Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 122 in total

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  1. Nurul Izzah, A., Wan Rozita, W.M., Siti Fatimah, D., Aminah, A., Md Pauzi, A., Lee, Y.H.
    MyJurnal
    A survey was conducted to investigate patterns of fruits and vegetables consumption among Malaysian adults residing in Selangor, Malaysia. Two hundred forty two subjects comprises of male (28%) and female (72%) of major ethnics (Malays-52.3%; Chinese-30.5%; Indians-16.9%) with the mean age of 43.5±18 years were studied from July to November 2002. Consumption data for vegetables were collected using 24 hours duplicate samples method while for fruits 24-hour diet record was used. The results showed that most frequently consumed leafy, leguminous, root, brassica and fruits vegetables were celery (Apium graveolens), spinach (Spinacia oleracea), water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic), long beans (Vigna sesquipedolis), French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), carrot (Daucas carota), potato (Solanum tuberosum), Chinese mustard (Brassica juncea), round cabbage (Brassica reptans), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var cauliflora), chilies (red, green, small or dried) (Capsicum sp.), tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), long eggplant (Solanum melongena) and okra (Hibiscus esculentus). While most consumed ulam and traditional vegetables were petai (Parkia speciosa), sweet leaves (Sauropus andragynus) and Indian pennywor (Hydrocotyle asiatica). Other vegetables inclusive spices and flavorings that were preferred by subjects were shallot (Allium fistulosum), garlic(Allium sativum), onion (Alium cepa), green bean sprout (Phaseolus aureus) and curry leaves (Murraya koenigii). The most preferred fruits were banana (Musa spp.) and apples (.Malus domestica). A total consumption of fruits and vegetables among adults in Selangor was 173 g/day and the consumption among Malays (202 g/day) was significantly higher (P
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  2. Yew SE, Lim TJ, Lew LC, Bhat R, Mat-Easa A, Liong MT
    J Food Sci, 2011 Apr;76(3):H108-15.
    PMID: 21535834 DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2011.02107.x
    Probiotic delivery system was developed via the use of microbial transglutaminase (MTG) cross-linked soy protein isolate (SPI) incorporated with agrowastes such as banana peel (BE), banana pulp (BU), and pomelo rind (PR). Inoculums of Lactobacillus bulgaricus FTDC 1511 were added to the cross-linked protein matrix. The incorporation of agrowastes had significantly (P<0.05) reduced the strength, pH value, and the lightness of the SPI gel carriers, while sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiles revealed that the occurring cross-links within the SPI gel carriers were attributed to the addition of MTG. Scanning electron microscope micrographs illustrated that SPI carriers containing agrowastes have exhibited a less-dense protein matrix. All the SPI carriers possessed maximum swelling ratio at 4 to 4.5 within 15 min in simulated gastric fluid (SGF), whereas the maximum swelling ratios of SPI/BE, SPI/BU, and SPI/PR were higher compared to that of control in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). Additionally, SPI carriers in SGF medium did not show degradation of structure, whereas a major collapse of network was observed in SIF medium, indicating controlled-release in the intestines. The addition of agrowastes into SPI carriers led to a significantly (P<0.0001) lower release of L. bulgaricus FTDC 1511 in SGF medium and a higher release in SIF medium, compared to that of the control. SPI carriers containing agrowastes may be useful transports for living probiotic cells through the stomach prior to delivery in the lower intestines.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/chemistry
  3. Salman JM, Hameed BH
    J Hazard Mater, 2010 Apr 15;176(1-3):814-9.
    PMID: 20031311 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.11.107
    In this work, activated carbon was prepared from banana stalks (BSAC) waste to remove the insecticide carbofuran from aqueous solutions. The effects of contact time, initial carbofuran concentration, solution pH and temperature (30, 40 and 50 degrees C) were investigated. Adsorption isotherm, kinetics and thermodynamics of carbofuran on BSAC were studied. Equilibrium data were fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models and the data best represented by the Langmuir isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters such as standard enthalpy (DeltaH(o)), standard entropy (DeltaS(o)) and standard free energy (DeltaG(o)) were evaluated. Regeneration efficiency of spent BSAC was studied using ethanol as a solvent. The efficiency was found to be in the range of 96.97-97.35%. The results indicated that the BSAC has good regeneration and reusability characteristics and can be used as alternative to present commercial activated carbon.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  4. Mohd Amnan MA, Pua TL, Lau SE, Tan BC, Yamaguchi H, Hitachi K, et al.
    PeerJ, 2021;9:e10879.
    PMID: 33614294 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10879
    Drought is one of the severe environmental stresses threatening agriculture around the globe. Nitric oxide plays diverse roles in plant growth and defensive responses. Despite a few studies supporting the role of nitric oxide in plants under drought responses, little is known about its pivotal molecular amendment in the regulation of stress signaling. In this study, a label-free nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry approach was used to determine the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced osmotic stress in banana roots. Plant treatment with SNP improved plant growth and reduced the percentage of yellow leaves. A total of 30 and 90 proteins were differentially identified in PEG+SNP against PEG and PEG+SNP against the control, respectively. The majority of proteins differing between them were related to carbohydrate and energy metabolisms. Antioxidant enzyme activities, such as superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase, decreased in SNP-treated banana roots compared to PEG-treated banana. These results suggest that the nitric oxide-induced osmotic stress tolerance could be associated with improved carbohydrate and energy metabolism capability in higher plants.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  5. Foo LH, Khor GL, Tee, E. Siong ES, Prabakaran D
    Malays J Nutr, 2006;12(1):11-21.
    MyJurnal
    Dietary intakes and lifestyle habits during adolescence may predict the occurrence of obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases later in life. The purpose of this study was to determine dietary intake of adolescents in a fishing community in Tuaran District, Sabah. A total of 199 apparently healthy adolescents comprising 94 male and 105 female subjects were purposively selected for the study. The mean age of the subjects was 15.2 f 2.2 years with female subjects having a higher mean age of 15.7 f 2.4 years compared to the males (14.6 k1.8 years). The mean BMI of the subjects was 18.4 f 2.9 kg/m2 with females having a significantly higher BMI (18.9 f 2.8 kg/m2) than the males (17.8 f 3.0 kg/m2). Based on the WHO classification (WHO, 1995), 19.6% of the subjects could be classified as thin while 4.5% were at risk of overweight. Overall for both sexes, intake of energy and most nutrients were below the Malaysian recommended nutrient intake (RNI) levels for adolescents, with the exception of vitamin C and niacin. The male subjects showed higher mean intake for vitamin A, thiamine, niacin and vitamin C than the females. Calcium and iron intake ranked among the lowest levels, at 33.4% and 47.2% respectively of the RNI values for both sexes. The main sources of energy were rice, flour products and tubers while fish and seafood were the chief sources of protein. Majority of the subjects (84%) reported taking breakfast daily, which often consisted of fried noodles, fried banana, doughnuts and coffee. Consumption of snacks was popular and commonly consumed snacks were bread, biscuits, and fried banana. The present study revealed that 25.5% and 14.3% of the male and female adolescents respectively were thin, with majority of them consuming inadequate levels of energy and several key nutrients. The results underscore the need for adolescents to be targeted for nutrition and health education as they go through a period of marked physical, physiological and psychological changes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  6. Sim, F.S., Mohd Irwan Lu, N.A.L., Lee, Z.E.T., Mohamed, M.
    MyJurnal
    In this study, agriculture biomass was used to remove dissolved organic matter from peat swamp runoff. The functional groups and morphological properties of 6 tropical agriculture biomasses (coconut husk, rice husk, empty fruit bunch, sago hampas, saw dust and banana trunk) in their raw and citric acid–treated states were examined. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra showed that various biomasses were typically characterised with lignocellulosic compounds. The spectra analysis further demonstrated that citric acid treatment resulted in the dissolution of lignin and hemicelluloses to various extents where carboxyl groups were also introduced. These changes hypothetically suggest improved adsorption ability. Treatment of peat swamp runoff with various untreated biomasses showed no adsorption. With the modified biomass, adsorption was evidenced, with rice husk illustrating the highest removal efficiency of 60% to 65%.The biosorbent can be used in the water treatment process especially for treating water with a high dissolved organic matter content. The spent sorbent can be subsequently applied as a soil conditioner as the dissolved organic fraction, commonly known as humic matter, possesses important agricultural value.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  7. Nurul Izzah Ahmad, Aminah Abdullah, Md Pauzi Abdullah, Lee, Yook Heng, Wan Rozita Wan Mahiyuddin, Siti Fatimah Daud, et al.
    MyJurnal
    A survey was conducted to investigate the level of consumption of ‘ulam’ in Selangor State among 252 adults (> 17 years) (male 28.6%, female 71.4%) of major ethnics (Malays-51.6%; Chinese-30.5%; Indians-17.5%) with the mean age of 42.7 ± 13.9 years. Consumption data were collected using 24 hours duplicate samples together with questionnaire on perceptions of ‘ulam.’ Results showed that ‘ulam’ was preferred by majority of the subjects (82.1%), especially amongst Malays (92.3%). A total of 52% of the subjects consumed partially or boiled ‘ulam.’ Factors that affect their preferences on ‘ulam’ were the perception of therapeutic effects of the ‘ulam’ towards health, its good taste and unique
    aroma. The most consumed ‘ulam’ were cucumber (Cucumis sativus) (60.6%) ‘kacang botol’ (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) (33%), Indian pennywort (Hydrocotyle asiatica) (31.5%), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) (27.6%), ‘petai’ (Parkia speciosa) (29%) and ‘ulam raja’ (Cosmos caudatus) (21.9%). The most preferred partially or boiled ‘ulam’
    were tapioca shoot (Manihot esculenta) (31.5%), ocra (Hibiscus esculentus) (12.5%) and ‘jantung pisang’ (Musa sapientum) (20.1%). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) amongst the three different ethnic groups on the consumption of ‘ulam’ and the median for total intake per day was within the range of 30-39 g/day. Ulam is a potential
    source for increasing vegetable consumption to meet recommendation by World Health Organization (WHO), which is 400 g per day.
    Keywords: Adults; perception; ‘ulam;’ Selangor State
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  8. Lim VC, Ramli R, Bhassu S, Wilson JJ
    PeerJ, 2018;6:e4572.
    PMID: 29607265 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4572
    Background: Intense landscaping often alters the plant composition in urban areas. Knowing which plant species that pollinators are visiting in urban areas is necessary for understanding how landscaping impacts biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. The cave nectar bat,Eonycteris spelaea, is an important pollinator for many plants and is often recorded in human-dominated habitats. Previous studies of the diet ofE. spelaearelied on morphological identification of pollen grains found in faeces and on the body of bats and by necessity disregarded other forms of digested plant material present in the faeces (i.e., plant juice and remnants). The main objective of this study was to examine the diet of the nectarivorous bat,E. spelaea,roosting in an urban cave at Batu Caves, Peninsular Malaysia by identifying the plant material present in the faeces of bats using DNA metabarcoding.

    Methods: Faeces were collected under the roost ofE. spelaeaonce a week from December 2015 to March 2016. Plant DNA was extracted from the faeces, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified atITS2andrbcLregions and mass sequenced. The resultant plant operational taxonomic units were searched against NCBI GenBank for identification.

    Results: A total of 55 species of plants were detected from faeces ofE. spelaeaincludingArtocarpus heterophyllus, Duabanga grandifloraandMusaspp. which are likely to be important food resources for the cave nectar bat.

    Discussion: Many native plant species that had not been reported in previous dietary studies ofE. spelaeawere detected in this study includingBauhinia strychnoideaandUrophyllum leucophlaeum, suggesting thatE. spelaearemains a crucial pollinator for these plants even in highly disturbed habitats. The detection of many introduced plant species in the bat faeces indicates thatE. spelaeaare exploiting them, particularlyXanthostemon chrysanthus,as food resources in urban area. Commercial food crops were detected from all of the faecal samples, suggesting thatE. spelaeafeed predominantly on the crops particularly jackfruit and banana and play a significant role in pollination of economically important plants. Ferns and figs were also detected in the faeces ofE. spelaeasuggesting future research avenues to determine whether the 'specialised nectarivorous'E. spelaeafeed opportunistically on other parts of plants.

    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  9. Wayah SB, Philip K
    Front Microbiol, 2018;9:564.
    PMID: 29636737 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00564
    Micrococcus luteus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus are major food-borne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. Emergence of antibiotic resistance and consumer demand for foods containing less of chemical preservatives led to a search for natural antimicrobials. A study aimed at characterizing, investigating the mechanism of action and regulation of biosynthesis and evaluating the biopreservative potential of pentocin from Lactobacillus pentosus CS2 was conducted. Pentocin MQ1 is a novel bacteriocin isolated from L. pentosus CS2 of coconut shake origin. The purification strategy involved adsorption-desorption of bacteriocin followed by RP-HPLC. It has a molecular weight of 2110.672 Da as determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and a molar extinction value of 298.82 M-1 cm-1. Pentocin MQ1 is not plasmid-borne and its biosynthesis is regulated by a quorum sensing mechanism. It has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity, exhibited high chemical, thermal and pH stability but proved sensitive to proteolytic enzymes. It is potent against M. luteus, B. cereus, and L. monocytogenes at micromolar concentrations. It is quick-acting and exhibited a bactericidal mode of action against its targets. Target killing was mediated by pore formation. We report for the first time membrane permeabilization as a mechanism of action of the pentocin from the study against Gram-positive bacteria. Pentocin MQ1 is a cell wall-associated bacteriocin. Application of pentocin MQ1 improved the microbiological quality and extended the shelf life of fresh banana. This is the first report on the biopreservation of banana using bacteriocin. These findings place pentocin MQ1 as a potential biopreservative for further evaluation in food and medical applications.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  10. Amanina Amani Kamarul Zaman, Rosnah Shamsuddin, Noranizan Mohd Adzahan, Alifdalino Sulaiman
    MyJurnal
    This intended paper was done to give an early overview of the expected quality attributes of pineapple-mango juice blend treated with ultraviolet irradiation (UV-C) and thermal pasteurisation. Josapine pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) and Chokanan mango (Mangifera indica L.) is the popular tropical fruits in Malaysia with unique taste and constant availability. The blend of pineapple-mango juice predicted to have good overall quality attributes as proved by prior studies on orange-pineapple, lemon-melon, pineapple-carrot-orange and carrot-apple-banana juice blends. Conventional thermal pasteurisation widely implemented in juice industry but resulted in massive quality degradation. Thus, research on the non-thermal technology of UV-C widely studied to overcome such drawbacks of thermal pasteurisation. Effect of UV-C and thermal pasteurisation on pineapple-mango juice blend will be evaluated in terms of physicochemical (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, turbidity and colour), antioxidant (ascorbic acid, total phenolics content and total antioxidant DPPH assay) and microbiological properties. UV-C treated pineapple-mango juice blend believed to have better retention of heat sensitive ascorbic acid and other quality compared heat pasteurised juice with minimal distinctive characteristic compared to fresh juice.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  11. Zulperi D, Sijam K
    Plant Dis, 2014 Feb;98(2):275.
    PMID: 30708756 DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-03-13-0321-PDN
    During March 2011 to June 2012, 50 banana plants of cultivar Musa × paradisiaca 'Horn' with Moko disease symptoms were randomly sampled in 12 different locations of 5 outbreak states in Peninsular Malaysia comprising Kedah, Selangor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, and Johor, with disease incidence exceeding 90% in some severely affected plantations. The disease symptoms observed in the infected plants included yellowing and wilting of the oldest leaves, which became necrotic, and eventually led to their dieback or collapse. The pulp of banana fruits also became discolored and exuded bacterial ooze. Vascular tissues in pseudostems were discolored. Fragments from symptomatic plant samples were excised and cultured on Kelman's-tetrazolium salt (TZC) medium. Twenty positive samples produced fluidal colonies that were either entirely white or white with pink centers after incubation for 24 to 48 h at 28°C on Kelman's-TZC medium and appeared as gram-negative rods after Gram staining. They were also positive for potassium hydroxide (KOH), Kovacs oxidase, and catalase tests, but negative for utilization of disaccharides and hexose alcohols, which are characteristics of biovar 1 Ralstonia solanacearum. For the pathogenicity test, 30 μl of 108 CFU/ml bacterial suspension of three selected virulent strains were injected into banana (Musa × paradisiaca 'Horn') leaves explants grown in plastic pots of 1,440 cm3 volume in a greenhouse, with temperature range from 26 to 35°C. Leaves that were infiltrated with sterile distilled water served as a negative control. Inoculations with all isolates were performed in three replications, as well as the uninoculated control leaves explants. The inoculated plants produced the same symptoms as observed on naturally diseased samples, whereas control plants remained asymptomatic. Strain cultures were re-isolated and possessed the morphological and biochemical characteristics as previously described. PCR amplification using race 2 R. solanacearum primers ISRso19-F (5'-TGGGAGAGGATGGCGGCTTT-3') and ISRso19-R (5'-TGACCCGCCTTTCGGTGTTT-3') (3) produced a 1,900-bp product from DNA of all bacterial strains. BLAST searches resulted that the sequences were 95 to 98% identical to published R. solanacearum strain race 2 insertion sequence ISRso19 (GenBank Accession No. AF450275). These genes were later deposited in GenBank (KC812051, KC812052, and KC812053). Phylotype-specific multiplex PCR (Pmx-PCR) and Musa-specific multiplex PCR (Mmx-PCR) were performed to identify the phylotype and sequevar of all isolates (4). Pmx-PCR showed that all isolates belonged to phylotype II, whereas Mmx-PCR showed that they belonged to phylotype II sequevar 4 displaying 351-bp amplicon. Although there were previously extensive studies on R. solanacearum associated with bacterial wilt disease of banana crops in Malaysia, none related to Moko disease has been reported (1,2). The result has a great importance to better understand and document R. solanacearum race 2 biovar 1, since banana has been identified as the second most important commercial fruit crop with a high economic value in Malaysia. References: (1) R. Khakvar et al. Plant Pathol. J. 7:162, 2008. (2) R. Khakvar et al. Am. J. Agri. Biol. Sci. 3:490, 2008. (3) Y. A. Lee and C. N. Khor. Plant Pathol. Bull. 12:57, 2003. (4) P. Prior et al. Pages 405-414 in: Bacterial Wilt Disease and the Ralstonia solanacearum Species Complex. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 2005.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  12. Lee JYN, Tan IKP
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:243-251.
    Bacteria play an important roles in the soil ecosystem and in the rhizosphere, they are intricately linked to nutrient content
    and its accessibility to plants, plant protection and sometimes pathogenicity. Banana grows well in the tropics and it is
    popularly grown in Orang Asli (OA) (indigenous people) settlements. Banana is also grown in commercial plantations.
    In traditional planting practices, the OA do not add pesticide nor fertilizer to their crops which are planted for selfsustenance
    mainly. On the other hand, fertilizer and pesticide are added to commercial banana plantations to maximise
    yield. Rhizosphere bacteria from the banana plant, Pisang Nipah, grown in OA fields and commercial plantations were
    identified by clone library construction of the 16S rRNA gene. This was to determine whether farming practices influenced
    the bacterial community in the banana plant rhizosphere. Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were found in
    all the soil. Other common phyla found in some soil (but not all) were Nitrospirae, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi,
    Verrumicrobia, Gemmatimonadetes and Cyanobacteria. The bacterial diversity was a little more diverse in the OA fields
    than the commercial plantations. The latter had higher contents of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These could
    have exerted selective pressure to reduce the bacterial diversity in the commercial plantations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  13. Sha An Ali M, Mohd Nazir NA, Manaf ZA
    Malays J Med Sci, 2020 Mar;27(2):101-111.
    PMID: 32788846 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.2.11
    Background: The low consumption of fruits and vegetables among children is a global challenge. Foods recognition, nutrition knowledge and attitude are factors that influence children's dietary practices. This study aims to assess the preference, attitude, recognition and knowledge of fruits and vegetables intake among Malay children.

    Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Malay children from five primary schools in Kuala Lumpur using self-administered questionnaires.

    Results: A total of 134 Malay children (70 males and 64 females) with a mean (SD) age of 10.3 (1.0) years were recruited. Majority of the children had a father (61.9%) and a mother (56.0%) with secondary school education and earned below RM3,900 (70.9%) per month. The most preferred fruits and vegetable were bananas (91.9%) and carrots (71.4%), while the most recognised was oranges (100.0%) and tomatoes (96.3%). The children demonstrated an overall moderate level of attitude, recognition and knowledge with mean (SD) scores of 70.3 (19.9), 76.8 (18.1) and 73.6 (17.5), respectively, towards fruits and vegetables intake. Majority of the children (53.0%) were not aware of the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, while 40.0% of children expressed a low attitude towards eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. The willingness to try a new type of vegetables and consume more vegetables was lower (68.7%) compared to fruits (75.4%).

    Conclusion: The preferences and recognition of fruits were higher compared to vegetables among the children. The children demonstrated a moderate level of attitude, recognition and knowledge towards fruits and vegetables consumption. Efforts to educate children on the recommended number of servings per day and improve their acceptability of vegetables should be implemented to promote the increase in fruits and vegetables consumption among children.

    Matched MeSH terms: Musa
  14. Haslinda WH, Cheng LH, Chong LC, Noor Aziah AA
    Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2009;60 Suppl 4:232-9.
    PMID: 19449278 DOI: 10.1080/09637480902915525
    Flour was prepared from peeled and unpeeled banana Awak ABB. Samples prepared were subjected to analysis for determination of chemical composition, mineral, dietary fibre, starch and total phenolics content, antioxidant activity and pasting properties. In general, flour prepared from unpeeled banana was found to show enhanced nutrition values with higher contents of mineral, dietary fibre and total phenolics. Hence, flour fortified with peel showed relatively higher antioxidant activity. On the other hand, better pasting properties were shown when banana flour was blended with peel. It was found that a relatively lower pasting temperature, peak viscosity, breakdown, final viscosity and setback were evident in a sample blended with peel.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/chemistry*
  15. Hamidu A, Mokrish A, Mansor R, Razak ISA, Danmaigoro A, Jaji AZ, et al.
    Int J Nanomedicine, 2019;14:3615-3627.
    PMID: 31190815 DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S190830
    Purpose: Modified top-down procedure was successfully employed in the synthesis of aragonite nanoparticles (NPs) from cheaply available natural seawater cockle shells. This was with the aim of developing a pH-sensitive nano-carrier for effective delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Methods: The shells were cleaned with banana pelts, ground using a mortar and pestle, and stirred vigorously on a rotary pulverizing blending machine in dodecyl dimethyl betane solution. This simple procedure avoids the use of stringent temperatures and unsafe chemicals associated with NP production. The synthesized NPs were loaded with DOX to form DOX-NPs. The free and DOX-loaded NPs were characterized for physicochemical properties using field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The release profile, cytotoxicity, and cell uptake were evaluated. Results: NPs had an average diameter of 35.50 nm, 19.3% loading content, 97% encapsulation efficiency, and a surface potential and intensity of 19.1±3.9 mV and 100%, respectively. A slow and sustained pH-specific controlled discharge profile of DOX from DOX-NPs was observed, clearly showing apoptosis/necrosis induced by DOX-NPs through endocytosis. The DOX-NPs had IC50 values 1.829, 0.902, and 1.0377 µg/mL at 24, 48, and 72 hrs, while those of DOX alone were 0.475, 0.2483, and 0.0723 µg/mL, respectively. However, even at higher concentration, no apparent toxicity was observed with the NPs, revealing their compatibility with MCF-7 cells with a viability of 92%. Conclusions: The modified method of NPs synthesis suggests the tremendous potential of the NPs as pH-sensitive nano-carriers in cancer management because of their pH targeting ability toward cancerous cells.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/chemistry
  16. Suhaimi NSM, Goh SY, Ajam N, Othman RY, Chan KG, Thong KL
    World J Microbiol Biotechnol, 2017 Aug 21;33(9):168.
    PMID: 28828756 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-017-2336-0
    Banana is one of the most important fruits cultivated in Malaysia, and it provides many health benefits. However, bacterial wilt disease, which attacks bananas, inflicts major losses on the banana industry in Malaysia. To understand the complex interactions of the microbiota of bacterial wilt-diseased banana plants, we first determined the bacterial communities residing in the pseudostems of infected (symptomatic) and diseased-free (non-symptomatic) banana plants. We characterized the associated microorganisms using the targeted 16S rRNA metagenomics sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Taxonomic classifications revealed 17 and nine known bacterial phyla in the tissues of non-symptomatic and symptomatic plants, respectively. Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria (accounted for more than 99% of the 16S rRNA gene fragments) were the two most abundant phyla in both plants. The five major genera found in both plant samples were Ralstonia, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas. Ralstonia was more abundant in symptomatic plant (59% out of the entire genera) as compared to those in the non-symptomatic plant (only 36%). Our data revealed that 102 bacterial genera were only assigned to the non-symptomatic plant. Overall, this study indicated that more diverse and abundant microbiota were associated with the non-symptomatic bacterial wilt-diseased banana plant as compared to the symptomatic plant. The higher diversity of endophytic microbiota in the non-symptomatic banana plant could be an indication of pathogen suppression which delayed or prevented the disease expression. This comparative study of the microbiota in the two plant conditions might provide caveats for potential biological control strategies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/microbiology*
  17. Covés-Datson EM, King SR, Legendre M, Swanson MD, Gupta A, Claes S, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2021 01 12;11(1):656.
    PMID: 33436903 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80577-7
    Lectins, carbohydrate-binding proteins, have been regarded as potential antiviral agents, as some can bind glycans on viral surface glycoproteins and inactivate their functions. However, clinical development of lectins has been stalled by the mitogenicity of many of these proteins, which is the ability to stimulate deleterious proliferation, especially of immune cells. We previously demonstrated that the mitogenic and antiviral activities of a lectin (banana lectin, BanLec) can be separated via a single amino acid mutation, histidine to threonine at position 84 (H84T), within the third Greek key. The resulting lectin, H84T BanLec, is virtually non-mitogenic but retains antiviral activity. Decreased mitogenicity was associated with disruption of pi-pi stacking between two aromatic amino acids. To examine whether we could provide further proof-of-principle of the ability to separate these two distinct lectin functions, we identified another lectin, Malaysian banana lectin (Malay BanLec), with similar structural features as BanLec, including pi-pi stacking, but with only 63% amino acid identity, and showed that it is both mitogenic and potently antiviral. We then engineered an F84T mutation expected to disrupt pi-pi stacking, analogous to H84T. As predicted, F84T Malay BanLec (F84T) was less mitogenic than wild type. However, F84T maintained strong antiviral activity and inhibited replication of HIV, Ebola, and other viruses. The F84T mutation disrupted pi-pi stacking without disrupting the overall lectin structure. These findings show that pi-pi stacking in the third Greek key is a conserved mitogenic motif in these two jacalin-related lectins BanLec and Malay BanLec, and further highlight the potential to rationally engineer antiviral lectins for therapeutic purposes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/chemistry*
  18. Mohammed RR, Chong MF
    J Environ Manage, 2014 Jan;132:237-49.
    PMID: 24321284 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.11.031
    Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) treatment has always been a topic of research in Malaysia. This effluent that is extremely rich in organic content needs to be properly treated to minimize environmental hazards before it is released into watercourses. The main aim of this work is to evaluate the potential of applying natural, chemically and thermally modified banana peel as sorbent for the treatment of biologically treated POME. Characteristics of these sorbents were analyzed with BET surface area and SEM. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to remove color, total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), tannin and lignin, and biological oxygen demand (BOD) onto natural banana peel (NBP), methylated banana peel (MBP), and banana peel activated carbon (BPAC) respectively. The variables of pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time were investigated in this study. Maximum percentage removal of color, TSS, COD, BOD, and tannin and lignin (95.96%, 100%, 100%, 97.41%, and 76.74% respectively) on BPAC were obtained at optimized pH of 2, contact time of 30 h and adsorbent dosage of 30 g/100 ml. The isotherm data were well described by the Redlich-Peterson isotherm model with correlation coefficient of more than 0.99. Kinetic of adsorption was examined by Langergren pseudo first order, pseudo second order, and second order. The pseudo second order was identified to be the governing mechanism with high correlation coefficient of more than 0.99.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/chemistry*
  19. Zahid N, Ali A, Manickam S, Siddiqui Y, Maqbool M
    J Appl Microbiol, 2012 Oct;113(4):925-39.
    PMID: 22805053 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2012.05398.x
    To investigate the antifungal activity of conventional chitosan and chitosan-loaded nanoemulsions against anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. isolated from different tropical fruits.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/microbiology
  20. Alkarkhi AF, Ramli SB, Easa AM
    Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2009;60 Suppl 4:116-25.
    PMID: 19115121 DOI: 10.1080/09637480802609368
    Major (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium) and minor elements (iron, copper, zinc, manganese) and one heavy metal (lead) of Cavendish banana flour and Dream banana flour were determined, and data were analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques of factor analysis and discriminant analysis. Factor analysis yielded four factors explaining more than 81% of the total variance: the first factor explained 28.73%, comprising magnesium, sodium, and iron; the second factor explained 21.47%, comprising only manganese and copper; the third factor explained 15.66%, comprising zinc and lead; while the fourth factor explained 15.50%, comprising potassium. Discriminant analysis showed that magnesium and sodium exhibited a strong contribution in discriminating the two types of banana flour, affording 100% correct assignation. This study presents the usefulness of multivariate statistical techniques for analysis and interpretation of complex mineral content data from banana flour of different varieties.
    Matched MeSH terms: Musa/chemistry*
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