Plant seed oil is often incorporated into the cream emulsions to provide multifunctional effects on the skin. In the current study, pumpkin seed oil (PSO) was used to develop a stable oil-in-water emulsion. The study aimed to optimise PSO cream formulation and determine the synergistic effect of the PSO with vitamin E oil added. The physical properties, antioxidant activities and storage stability of the formulations were analysed. Besides, the synergistic effect of the best formulation was analysed based on α-tocopherol content using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). The storage stability test was assessed upon storing at 25 ± 2°C and 40 ± 2°C for 12 weeks. The best formulation (20% PSO, vitamin E oil and beeswax) selected showed physically and microbiologically stable. The incorporation of vitamin E oil into the formulation produced with PSO was found to be compatible, as it showed a synergistic effect in the amount of α-tocopherol content (combination index (CI) = 0.98). Thus, PSO had shown its potency to be incorporated into the topical products with a promising potential in delivering additional properties that can nourish the skin.
Postharvest, pea vine field residue (haulm) was steam-sterilised and then juiced; a chloroplast-rich fraction (CRF) was recovered from the juice by centrifugation. The stability of selected nutrients (β-carotene, lutein, and α-tocopherol) in the freeze-dried CRF material was measured over 84 days; the impact of temperature (-20 °C, 4 °C, 25 °C and 40 °C), light and air on nutrient stability was established. All three nutrients were stable at -20 °C and 4 °C in the presence or absence of air; this stability was lost at higher temperatures in the presence of air. The extent and rate of nutrient breakdown significantly increased when the CRF samples were exposed to light. β-Carotene appeared to be more susceptible to degradation than lutein and α-tocopherol at 40 °C in the presence of air, but when CRF was exposed to light all three nutrients measured were significantly broken down during storage at 25 °C or 40 °C, whether exposed to air or not.
The present study examined the contents of tocopherols and tocotrienols and their distribution in 58 different varieties of whole rice cultivated in Malaysia. The analytical method used was saponification of samples followed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography.
Understanding the mechanism of interaction between the oil palm and its key pathogen, Ganoderma spp. is crucial as the disease caused by this fungal pathogen leads to a major loss of revenue in leading palm oil producing countries in Southeast Asia. Here in this study, we assess the morphological and biochemical changes in Ganoderma disease infected oil palm seedling roots in both resistant and susceptible progenies. Rubber woodblocks fully colonized by G. boninense were applied as a source of inoculum to artificially infect the roots of resistant and susceptible oil palm progenies. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to measure an array of plant metabolites in 100 resistant and susceptible oil palm seedling roots treated with pathogenic Ganoderma boninense fungus. Statistical effects, univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify key-Ganoderma disease associated metabolic agitations in both resistant and susceptible oil palm root tissues. Ganoderma disease related defense shifts were characterized based on (i) increased antifungal activity in crude extracts, (ii) increased lipid levels, beta- and gamma-sitosterol particularly in the resistant progeny, (iii) detection of heterocyclic aromatic organic compounds, benzo [h] quinoline, pyridine, pyrimidine (iv) elevation in antioxidants, alpha- and beta-tocopherol (iv) degraded cortical cell wall layers, possibly resulting from fungal hydrolytic enzyme activity needed for initial penetration. The present study suggested that plant metabolites mainly lipids and heterocyclic aromatic organic metabolites could be potentially involved in early oil palm defense mechanism against G. boninense infection, which may also highlight biomarkers for disease detection, treatment, development of resistant variety and monitoring.