In the present work, the extended Theory of Planned Behaviour was utilised in order to exam- ine and unearth the consumer milk powder purchase intention after the milk powder scare. For this reason, a self-administered questionnaire was developed using established scales. Moreo- ver, a survey on 200 respondents was conducted in Penang, Malaysia through an online survey questionnaire. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) was utilised to analyse the data. The findings revealed that product knowledge, product involvement, and perceived benefit were positively and significantly related to purchase intention. Surprisingly, perceived risk and country of origin's image do not have any significant relationship with purchase inten- tion. Attitude, playing the role of the mediating variable in the present work, was discovered to have a mediating effect on the relationships among product knowledge, product involve- ment, perceived benefit, perceived risk, country of origin's image, and purchase intention regarding milk powder. The present work shines a new light on Malaysian consumers’ purchase intention towards milk powder. Furthermore, the results of the present work can be adopted as a source of reference by milk powder companies in order to formulate strategic marketing plans, for instance during the food scare crisis.
Protein-based films are thin and flexible films derived from protein sources. They are
completely biodegradable and used in food engineering, packaging, drug recovery, and other
applications. In food packaging, gelatin is widely used due to properties such as low cost,
availability, functional attributes, mechanical (flexibility and tension) and optical (brightness
and opacity) strength, barrier against gas flow, and structural resistance to water and
microorganisms. Therefore, this paper reviews the characterisation of biodegradable
protein-based films from gelatin alternatives, mainly from fish and chicken skin, as food
packaging materials. The properties of film packaging derived from gelatin alternatives were
compared with films derived from mammalian gelatin. The findings showed that the blended
gelatin alternatives with polysaccharide improved physical properties such as water vapour
permeability, gas permeability, light transmission and transparency, thermal properties,
microstructure, colour, and heat sealability. Moreover, improvements in mechanical
properties such as tensile strength and elongation at break were also investigated. This review
also comes out with suggestions for future research on the compatibility between gelatin films
and food ingredients. This paper provides a comprehensive overview that promotes the
development of biodegradable blended films from gelatin alternatives for packaging
applications in the food industry and related fields.
The present work aimed to investigate the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice of
prophetic food consumption among UniSZA students. The present work was conducted from
September 2017 until April 2018 at the UniSZA Gong Badak Campus, Terengganu. In this
cross-sectional study, a total of 217 students were recruited by convenience purposive
sampling method. A questionnaire was based on the prophetic food consumption details,
consisting of four sections, namely; demographic data, knowledge, attitude, and practice of
the consumption. Reliability test found that the validity and internal consistency of the
questionnaire to be acceptable with a Cronbach Alpha value of 0.752. Data were analysed
using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet 2013 and SPSS version 21.0. The results showed that most
of the respondents had good knowledge of prophetic food consumption (45.6%). More than
half had a good level of attitude (66.4%), and only a minority of them (38.2%) had a poor
practice of prophetic food consumption. Based on Independent t-test and One-Way ANOVA
statistical test, there was a significant difference in the mean attitude scores between male and
female students, mean attitude and practice scores between the three age groups, mean
knowledge scores between the three fields of study groups, and mean knowledge, attitude, and
practice scores between the four religions. A positive correlation was observed for the three
domains, namely between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.71), knowledge and practice (ρ =
0.37), and attitude and practice (ρ = 0.43), based on Spearman or Pearson correlation test. In
conclusion, the importance of prophetic food must be highlighted and shared among
multi-religious university students for them to be more familiar with the relevant health and
sustainability issues. The students may employ effective attitude and behaviour towards the
practical implementation of prophetic food if they are provided with more integrated
knowledge in the learning environment of the university.
The aim of the present work was to develop chicken skin gelatin films incorporated with
different concentrations of rice starch prepared by casting techniques. Six film-forming
solutions were prepared separately with different blend ratios of chicken skin gelatin to rice
starch: A (0/100), B (5/100), C (10/100), D (15/100), E (20/100), and F (25/100). The
rheological properties of the film-forming solutions (FFS) were determined using frequency
sweep. The mechanical and physical properties of the respective films were also evaluated.
With the increase in rice starch concentration, the storage (G’) modulus of FFS increased
dramatically with loss (G”) modulus as the oscillatory frequency rising to contribute to gel
behaviour (G’ > G”). As rice starch concentration increased, the chicken skin gelatin films
also demonstrated higher tensile strength, elongation at break, and water vapour permeability,
but reduced the solubility of gelatin films in water. Additionally, elevation in melting point
values indicated that the thermal stability of the composite films was enhanced with the
increment of rice starch concentration. Film F (with 25% rice starch) yielded the optimal film
formulation, as it had the highest tensile strength and a high elongation at break value. Thus,
film F shows the best potential as a film for food packaging.
The experimental water flux of the forward osmosis (FO) process is much lower than the
theoretical flux due to the existence of the internal concentration polarisation (ICP), external
concentration polarisation (ECP), and membrane fouling. In the present work, vibration was
integrated with the FO process to enhance water flux in water and Mao (Antidesma bunius L.
Spreng) juice concentration. In addition, the capability of the FO process in preserving
phytochemicals was studied. The use of the vibration assisted technique could enhance the
water flux up to 23% during the FO process of distilled water due to the reduction of ICP, and
a much higher water flux enhancement (up to 70%) was attained during the FO of Mao juice
due to the reduction of ICP, ECP, and fouling. Phytochemicals including total phenolic
compounds, anthocyanin, and ascorbic acid were preserved up to 82.7, 72.6, and 95.9%,
respectively. These results suggest that membrane vibration is a promising technique for the
enhancement of the FO process performance.
Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a perennial herbal species with a number of therapeutic properties. The leaves of S. rebaudiana are the most important part of the plant as they contain high
level of sweetener compounds known as steviol glycosides; which are known to possess
antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal activities. Among the steviol glycosides, stevioside
and rebaudioside A are the most abundant sweetening compounds of interest, documented to
be 30 - 250 folds sweeter than sucrose or refined sugar. The therapeutic properties of the
species make it more interesting as they play important roles as anti-hyperglycaemic agent to
lower glucose levels in the blood, thus commonly used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus
and obesity. Known to have sweet tasting leaves, its extract which contains antioxidant
compounds have been used to treat cancer, reduce inflammatory, and hypertension. S. rebaudiana has drawn the attention of health-conscious fitness lovers all over the world as non-caloric sweetener, and has been widely cultivated for being the most suitable sweetening substitution.
Strobilanthes crispus and Clinacanthus nutans are popular herbal plants in the Southeast
Asian region. The present work was aimed at determining the antioxidant activities and the
associated components in the leaf extracts of both species using polar and non-polar solvents
namely water, methanol, ethyl acetate, and hexane. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total
flavonoid content (TFC) were higher in the leaf extracts of S. crispus as compared to C.
nutans. Among the solvents, methanol was the best solvent in extracting the antioxidant
components for S. crispus (TPC: 159.85 ± 0.89 mg GAE/g extract and TFC: 955.47 ± 2.66 mg
RE/g extract). However, for C. nutans, its methanolic extract yielded the highest TPC (36.39
± 0.17 mg GAE/g extract), whereas ethyl acetate yielded the highest TFC (229.61 ± 7.81 mg
RE/g extract). The high levels of both TPC and TFC contributed to the antioxidant activities
of S. crispus extract as reflected in the methanolic extract attaining the highest level of
antioxidant activities, measured by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (6.84 ± 1.12
mmol Fe2+/g extract), DPPH radical scavenging (IC50: 203.60 ± 7.28 μg/mL), and Trolox
equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) (1.01 ± 0.01 mmol TE/g extract) assays. This
contrasted with C. nutans which showed lower antioxidant activities owing to its lower TPC
and TFC. Correlation analysis revealed significant correlations (p < 0.05, r = 0.915 - 0.985)
between both TPC and TFC in S. crispus and antioxidant activities. However, only TPC of C.
nutans showed a significant correlation with FRAP values (r = 0.934). Further tentative
identification of the constituents in the extracts using HPLC-ESI-QToF-MS/MS revealed the
existence of 20 polyphenolic compounds in both S. crispus and C. nutans, which were likely
responsible for their antioxidant activities. In addition, 15 polyphenolic compounds classified
as chalcones, isoflavanoids, flavones, and flavonols have not been previously reported in both
species. The methanolic extracts of both species yielded a higher content of antioxidants, with
S. crispus offering a richer source of dietary antioxidants as compared to C. nutans. However,
further study is needed to identify their bioactivities in relation to their bioactive components.
The present work studies the profiling of phenolic bioactive and in vitro biological (anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial) activities of different solvent extracts from Withania
somnifera fruit. Anticancer activity was performed using potato-disc assay and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. While antibacterial and antifungal evaluation was done by using disc diffusion method against bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and
Klebsiella pneumonia) and fungal (Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium oxysporum) strains.
Among different extraction solvents used, n-hexane extract exhibited the highest inhibition of
tumour initiation (64%), whereas ethyl acetate (15%) was the lowest by using potato-disc
assay. Highest total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were noted for methanolic (69.10
GAE mg/g DW%) and n-hexane (29.45 CE mg/g DW%) extracts, respectively. For antioxidant potential, 2,2,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging (IC50) and reducing power EC50 were noted to be superior (0.6 and 2.0 mg/mL, respectively) for n-hexane
extract. All the tested extracts showed considerable antibacterial and antifungal activity with
the highest growth inhibition zones for K. pneumoniae (31.70 mm) and A. flavus (27.09 mm)
were shown by n-hexane extract. High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) analysis of individual phenolics (gallic acid, 2,288.48 mg/kg) indicated the highest contents of these
compounds in n-hexane extract, which might explain the potent biological activities of this
extract. Our findings revealed that the bioactive present in the tested fruit had significant
potential as anticancer, antibacterial, and antifungal agents. Further studies are needed to
elucidate the mechanism of actions of isolated bioactive against specific diseases such as
cancer, especially in the case of n-hexane fraction.
The present work investigated the impact of several juice extraction methods (blender,
centrifugal juicer, and slow juicer) and thermal pasteurisation (72°C, 15 s) on the different
properties [physicochemical, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, and functional] of
Clinacanthus nutans juice mix during storage (28 d, 4°C). Regardless of juicing technique, all
juices had similar colour and antioxidants [tested using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) methods]. The juices also had similar
PPO activity and sensory acceptance in terms of colour, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel, and
overall acceptability. The blender yielded juice with higher pH, soluble solids, and relative
viscosity than other methods. The slow juicer was the best at retaining ascorbic acid (39.33 ±
3.06 mg/100 mL), while the blender was best at retaining phenolic compounds (11.82 ± 0.12
mg gallic acid equivalents/100 mL) and chlorophyll (6.95 ± 0.31 μg/mL). Pasteurisation
negatively affected the colour, functional properties, and sensory characteristics (colour,
aroma, flavour, and mouthfeel) of the juice.
The window of maximum susceptibility for the development of dental fluorosis for anterior
teeth is during the first two to three years of life. The primary source of fluoride intake for
infants at this age is mainly from the diet including infant formula. Thus, the present work
aimed to investigate the fluoride concentration in commercially available Malaysian infant
formulas that required reconstitution before consumption. A total of 29 infant formulas available in the Malaysian market were reconstituted with deionised water, fluoridated tap water,
and filtered tap water. The fluoride concentration of the infant formulas was analysed directly
using a fluoride ion selective electrode. The daily fluoride intake estimation from the infant
formulas was calculated using the median infant body weight and recommended volumes for
formula consumption from newborn to > 12 months of age. Results showed that the fluoride
concentration of the infant formulas when reconstituted with deionised water ranged between
0.009 to 0.197 mg/L that contributed to the estimated daily fluoride intake ranging from 0.005
to 0.100 mg (total intake per day) or 0.001 to 0.025 mg/kg (total intake per body weight/day).
The fluoride concentration in the selected infant formulas was low, but after reconstitution
with fluoridated tap water, the overall fluoride concentration in infant formulas sample significantly increased (p < 0.001). Nevertheless, the estimated daily fluoride intake from infant
formulas alone did not exceed the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) of fluoride
at 0.10 mg/kg/day.
The present work investigated the cytotoxicity capacity of the MDA-MB-231 (human
cancer-derived), A549 (human lung cancer-derived), Caov3 (human ovarian cancer-derived),
and HeLa (human cervical cancer-derived) cell lines on a wide range of tea leaves; green tea,
black tea, tea waste, and compost from Sabah. A group of male and female Sprague Dawley
rats was used to screen the sub-acute toxicity of green tea extract in tea leaves from Sabah for
28 d. Results revealed that the ethanol extract of tea leaves had strong cytotoxic activity
against all cancer lines. Tea waste showed higher cytotoxicity when extracted using hot water.
The ethanol extract of black tea leaves exhibited the highest inhibitory activity against the
proliferation of Caov3, whereas the ethanol extract of green tea leaves exhibited a promising
cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cell lines. Toxicity studies showed
decreased testes weight and increased liver weight in male rats that were administered with
5000 mg/kg of tea extract. This coincided with the significant increase portrayed by enzyme
alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in the serum of treated male rats in the 5000 mg/kg dose
group. Moreover, there was an increase of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and ALT for the
female rats in the 5000 mg/kg dose group. The increased levels of ALT and ALP enzymes, as
well as liver weight, signified mechanical trauma in the liver of male and female rats in the
5000 mg/kg dose group.
Volvariella volvacea (Family: Plutaceae), also more commonly known as paddy straw mushroom, is an edible mushroom with high nutritional content. It is usually cultivated using lignocellulosic-based materials for enhanced production. However, V. volvacea is highly perishable and easily deteriorates in terms of quality and appearance after harvest. The present paper thus aimed to provide a critical review on aspects related to the production of V. volvacea using palm oil empty fruit bunch as cultivation substrate. The different stages of V. volvacea development are also highlighted. The present review also provides some information on the preservation techniques and appropriate postharvest management in extending V. volvacea shelf life to further boost the paddy straw mushroom industry
Water kefir is the product of a brown sugar solution fermented with water kefir grains. To produce starter cultures for manufacturing commercial water kefir on an industrial scale, six lactic acid bacteria (LAB), three acetic acid bacteria (AAB), and two yeast strains have been isolated from local water kefir grains, and in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity has been investigated. Five of the 11 isolates (LAB [K65, K9, K67], AAB [A5], and yeast [Y6]) showed high α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. They were then tested in an in vitro gastrointestinal tract tolerance test in which all demonstrated tolerance (40‒80% survival rate). These five strains, identified as Lactobacillus mali, Lactobacillus casei, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Gluconobacter hansenii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae; were then used to ferment water kefir beverages. The storage stability of the fermented beverage products was analysed during 28 days of storage at 4°C by measuring α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, microbial cell viability, and microbial survival in the beverage treated with simulated gastric juice. The water kefir beverage sample containing both pumpkin purée and brown sugar fermented using all five strains (109 CFU/mL LAB strains, 107 CFU/mL yeast strain, and 106 CFU/mL AAB strain) was the most suitable formulation because it achieved >50% α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and microbial survival rates of 106‒1010 CFU/mL viable LAB cells, 106‒107 CFU/mL viable AAB cells, and 105‒108 CFU/mL viable yeast cells during storage. Therefore, these five strains have potential to act as starters in the formulation of water kefir, which is an anti-hyperglycaemic beverage that can be used to manage type-2 diabetes mellitus.
Collagen from shortfin scad (Decapterus macrosoma) bone was extracted using varying concentrations of acetic acid. Yields of extracted collagen were 1.01 ± 0.09% and 1.31 ± 0.07% for 0.5 M and 0.7 M acetic acids, respectively. The pH values of commercial collagen and shortfin scad bone collagen extracted using acetic acids (0.5 M and 0.7 M) were 6.52 ± 0.03, 4.99 ± 0.04, and 5.32 ± 0.01, respectively. The functional group analysis for collagen showed that the Amide A, Amide II and Amide III bands have been detected. The microstructure study showed that the isolated collagen had a porous fibril network. Maximum solubility for the commercial collagen was observed at pH 3, while the collagens extracted with 0.5 M and 0.7 M acetic acids were similar at pH 8. Meanwhile, the relative viscosities for all collagens indicated increasing values with increasing temperatures. In conclusion, the shortfin scad bone collagen showed potential for use as an alternative collagen. Although the values for shortfin scad bone collagen extracted by 0.5 M and 0.7 M acetic acids were lower than the commercial one, the collagens exhibited similar properties.
SHAKE Technical Package outlines the policies and interventions in reducing population salt intake which includes five overarching elements needed to create a successful salt reduction programme followed by the five elements of the SHAKE Package for salt reduction that consist of (1) surveillance, (2) harness the industry, (3) adopt the standards for labelling and marketing, (4) knowledge, and (5) environment. The aim for the present work was to critically review the documents related to the dietary sodium reduction strategies in Malaysia as compared to the SHAKE Technical Package. This review involves online and physical document searches of documents related to dietary sodium reduction within the Ministry of Health Malaysia. Visits to each related department via a liaison officer were done for clarification about the documents. Data was sorted according to the SHAKE Framework and a SWOT analysis was done. A total of 32 documents related to salt reduction policies and 15 health education materials were identified. Malaysia’s salt reduction policies comply to four out of five overarching elements of a successful salt reduction program with the presence of political commitment, dedicated programme leadership and governance, partnership with other ministries and stakeholders and integration with iodine deficiency elimination programme. For the SHAKE Package, Malaysia’s policies comply with all the five SHAKE Package elements. However, further investigation revealed that the food products involved in the food reformulation programme were limited. The SWOT analysis revealed that Malaysia has developed a specific plan for a national salt reduction strategy by producing its own Salt Reduction Strategy to Prevent and Control Non-Communicable Diseases for Malaysia Guidelines 2015-2020. Currently, there is no comprehensive database on the salt content of processed foods in Malaysia mainly due to the absence of mandatory labelling for sodium content in processed foods, which is a significant threat to the implementation of salt reduction initiative in the country. Pro-active non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society groups advocating salt reduction in the community is needed to place salt high on the political and developmental agenda Salt reduction strategy as a policy in Malaysia includes almost all recommendations in the SHAKE Framework Malaysia. However, it is still in its early stage.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are perishable commodities which play vital roles in humans’ diet and health. Unfortunately, the losses along the supply chain of fresh fruits and vegetables are high especially due to the decay caused by pathogens during poor postharvest handling. During postharvest, attempts have been made to combat microbial decay in fresh horticultural industry by avoiding the use of fungicides which threaten consumers’ health. Among those attempts, essential oils extracted from plants have been used as antimicrobial in postharvest and proven to be efficient in prolonging shelf life of fruits and vegetables without affecting their sensory properties. The glandular trichomes of plants are the important site for biosynthesis of essential oils and they act as defence system against herbivores and pathogens. Since essential oils are volatile aromatic compounds, the easily vaporised property has been exploited in postharvest application as fumigants. In addition, essential oils have also been incorporated into chitosan and alginate-based materials as edible coatings. Research in the use of essential oils as antimicrobial in Malaysia is however still lacking.
In the present work, the physicochemical properties namely fatty acid composition (FAC), iodine value (IV), acylglycerol content and thermal profiles of palm-based diacylglycerol (PDAG) in blend with soybean oil (SBO) at different concentrations (0-100 wt %) were evaluated. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra were determined at mid-infrared region to assign the functional groups. SBO exhibited the same absorption bands as PDAG except at wavelength of 1711, 1450, 1359, 850 and 779 cm-1. This phenomenon indicated that the absorption frequency of the binary mixtures greatly depended on the composition of oil samples. IV of the oil blends was found to decrease from 131.09 ± 0.88 I2/100 g to 51.55 ± 0.60 I2/100 g with increasing PDAG concentrations due to the reduced degree of unsaturation. Generally, binary blends with an increasing PDAG concentration showed a decrease in linoleic acid (C18:2) as well as increase in oleic acid (C18:1) and palmitic acid (C16:0) contents. The DAG content for all the blends increased from 5.15 ± 1.40% to 87.80 ± 0.33% and TAG content decreased from 94.85 ± 1.40% to 12.20 ± 0.33% in tandem with increasing PDAG content. Incorporation of PDAG into SBO significantly affected the crystallisation and melting profiles of SBO.
The present work was aimed to determine the physicochemical and sensory properties of Acacia honey lime ice cream incorporated with various types of hydrocolloids, including guar gum (GG), xanthan gum (XG), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The overrun, melting rate, hardness, colour, total soluble solid, microstructure, moisture content, pH, and sensory acceptability of the ice creams produced were characterised. The addition of 15% Acacia honey to the ice cream led to improvements in several characteristics as the hydrocolloids were incorporated. There were no significant differences in terms of total soluble solids, lightness, yellowness, pH and moisture content among all ice cream formulations. However, the overrun, melting rate, hardness, and redness values of ice cream experienced significant changes as hydrocolloids were added. Ice cream incorporated with GG had the highest overrun (9.30%), melting rate (48.33 mL/min) and a* (-1.68 ± 0.13) values. Meanwhile, ice cream incorporated with CMC was higher in hardness (1729.30 g), but lowest in terms of overrun (5.00%), melting rate (28.33 mL/min) and a* (-2.03 ± 0.35) values. An examination of the microstructure found differences in air cell sizes at the interfaces of different types of hydrocolloids. Sensory acceptability showed a significant difference between GG and other formulations. In conclusion, CMC in Acacia honey lime ice cream led to strong improvements in its physicochemical properties.
The effect of partial substitution of pumpkin flour for rice flour on the physical properties and sensory attributes of gluten-free muffin were investigated. Pumpkin flour was used to replace 10, 15 and 20% rice flour in a control gluten-free muffin formulation (without pumpkin flour). The partial substitution of pumpkin flour for rice flour did not affect moisture content of gluten-free muffins. However, the pumpkin flour substitution caused significant reduction in water activity of gluten-free muffins. Results on the volume, specific volume and height of all gluten-free muffins showed no significant effect with the increasing percentage of pumpkin flour substitution. However, pumpkin flour substitution significantly reduced the firmness of composite muffins, and improved its springiness. The colour of crumb progressively became darker as the level of pumpkin flour substitution increased. Moreover, the results also showed that the substitution of pumpkin flour caused an increase in yellowness (b*) value of crust and crumb of gluten-free muffin. Sensory evaluation indicated that all gluten-free muffins incorporated with pumpkin flour received similar score when compared to that of control.
The present work aims to optimise chicken skin gelatine/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) blended film formulation at varying concentrations of CMC and plasticiser (glycerol). The influence of CMC and plasticiser concentrations on the mechanical (tensile strength, TS and elongation at break, EAB) and physical (water vapour permeability, WVP) properties of chicken skin gelatine films were studied using central composite design (CCD), a full factorial design with all combinations of the factors at two levels (high, +1, and low, −1 levels), with the centre points (coded level 0) repeated thrice. An optimised formulation obtained as a proportional mixture of CMC (3%) and glycerol (0.78%), with tensile strength of 0.08 MPa, elongation at break of 167.57 and water vapour permeability of 6.08 × 10-9 g m-1s-1Pa-1. A formulation with 3% CMC and 0.78% glycerol yielded high TS and EAB, but lower WVP, which is desirable for production of food packaging. This novel research offers the packaging industry an alternative source for producing biodegradable food packaging films which are more cost-effective and at the same time reduce environmental problems.