In the present work, aqueous ethanolic (60% ethanol) extracts from selected Malaysian herbs
including Murraya koenigii L. Spreng, Lawsonia inermis L., Cosmos caudatus Kunth, Piper
betle L., and P. sarmentosum Roxb. were evaluated for their ergogenic, anti-diabetic and
antioxidant potentials. Results showed that the analysed herbs had ergogenic property and
were able to activate 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in a concentration dependant
manner. The highest AMPK activation was exhibited by M. koenigii extract which showed no
significant (p > 0.05) difference with green tea (positive control). For anti-diabetic potential,
the highest α-glucosidase inhibition was exhibited by M. koenigii extract with IC50 of 43.35
± 7.5 µg/mL, which was higher than acarbose (positive control). The determinations of free
radical scavenging activity and total phenolics content (TPC) indicated that the analysed herbs
had good antioxidant activity. However, C. caudatus extract showed superior antioxidant
activity with IC50 against free radical and TPC of 21.12 ± 3.20 µg/mL and 221.61 ± 7.49 mg
GAE/g, respectively. RP-HPLC analysis established the presence of flavonoids in the herbs
wherein L. inermis contained the highest flavonoid (catechin, epicatechin, naringin and rutin)
content (668.87 mg/kg of extract). Correlations between the analyses were conducted, and
revealed incoherent trends. Overall, M. koenigii was noted to be the most potent herb for
enhancement of AMPK activity and α-glucosidase inhibition but exhibited moderate antioxidant activity. These results revealed that the selected herbs could be potential sources of
natural ergogenic and anti-diabetic/antioxidant agents due to their rich profile of phenolics.
Further analysis in vivo should be carried out to further elucidate the mechanism of actions of
these herbs as ergogenic aids and anti-diabetic/antioxidant agents.
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.
The aims of this research were to investigate the present beverage choice preference of school
children and to examine the most preferred type of milk that is available in the market. As well as to determine the effect of personal and environmental factors on children’s intention to consume milk and its comparison between rural and urban area of Selangor. A total of 389 of 5th grade primary school children were selected in this study. This research was supported by social cognitive theory. Multiple linear regression, Pearson productmoment correlation, and cross-tabulation were used for forecasting the factors affecting to consumption of milk. It was found that the preferred beverages of children were: Mineral water, Milo, fruit juice, milk, yoghurt, Ribena, tea and soft drinks and it was the same amongst children in urban and rural areas. Among different types of milk, children preferred flavored milk rather than plain milk. Based on the findings, personal factors were more effective than environmental factors. To increase milk intake among children, marketers need to focus and strengthen the acceptability of milk and increase consumption by altering perception of milk advertisements. This article also profiled the children who are likely to drink milk based on personal and environmental factors in different areas.
This study was conducted to determine the total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) as well as the antioxidant activity of 50% ethanolic extracts from different parts of Camellia sinensis (shoot, young and matured leaves). Comparison was also made between black (fermented) and green (unfermented) tea. For green tea, the results showed that the shoot contained significantly higher total phenolic content, followed by the young and matured leaves (p
This study was done to determine the effects of different thermal drying methods (sun drying, microwave drying and hot air oven drying) on the total phenolic content (TPC), total anthocyanin content and the antioxidant properties of Vitex negundo (VN) tea. Significant decline (P < 0.05) in antioxidant properties of hot air oven drying shows that this method is not the best method to preserve antioxidant compounds in VN tea. As a conclusion, microwave drying has been found to be a good method for maintain the TPC, anthocyanin content and AEAC in dried sample of VN tea.
The yield and properties of cellulose produced from bacterial fermentation of black tea broth (known as Kombucha) were investigated in this study. The tea broth was fermented naturally over a period of up to 8 days in the presence of sucrose. Tea broth with a sucrose concentration of 90 g/l produced highest yield of bacterial cellulose (66.9%). The thickness and yield of bacterial cellulose increased with fermentation time. The bacterial cellulose production increased correspondingly with increased surface area:depth ratio. Changes in pH were related to the symbiotic metabolic activities of yeasts and acetic acid bacteria, and the counts of both of these in the tea broths were relatively higher than those in the cellulose layer. Findings from this study suggest that the yield of cellulose depends on many factors that need to be optimized to achieve maximum yield.
The use of herbal preparations remained the main approach of folk medicine to the treatment of ailments and debilitating diseases. Initial intensive researches conducted on Lemongrass extracts (tea) may have showed conflicting evidences, however the resurgence in claims of folk medicine practitioners necessitated further inquiry into the efficacy of the tea. Lemongrass tea contains several biocompounds in its decoction, infusion and essential oil extracts. Anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-obesity, antinociceptive, anxiolytic and antihypertensive evidences of lemongrass tea were clearly elucidated to support initial pharmacological claims. Lemongrass tea was non-toxic, non-mutagenic and receives wide acceptance among alternative medicine practitioners in several developing countries. This review therefore presents previous research activities, technologies and information surrounding bioactivities of lemongrass tea. Areas of future researches which may elucidate mechanisms of the biological properties of lemongrass extracts were highlighted.
Honey is a sweet substance that can be obtain from flower nectar and secretes through transformations process by honey bees. The aim of this study was to compare the antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase activities of 4 wild honey (wild honey produced by different species of bees: Apis cerana, Apis andreniformis, Apis koschevnikovi and Apis nuluensis) collected from the secondary forest and 6 commercial (young and old Mangrove, young and old Upper mountain, Tropical, Potiukan) honey of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Antioxidant activities were determined using FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power), DPPH free radical scavenging and ABTS decolourization assays. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition effect was determined by enzyme inhibition method. The results of this study showed that wild honey produced by A.cerana collected from the Acacia tree extracted using 80% methanol displayed the highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity and ABTS decolorization assays. Whereas wild honey produced by A.nuluensis collected from the Chestnut tree extracted using 80% methanol displayed the highest FRAP activity. The wild honey produced by A. nuluensis also displayed the highest acetylcholinesterase properties as the antioxidant compounds contributed to the inhibitory properties of the enzyme. Manuka honey (produced from tea tree) found to be higher in antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase properties as compared to all other samples. The same trend of bioactivity was also observed in absolute methanol extracts. Strong positive correlation was found between antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase activity. Therefore, honey has the potential as natural antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition sources with promising potential benefits to human’s health.
Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. F.) Lindau or locally known in Sabah, Malaysia as ‘Sabah Snake Grass’ has been ethnobotanically used to treat various diseases in Asian countries. This study was conducted to determine the total phenolics content (TPC), flavonoids content (TFC) and antioxidant activity of herbal teas developed from C. nutans leaves with different drying techniques (microwave-oven dried and freeze dried) and infusion time (1, 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 min). Ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline- 6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-pycryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assays were used to investigate the antioxidant capacity. The highest TPC of herbal tea was observed in 20 min infusion of unfermented microwave-oven dried leaves (177.80 ± 19.10 mg TAE/L), while the highest TFC was observed in 10 min infusion of fermented microwave-oven dried leaves (22.13 ± 1.53 mg CE/L). Short infusion times from 5 min to 15 min were able to extract high amount of phenolics compounds. Unfermented tea contained higher TPC content (P < 0.05) as compared to fermented tea, while, TFC showed no significant difference between both types. Freeze dried infusion shows no significant difference (P > 0.05) as compared to microwave-oven dried for TPC, TFC and antioxidant capacity. Moderate and low correlation was observed between TPC and FRAP values (r = 0.507) and between TFC and ABTS values (r = 0.256). Preparation of C. nutans herbal tea as potential natural antioxidant source can be used as a basic reference for future research on the dietary intake of these herbal teas.
Natural preservatives having the great antioxidant and antimicrobial activity have been utilized in the food industry for many years. In the present study, the effect of of two brands of commercial Assam green tea infusion (represented by A and B) and 0.02% BHA/BHT on microbial growth, anti-lipid oxidation and color change were investigated in cooked beef. The green tea concentration has influenced to the results. It was found that A and B at the concentration of 250 mg/mL significantly reduced the population of Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli in the cooked beef to an undetectable level within 2 days of storage at 4oC. A and B also exhibited higher anti-lipid oxidation activity compared to 0.02% BHA/BHT, and control. Assam green tea infusions in cooked beef significantly increased ∆ L*
value and decreased ∆ a* and ∆ b* value (p ≤ 0.05). These indicate that Assam green tea infusion might be a potential candidate as a natural preservative for beef and other types of food.
Antioxidant capacity of Ocimum tenuiflorum L. or ‘ruku’ were determined in this study. Fresh
leaves of Ocimum tenuiflorum was subjected to freeze drying, vacuum drying and processed
into fermented and unfermented tea. The samples were extracted using distilled water and the
total phenolics, total flavonoids, condensed tannin content, anthocyanins and total antioxidant
capacity (TAC) were assessed, measured with ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)
and 1,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity (DPPH) assays. The results
showed that drying the fresh leaves of Ocimum tenuiflorum and processing them into tea leaves
significantly increase (P < 0.05) the antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, total flavonoid
content, and condensed tannin content. However, anthocyanins content showed reduction
after drying. In the present study, it can be concluded that the vacuum drying method seem
to produce a product with higher quality of antioxidant properties than freeze drying. Hence,
vacuum drying can be used to replace freeze drying as it is also cheaper than freeze drying.
The nature of caffeine reveals that it is a bitter white crystalline alkaloid. It is a common ingredient in a variety of drinks (soft and energy drinks) and is also used in combination with various medicines. In order to maintain the optimum level of caffeine, various spectrophotometric methods have been developed. The monitoring of caffeine is very important aspect because of its consumption in higher doses that can lead to various physiological disorders. This paper incorporates various spectrophotometric methods used in the analysis of caffeine in various environmental samples such as pharmaceuticals, soft and energy drinks, tea, and coffee. A range of spectrophotometric methodologies including chemometric techniques and derivatization of spectra have been used to analyse the caffeine.
In the present work, four types of newly chosen municipal solid wastes (Panax ginseng, spent tea residue, waste cotton cloth, and old corrugated cardboard) were studied as the promising sources for nanocellulose, which has efficiently re-engineered the structure of waste products into highly valuable nanocellulose materials. The nanocellulose was produced directly via a facile one-pot oxidative hydrolysis process by using H2O2/Cr(NO3)3 solution as the bleaching agent and hydrolysis medium under acidic condition. The isolated nanocellulose products were well-characterized in terms of chemical composition, product yield, morphological structure and thermal properties. The study has found that the crystallinity index of the obtained nanocellulose products were significantly higher (62.2-83.6%) than that of its starting material due to the successive elimination of lignin, hemicellulose and amorphous regions of cellulose, which were in good agreement with the FTIR analysis. The evidence of the successful production of nanocellulose was given by TEM observation which has revealed the fibril widths were ranging from 15.6 to 46.2nm, with high cellulose content (>90%), depending on the cellulosic origin. The physicochemical properties of processed samples have confirmed that the isolation of high purity nanocellulose materials from different daily spent products is possible. The comparative study can help to provide a deep insight on the possibility of revalorizing the municipal solid wastes into nanocellulose via the simple and versatile one-pot isolation system, which has high potential to be used in commercial applications for sustainable development.
Aspirin is a prevalent over-the-counter medicine that has been categorized as an emerging contaminant due to its danger to both living things and the environment. This work presents chitosan modified with spent tea waste extract (STWE) via the wet impregnation method as an adsorbent for the enhanced removal of aspirin in a fixed-bed column. The adsorbent (named chitosan-STWE) was successfully synthesized and exhibited a low crystallinity structure, good stability against thermal and acidic conditions, as depicted by HNMR, XRD, TGA, and the dissolution rate of the adsorbent. The adsorption column study reveals that increasing bed height (up to 6 cm) increases the percentage of aspirin removal (up to 40.8 %). Increasing aspirin concentration enhances the amount of aspirin that comes into contact with the chitosan-STWE adsorbent, thereby increasing the adsorption capacity. On the other hand, higher flow rates result in shorter contact times between the adsorbent and adsorbates, which lowers the quantity of aspirin adsorbed. The experimental data are in accordance with the values generated by the Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models, with the maximum adsorption capacity of 61.7 mg/g. The chitosan-STWE adsorbent was determined to be non-toxic, thus safe to be used in wastewater treatment applications.
The epidemiological evidence regarding the association of coffee and tea consumption with prostate cancer risk is inconclusive, and few cohort studies have assessed these associations by disease stage and grade. We examined the associations of coffee (total, caffeinated and decaffeinated) and tea intake with prostate cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Among 142,196 men, 7,036 incident prostate cancer cases were diagnosed over 14 years of follow-up. Data on coffee and tea consumption were collected through validated country-specific food questionnaires at baseline. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Models were stratified by center and age, and adjusted for anthropometric, lifestyle and dietary factors. Median coffee and tea intake were 375 and 106 mL/day, respectively, but large variations existed by country. Comparing the highest (median of 855 mL/day) versus lowest (median of 103 mL/day) consumers of coffee and tea (450 vs. 12 mL/day) the HRs were 1.02 (95% CI, 0.94-1.09) and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.90-1.07) for risk of total prostate cancer and 0.97 (95% CI, 0.79-1.21) and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.70-1.13) for risk of fatal disease, respectively. No evidence of association was seen for consumption of total, caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee or tea and risk of total prostate cancer or cancer by stage, grade or fatality in this large cohort. Further investigations are needed to clarify whether an association exists by different preparations or by concentrations and constituents of these beverages.
In vitro and animal studies suggest that bioactive constituents of coffee and tea may have anticarcinogenic effects against cutaneous melanoma; however, epidemiological evidence is limited to date. We examined the relationships between coffee (total, caffeinated or decaffeinated) and tea consumption and risk of melanoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). EPIC is a multicentre prospective study that enrolled over 500,000 participants aged 25-70 years from ten European countries in 1992-2000. Information on coffee and tea drinking was collected at baseline using validated country-specific dietary questionnaires. We used adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations between coffee and tea consumption and melanoma risk. Overall, 2,712 melanoma cases were identified during a median follow-up of 14.9 years among 476,160 study participants. Consumption of caffeinated coffee was inversely associated with melanoma risk among men (HR for highest quartile of consumption vs. non-consumers 0.31, 95% CI 0.14-0.69) but not among women (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.62-1.47). There were no statistically significant associations between consumption of decaffeinated coffee or tea and the risk of melanoma among both men and women. The consumption of caffeinated coffee was inversely associated with melanoma risk among men in this large cohort study. Further investigations are warranted to confirm our findings and clarify the possible role of caffeine and other coffee compounds in reducing the risk of melanoma.
The present work proposed a novel approach for transferring high-risk heavy metals tometal complexes via green chemistry remediation. The method of remediation of heavy metals developed in the present work is a great challenge for global environmental sciences and engineering because it is a totally environmentally friendly procedure in which black tea extract solution is used. The FTIR study indicates that black tea contains enough functional groups (OH and NH), polyphenols and conjugated double bonds. The synthesis of copper complex was confirmed by the UV-vis, XRD and FTIR spectroscopic studies. The XRD and FTIR analysis reveals the formation of complexation between Cu metal complexes and Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) (PVA) host matrix. The study of optical parameters indicates that PVA-based hybrids exhibit a small optical band gap, which is close to inorganic-based materials. It was noted that the absorption edge shifted to lower photon energy. When Cu metal complexes were added to PVA polymer, the refractive index was significantly tuned. The band gap shifts from 6.2 eV to 1.4 eV for PVA incorporated with 45 mL of Cu metal complexes. The nature of the electronic transition in hybrid materials was examined based on the Taucs model, while a close inspection of the optical dielectric loss was also performed in order to estimate the optical band gap. The obtained band gaps of the present work reveal that polymer hybrids with sufficient film-forming capability could be useful to overcome the drawbacks associated with conjugated polymers. Based on the XRD results and band gap values, the structure-property relationships were discussed in detail.
The increasing occurrence of hospital-acquired infections and the emerging problems posed by antibiotic-resistant microbial strains have both contributed to the escalating cost of treatment. The presence of infection at the wound site can potentially stall the healing process at the inflammatory stage, leading to the development of a chronic wound. Traditional wound treatment regimes can no longer cope with the complications posed by antibiotic-resistant strains; hence, there is a need to explore the use of alternative antimicrobial agents. Pre-antibiotic compounds, including heavy metal ions and essential oils, have been re-investigated for their potential use as effective antimicrobial agents. Essential oils have potent antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and other beneficial therapeutic properties. Similarly, heavy metal ions have also been used as disinfecting agents because of their broad spectrum activities. Both of these alternative antimicrobials interact with many different intracellular components, thereby resulting in the disruption of vital cell functions and eventually cell death. This review will discuss the application of essential oils and heavy metal ions, particularly tea tree oil and silver ions, as alternative antimicrobial agents for the treatment of chronic, infected wounds.
137 Cs is well known man-made radionuclide produced from nuclear industry. Nuclear weapon tests and nuclear accidents had contributed to presence of 137 Cs into the worldwide environment including Malaysia. It has spread out to the entire world through the air and water current. Since Cameron Highlands is located at high altitude, there is a better chance of the 137 Cs to settle down on the trees and later the soil underneath. In this study, the soil samples were taken at the slopes of two different tea plantation areas namely A and B. The soil samples were oven dried, ground, sieved and packed and sealed properly in plastic containers before measurement. Each plastic container contains around 450 g of sample. The measurement of 137 Cs activity concentration was done using HPGe detector gamma spectrometer. The spectrum was analyzed using Gamma Vision software to calculate the activity concentration of 137 Cs with energy peak of 661.66 keV. The activity concentration of 137 Cs found in the samples ranged from 0.23 to 1.90 and 0.11 to 3.01 Bq/kg for tea plantation A and tea plantation B, respectively. From the activity concentration of 137 Cs result, it was comparable to the others research regarding to 137 Cs in the soil around Asian.