conopomorpha cramerella (Snellen)) is the main fatal pest that destroys cocoa plantations in South East Asia, mainly in Indonesia and Malaysia. Infested cocoa beans stick to each other, the pulp become hard and normal fermentation process to produce flavour precursors cannot be done. This research aimed to utilize the infested cocoa beans as a source of phenolic compounds. Extraction of phenolic compounds was carried out for three infestation levels regarded as low, medium and heavy. Parameters of study were bean size, shell content, fat content, total polyphenol and antioxidant activity. Results of the study showed that the increase in cocoa pod borer infestation significantly decreased cocoa bean size, fat content and total polyphenol; but shell content was increased. Antioxidant activity of the extracted polyphenol was not significantly affected by the infestation. The results clearly indicate that cocoa beans infested by cocoa pod borer can potentially to be used as a source of phenolic compounds for natural antioxidant uses.
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