Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 123 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Fulltext Proteins are potent biomarkers to detect colon cancer progression
    Kuppusamy P, Govindan N, Yusoff MM, Ichwan SJA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2017 Sep;24(6):1212-1221.
    PMID: 28855814 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2014.09.017
    Colon cancer is the most common type of cancer and major cause of death worldwide. The detection of colon cancer is difficult in early stages. However, the secretory proteins have been used as ideal biomarker for the detection of colon cancer progress in cancer patients. Serum/tissue protein expression could help general practitioners to identify colon cancer at earlier stages. By this way, we use the biomarkers to evaluate the anticancer drugs and their response to therapy in cancer models. Recently, the biomarker discovery is important in cancer biology and disease management. Also, many measurable specific molecular components have been studied in colon cancer therapeutics. The biomolecules are mainly DNA, RNA, metabolites, enzymes, mRNA, aptamers and proteins. Thus, in this review we demonstrate the important protein biomarker in colon cancer development and molecular identification of protein biomarker discovery.
  2. Fulltext Insecticide susceptibility status in two medically important mosquito vectors, Anopheles gambiae, and Culex quinquefasciatus to three insecticides commonly used in Niger State, Nigeria
    Kura Shehu I, Ahmad HB, Kayode Olayemi I, Solomon D, Hassan Ahmad A, Salim H
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2023 Feb;30(2):103524.
    PMID: 36660609 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103524
    High resistance ability on insecticides among major mosquito vectors of diseases in Nigeria is of growing concern for severe control strategies. The objective of this study was to assess the susceptibility status of females Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus complexes mosquitoes to permethrin (21.5 μg/bottle-pyrethroids), propoxur(12.5 μg/bottle-carbamate) and malathion (50 μg/bottle organophosphate), in Niger State, North-Central, Nigeria. Anopheline and Culecine larvae were collected from the larval habitats of the studied sites (Bosso, Katcha, Lapai, and Shiroro) larvae and pupae were identified guided by standard keys and reared to adults in troughs. Insecticide susceptibility bioassays were performed according to the CDC bottle bioassay standard operating procedures on 3 days old, sugar-fed female Anopheles and Culex mosquitoes. Post-exposure mortality after 24hr and knockdown values for KDT50 were calculated. Knock-down at 1-hour insecticide exposure ranged (84-96 %) permethrin, (94-100 %) propoxur and (100 %) malathion for An. gambiae and (86-97 %) permethrin, (92-100 %) propoxur and (96-100 %) malathion for Cx. quinquefasciatus. Mortality, after 24hr post-exposure was 100 % in malathion, indicating the high effect of the insecticide. Tested samples were found potentially resistant to permethrin recorded against mosquitoes collected from all study sites, in two locations of the study sites to propoxur and one location site to malathion. All the tested mosquitoes were found to be potentially resistant to permethrin, however, mosquitoes tested in Katcha and Shiroro resist potentially to propoxur. Except, Culex quinqufasciatus from Lapai that partially resist malathion, all the tested mosquitoes were found to be susceptible to malathion, across the study sites.
  3. Fulltext In silico proteolysis and analysis of bioactive peptides from sequences of fatty acid desaturase 3 (FAD3) of flaxseed protein
    Langyan S, Khan FN, Yadava P, Alhazmi A, Mahmoud SF, Saleh DI, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Oct;28(10):5480-5489.
    PMID: 34588858 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.08.027
    Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum), commonly known as linseed is an oilseed crop, emerging as an important and functional ingredient of food and has been paid more attention due to its nutritional value as well as beneficial effects. It is mainly rich in is α-linolenic acid (ALA, omega-3 fatty acid), fibres and lignans that have potential health benefits in reducing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, arthritis, neurological and autoimmune disorders. Due to its richness in omega-3 fatty acid, a group of enzymes known as fatty acid desaturases (FADs) mainly introduce double bonds into fatty acids' (FAs) hydrocarbon chains that produce unsaturated fatty acids. Fatty acid desaturase 3 (FAD3), the commonest microsomal enzyme of omega-3 fatty acid, synthesizes linolenic acid (C18:3) from linoleic acid located in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) facing towards the cytosol. The emerging field of bioinformatics and large number of databases of bioactive peptides, helps in providing time-saving and efficient method for identification of potential bioactivities of any protein. In this study, 10 unique sequences of FAD3 from flaxseed protein have been used for in silico proteolysis and releasing of various bioactive peptides using three plant proteases, namely ficin, papain and stem bromelain, that are evaluated with the help of BIOPEP database. Overall, 20 biological activities were identified from these proteins. The results showed that FAD3 protein is a potential source of peptides with angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) activities, and also various parameters such as ∑A, ∑B, AE, W, BE, V and DHt were also calculated. Furthermore, PeptideRanker have been used for screening of novel promising bioactive peptides. Various bioinformatics tools also used to study protein's physicochemical properties, peptide's score, toxicity, allergenicity aggregation, water solubility, and drug likeliness. The present work suggests that flaxseed protein can be a good source of bioactive peptides for the synthesis of good quality and quantity of oil, and in silico method helps in investigating and production of functional peptides.
  4. Fulltext The effect and action mechanism of resveratrol on the vascular endothelial cell by high glucose treatment
    Liu X, Tian J, Bai Q, Ashraf MA, Sarfraz M, Zhao B
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Jan;23(1):S16-21.
    PMID: 26858561 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.06.021
    To investigate the effect and action mechanism of resveratrol on the vascular endothelial cell by high glucose treatment. Primarily cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were pretreated by resveratrol (0.2 μmol/L) and holding for 6 h, and then cultured in Dulbecco Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) within 0.45 mmol/L of palmimte acid and 32.8 mmol/L of glucose, which is holding for 12 h. The cells were collected to analyze the expression of E-selected element. Supernatant of cultured cells, induced by 100 nmol/L insulin for 30 min, was used to analyze the nitric oxide content. Compared with normal control cells, the secretion of nitric oxide is stimulated by insulin decrease, however, the expression of E-selected element increased in HUVEC. Resveratrol treatment increased the secretion of nitric oxide stimulated by insulin and decreased the expression of E-selected element and partly counteracts the impairment of high glucose and palmitate acid on the function of endothelial cells. Resveratrol can improve and protect the function of high glucose and fatty acid cultured endothelial cell, and therefore may be a promising medicine in the prevention or therapy of diabetic macrovascular diseases.
  5. Fulltext Function of PD-L1 in antitumor immunity of glioma cells
    Lou Y, Shi J, Guo D, Qureshi AK, Song L
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2017 May;24(4):803-807.
    PMID: 28490949 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.06.025
    Human glioma is a highly fatal tumor with a significant feature of immune suppression. The functions of PD-L1 refer to co-simulation and immune regulation. To investigate expression and functional activity of PD-L1 in human glioma cell in vivo and in vitro. Expressions of PD-L1mRNA and protein in the human glioma cell line were analyzed with quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometer; and then expression of PD-L1 in tissue specimens of 10 glioma patients was treated with immunohistochemical analysis; glioma cell and allogeneic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were co-cultured, and cytokine IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-10 in cultured supernatant fluid were determined with ELISA; upon blocking the interaction between glioma cell and the immune cell with PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (5H1), surface markers on immune cells were analyzed using flow cytometer. All human glioma cell lines constitutively expressed PD-L1, and IFN-γ induced glioma cell to highly express PD-L1. It was shown through immunohistochemical analysis that glioma specimen expressed PD-L1, while expression of PD-L1 was not observed in normal tissue and normal human brain near the tumor location. The release of IFN-γ and IL-2 was inhibited, while IL-10 was increased slightly. Glioma cell may escape from immune recognition and injury with the help of PD-L1, which is a significant pathogenic mechanism of glioma.
  6. Fulltext One-step synthesis of interpenetrating network hydrogels: Environment sensitivities and drug delivery properties
    Lu J, Li Y, Hu D, Chen X, Liu Y, Wang L, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Jan;23(1):S22-31.
    PMID: 26858562 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.06.012
    A novel interpenetrating network hydrogel for drug controlled release, composed of modified poly(aspartic acid) (KPAsp) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCTS), was prepared in aqueous system. The surface morphology and composition of hydrogels were characterized by SEM and FTIR. The swelling properties of KPAsp, KPAsp/CMCTS semi-IPN and KPAsp/CMCTS IPN hydrogels were investigated and the swelling dynamics of the hydrogels was analyzed based on the Fickian equation. The pH, temperature and salt sensitivities of hydrogels were further studied, and the prepared hydrogels showed extremely sensitive properties to pH, temperature, the ionic salts kinds and concentration. The results of controlled drug release behaviors of the hydrogels revealed that the introduction of IPN observably improved the drug release properties of hydrogels, the release rate of drug from hydrogels can be controlled by the structure of the hydrogels and pH value of the external environment, a relative large amount of drug released was preferred under simulated intestinal fluid. These results illustrated high potential of the KPAsp/CMCTS IPN hydrogels for application as drug carriers.
  7. Fulltext Protective effect of mangiferin on memory impairment: A systematic review
    Lum PT, Sekar M, Gan SH, Pandy V, Bonam SR
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Jan;28(1):917-927.
    PMID: 33424383 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.11.037
    Memory impairment (MI) is one of the predominant criteria generally used to identify schizophrenia, dementia and amnesia that are associated with neurodegenerative disorders by evaluating patient's cognitive symptoms. To date, there is no available treatment that can completely mitigate MI. Currently, there is a trend in recent investigations towards symptomatic therapy approaches using a variety of natural compounds. Mangiferin is one of them that have been investigated extensively. Mangiferin is a naturally occurring potent glucoxilxanthone and is mainly isolated from the Mangifera indica (Mango) plant. This review is aimed at providing a comprehensive overview on the efficacy of mangiferin on MI, based on in-vivo animal studies. After screening through articles identified from Scopus and PubMed based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 11 articles between 2009 and 2019 were included. The minimum and maximum dose of mangiferin were 10 and 200 mg/kg respectively and administered over the period of 12-154 days. The results of 11 articles showed that mangiferin effectively improved spatial recognition, episodic aversive events, short- and long-term memories primarily occurring via its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The outcomes of the review revealed that mangiferin improves memory and cognitive impairment in different animal models, indicating that it has potential preventive and therapeutic roles in MI.
  8. Fulltext Curcumin-loaded cockle shell-derived calcium carbonate nanoparticles: A novel strategy for the treatment of lead-induced hepato-renal toxicity in rats
    Mailafiya MM, Abubakar K, Chiroma SM, Danmaigoro A, Rahim EBA, Mohd Moklas MA, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Jun;27(6):1538-1552.
    PMID: 32489292 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.03.009
    Lead (Pb) toxicity affects the hepatic and renal systems resulting to homeostasis imbalance. Curcumin is a strong antioxidant but has restrained clinical applications due to its poor bioavailability. Nanomedicine showed promising potentials in drug delivery and has brought forth the use of cockle shell-derived aragonite calcium carbonate nanoparticles (CSCaCO3NP) to enhance the effectiveness and targeted delivery of curcumin (Cur). Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the therapeutic effect of curcumin-loaded CSCaCO3NP (Cur- CSCaCO3NP) on lead-induced hepato-renal toxicity in rats. Thirty-six male adults Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into five groups. All groups contained six rats each except for group A, which contained 12 rats. All rats apart from the rats in group A (control) were orally administered a flat dose of 50 mg/kg of lead for four weeks. Six rats from group A and B were euthanized after four weeks of lead induction. Oral administration of curcumin (100 mg/kg) for group C and Cur-CSCaCO3NP (50 and 100 mg/kg) for groups D and E respectively, commenced immediately after 4 weeks of lead induction which lasted for 4 weeks. All rats were euthanized at the 8th week of the experiment. Further, biochemical, histological and hematological analysis were performed. The findings revealed a biochemical, hematological and histological changes in lead-induced rats. However, treatments with the Cur-CSCaCO3NP and free curcumin reversed the aforementioned changes. Although, Cur-CSCaCO3NP presented better therapeutic effects on lead-induced toxicity in rats when compared to free curcumin as there was significant improvements in hematological, biochemical and histological changes which is parallel with attenuation of oxidative stress. The findings of the current study hold great prospects for Cur-CSCaCO3NP as a novel approach for effective oral treatment of lead-induced hepato-renal impairments.
  9. Fulltext Population structure and genetic diversity of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Penang as revealed by mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I
    Md Naim D, Kamal NZM, Mahboob S
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Mar;27(3):953-967.
    PMID: 32127775 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.01.021
    The population genetics study is crucial as it helps in understanding the epidemiological aspects of dengue and help improving a vector control measures. This research aims to investigate the population genetics structure of two common species of Aedes mosquitoes in Penang; Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus using Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) marker. Molecular investigations were derived from 440 bp and 418 bp mtDNA COI on 125 and 334 larvae of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus respectively, from 32 locations in Penang. All samples were employed in the BLASTn for species identification. The haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity, neutrality test and mismatch distribution analysis were conducted in DnaSP version 5.10.1. AMOVA analysis was conducted in ARLEQUIN version 3.5 and the phylogenetic reconstructions based on maximum likelihood (ML) and neighbor-joining (NJ) methods were implemented in MEGA X. The relationships among haplotypes were further tested by creating a minimum spanning tree using Network version 4.6.1. All samples were genetically identified and clustered into six distinct species. Among the species, Ae. albopictus was the most abundant (67.2%), followed by Ae. aegypti (25.2%) and the rest were counted for Culex sp. and Toxorhynchites sp. Both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus show low nucleotide diversity (π) and high haplotype diversity (h), while the neutrality test shows a negative value in most of the population for both species. There are a total of 39 and 64 haplotypes recorded for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus respectively. AMOVA analysis revealed that most of the variation occurred within population for both species. Mismatch distribution analysis showed bimodal characteristic of population differentiation for Ae. aegypti but Ae. albopictus showed unimodal characteristics of population differentiation. Genetic distance based on Tamura-Nei parameter showed low genetic divergent within population and high genetic divergent among population for both species. The maximum likelihood tree showed no obvious pattern of population genetic structure for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus from Penang and a moderate to high bootstrap values has supported this conclusion. The minimum spanning network for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus showed five and three dominant haplotypes respectively, which indicates a mixture of haplotypes from the regions analysed. This study revealed that there is no population genetic structure exhibited by both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Penang. Mutation has occurred rapidly in both species and this will be challenging in controlling the populations. However, further analysis needed to confirm this statement.
  10. Fulltext A new mathematical evaluation of smoking problem based of algebraic statistical method
    Mohammed MJ, Rakhimov IS, Shitan M, Ibrahim RW, Mohammed NF
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Jan;23(1):S11-5.
    PMID: 26858555 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.08.015
    Smoking problem is considered as one of the hot topics for many years. In spite of overpowering facts about the dangers, smoking is still a bad habit widely spread and socially accepted. Many people start smoking during their gymnasium period. The discovery of the dangers of smoking gave a warning sign of danger for individuals. There are different statistical methods used to analyze the dangers of smoking. In this study, we apply an algebraic statistical method to analyze and classify real data using Markov basis for the independent model on the contingency table. Results show that the Markov basis based classification is able to distinguish different date elements. Moreover, we check our proposed method via information theory by utilizing the Shannon formula to illustrate which one of these alternative tables is the best in term of independent.
  11. Fulltext Milk derived bioactive peptides and their impact on human health - A review
    Mohanty DP, Mohapatra S, Misra S, Sahu PS
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Sep;23(5):577-83.
    PMID: 27579006 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.06.005
    Milk-derived bioactive peptides have been identified as potential ingredients of health-promoting functional foods. These bioactive peptides are targeted at diet-related chronic diseases especially the non-communicable diseases viz., obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Peptides derived from the milk of cow, goat, sheep, buffalo and camel exert multifunctional properties, including anti-microbial, immune modulatory, anti-oxidant, inhibitory effect on enzymes, anti-thrombotic, and antagonistic activities against various toxic agents. Majority of those regulate immunological, gastrointestinal, hormonal and neurological responses, thereby playing a vital role in the prevention of cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension and other disorders as discussed in this review. For the commercial production of such novel bioactive peptides large scale technologies based on membrane separation and ion exchange chromatography methods have been developed. Separation and identification of those peptides and their pharmacodynamic parameters are necessary to transfer their potent functional properties into food applications. The present review summarizes the preliminary classes of bioactive milk-derived peptides along with their physiological functions, general characteristics and potential applications in health-care.
  12. Fulltext Improvement of efficient in vitro regeneration potential of mature callus induced from Malaysian upland rice seed (Oryza sativa cv. Panderas)
    Mohd Din AR, Iliyas Ahmad F, Wagiran A, Abd Samad A, Rahmat Z, Sarmidi MR
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Jan;23(1):S69-77.
    PMID: 26858569 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.10.022
    A new and rapid protocol for optimum callus production and complete plant regeneration has been assessed in Malaysian upland rice (Oryza sativa) cv. Panderas. The effect of plant growth regulator (PGR) on the regeneration frequency of Malaysian upland rice (cv. Panderas) was investigated. Mature seeds were used as a starting material for callus induction experiment using various concentrations of 2,4-D and NAA. Optimal callus induction frequency at 90% was obtained on MS media containing 2,4-D (3 mg L(-1)) and NAA (2 mg L(-1)) after 6 weeks while no significant difference was seen on tryptophan and glutamine parameters. Embryogenic callus was recorded as compact, globular and light yellowish in color. The embryogenic callus morphology was further confirmed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. For regeneration, induced calli were treated with various concentrations of Kin (0.5-1.5 mg L(-1)), BAP, NAA and 0.5 mg L(-1) of TDZ. The result showed that the maximum regeneration frequency (100%) was achieved on MS medium containing BAP (0.5 mg L(-1)), Kin (1.5 mg L(-1)), NAA (0.5 mg L(-1)) and TDZ (0.5 mg L(-1)) within four weeks. Developed shoots were successfully rooted on half strength MS free hormone medium and later transferred into a pot containing soil for acclimatization. This cutting-edge finding is unique over the other existing publishable data due to the good regeneration response by producing a large number of shoots.
  13. Fulltext In vitro effects of multi-purpose contact lens disinfecting solutions towards survivability of Acanthamoeba genotype T4 in Malaysia
    Mohd Hussain RH, Afiqah WN, Abdul Ghani MK, Khan NA, Siddiqui R, Anuar TS
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Apr;28(4):2352-2359.
    PMID: 33911949 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.01.030
    The incidence of Acanthamoeba keratitis has been increasing since the previous decades, especially among contact lens users. This infection is majorly caused by the use of ineffective contact lens disinfecting solution. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro effects of multi-purpose disinfecting solutions (MPDS) against Acanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts. Acanthamoeba genotype T4 isolated from contact lens paraphernalia and an environmental strains were propagated for trophozoite or cyst-containing culture and adjusted in final concentration of 1 × 105 cells/ml. Amoebicidal and cysticidal assays were conducted by incubating trophozoites and cysts with OPTI-FREE® Express®, ReNu® Fresh™, Complete® Multi-Purpose Solution and AVIZOR Unica® Sensitive according to the manufacturer's minimum recommended disinfectant time (MMRDT) for up to 12 h at 30 ⁰C. Trypan blue hemocytometer-based microscopic counts determined amoebicidal and cysticidal effects. The viability of Acanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts was confirmed by re-inoculated them in the 1.5% non-nutrient agar plates. It was found that none of the MPDS showed amoebicidal and cysticidal effects during the MMRDT. However, OPTI-FREE® Express® demonstrated a significant differences in average cell reduction for both stages within MMRDT. When subjected to 12 h exposure, both OPTI-FREE® Express® and ReNu® Fresh™ led to significant reduction in the number of trophozoite and cyst cells. Notably, Complete® Multi-Purpose Solution and AVIZOR Unica® Sensitive did appreciably improve the solution effectiveness towards trophozoite cells when incubated for 12 h. All MPDS were largely ineffective, with 100% survival of all isolates at MMRDT, while OPTI-FREE® Express® showed limited amoebicidal activity against the contact lens paraphernalia isolate, however, it was more against the environmental strains after 12 h incubation time. The commercially available MPDS employed in this research offered minimal effectiveness against the protozoa despite the contact time. Improvement or development of new solution should consider the adjustment of the appropriate disinfectant concentration, adequate exposure time or the incorporation of novel chemical elements, which are effective against Acanthamoeba for accelerated disinfecting and more reduction of potential exposure of contact lens users to Acanthamoeba keratitis.
  14. Fulltext Computational drug screening against the SARS-CoV-2 Saudi Arabia isolates through a multiple-sequence alignment approach
    Mok PL, Koh AE, Farhana A, Alsrhani A, Alam MK, Suresh Kumar S
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Apr;28(4):2502-2509.
    PMID: 33551661 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.01.051
    COVID-19 is a rapidly emerging infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus currently spreading throughout the world. To date, there are no specific drugs formulated for it, and researchers around the globe are racing against the clock to investigate potential drug candidates. The repurposing of existing drugs in the market represents an effective and economical strategy commonly utilized in such investigations. In this study, we used a multiple-sequence alignment approach for preliminary screening of commercially-available drugs on SARS-CoV sequences from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) isolates. The viral genomic sequences from KSA isolates were obtained from GISAID, an open access repository housing a wide variety of epidemic and pandemic virus data. A phylogenetic analysis of the present 164 sequences from the KSA provinces was carried out using the MEGA X software, which displayed high similarity (around 98%). The sequence was then analyzed using the VIGOR4 genome annotator to construct its genomic structure. Screening of existing drugs was carried out by mining data based on viral gene expressions from the ZINC database. A total of 73 hits were generated. The viral target orthologs were mapped to the SARS-CoV-2 KSA isolate sequence by multiple sequence alignment using CLUSTAL OMEGA, and a list of 29 orthologs with purchasable drug information was generated. The results showed that the SARS CoV replicase polyprotein 1a had the highest sequence similarity at 79.91%. Through ZINC data mining, tanshinones were found to have high binding affinities to this target. These compounds could be ideal candidates for SARS-CoV-2. Other matches ranged between 27 and 52%. The results of this study would serve as a significant endeavor towards drug discovery that would increase our chances of finding an effective treatment or prevention against COVID19.
  15. Fulltext Reassessment of species distribution and occurrence of mud crab (Scylla spp., Portunidae) in Malaysia through morphological and molecular identification
    Naim DM, Nor SAM, Mahboob S
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Feb;27(2):643-652.
    PMID: 32210683 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.11.030
    This study utilized genetic and morphometric approaches to assess the molecular and morphometric differentiation among commercially important species of mud crab. Molecular investigations were derived from 542 bp mitochondrial DNA COI on 249 individuals within genus Scylla from nine states in Malaysia represents four marine regions; South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Straits of Singapore and Straits of Malacca. Four specimens were obtained from Indonesia to give a robust analysis in this study. For species delimitation, Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) method on a web interface was employed. Analysis on phylogenetics was implemented utilizing Neighbour joining (NJ) and Maximum Parsimony (MP) methods. The inter- and intraspecies genetic distances (Ds ) was computed using Kimura 2-parameter distance and executed in MEGA version 5.05. All samples were genetically and morphologically identified and clustered into four distinct species. Among the species, S. olivacea was the most abundant (n = 111), on the other hand the occurrence of S. paramamosain in Malaysia was very low (n = 29). No single individual of S. serrata from Malaysia was recorded in this study. Both genetic distance and phylogenetic approaches exhibited a correlative monophyletic association among all specimens analysed. This present study is crucial as it reports the reassessment of all species within genus Scylla in Malaysia, eventually could be employed as a reference source for subsequent research mainly on mariculture and other conservation efforts for the species.
  16. Fulltext How deep is deep enough? Analysis of sea turtle eggs nest relocation procedure at Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary
    Najwa-Sawawi S, Azman NM, Rusli MU, Ahmad A, Fahmi-Ahmad M, Fadzly N
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Sep;28(9):5053-5060.
    PMID: 34466082 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.021
    Sea turtle eggs incubation involves natural and artificial incubation of eggs, and indeed the depth will be varied and presumably affect the development of hatchlings. For nest relocation, the researcher needs to decide on the depth to incubate the eggs. Sea turtle eggs clutches may vary between 40 and 120 eggs for the green turtle, thus using a single value as the standard procedure might affect the quality of hatchlings. Here we quantify the dimension of the natural (in-situ) nest constructed by the nester and the artificial (ex-situ) built by our ranger during nest relocation. We suggest a linear regression calculation of Y = 0.2366X + 59.3267, better predict a more accurate nest depth based on the number of eggs to imitate the natural nest.
  17. Fulltext Hybrid mesoporous silicates: A distinct aspect to synthesis and application for decontamination of phenols
    Nasreen S, Rafique U, Ehrman S, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2019 Sep;26(6):1161-1170.
    PMID: 31516345 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.08.014
    Water pollution due to organic compounds is of great concern and efforts are being made to develop efficient adsorbents for remediation of toxic pollutants. The development of new functionalized materials with increased performance is growing to meet the regulatory standards in response to public concerns for environment. In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the influence of synthesis parameters like the reaction temperature, the surfactant-to-silica ratio and reaction time on the structural and textural properties of novel ordered mesoporous silica hybrids. In order to understand the effect of different synthesis parameters, all the prepared materials were systematically characterized by various analytical, spectroscopic and imaging techniques such as XRD, BET, TG etc. It was deduced from these studies that the synthesis temperature influence greatly the structural order whereas both the P104/Na2SiO3 molar ratio and reaction time found to influence textural properties significantly. However, under optimized experimental condition, we could achieve the functionalized silica hybrids that offers successful incorporation of -Amino, -Glucidoxy, -Methacrylate, -Vinyl and -Phenyl moieties indicated by FTIR peaks at 793 cm-1, 2870 cm-1, 796 cm-1, 1630 cm-1 and 954 cm-1. XRD studies reveal orthorhombic and tetragonal symmetry for the hybrids and these materials were found to be thermally stable due to incorporation of organic moiety in silica matrix. Functionalized silica hybrids then applied as adsorbents demonstrated efficient and comparable removal of 4-aminophenol and p-nitrophenol in 20 min facilitated through organic moiety. Detailed modeling of the sorption using equilibrium and kinetic isotherms has been carried out to get an insight into the transport process. The adsorption isotherms of phenol derivatives are well-fitted with the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin Isotherms and the adsorption kinetics follows the pseudo second order model. The modeling confirms that the uptake is a chemisorption process.
  18. Fulltext Synthesis, spectroscopic and chromatographic studies of sunflower oil biodiesel using optimized base catalyzed methanolysis
    Naureen R, Tariq M, Yusoff I, Chowdhury AJ, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2015 May;22(3):332-9.
    PMID: 25972756 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2014.11.017
    Methyl esters from vegetable oils have attracted a great deal of interest as substitute for petrodiesel to reduce dependence on imported petroleum and provide an alternate and sustainable source for fuel with more benign environmental properties. In the present study biodiesel was prepared from sunflower seed oil by transesterification by alkali-catalyzed methanolysis. The fuel properties of sunflower oil biodiesel were determined and discussed in the light of ASTM D6751 standards for biodiesel. The sunflower oil biodiesel was chemically characterized with analytical techniques like FT-IR, and NMR ((1)H and (13)C). The chemical composition of sunflower oil biodiesel was determined by GC-MS. Various fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were identified by retention time data and verified by mass fragmentation patterns. The percentage conversion of triglycerides to the corresponding methyl esters determined by (1)H NMR was 87.33% which was quite in good agreement with the practically observed yield of 85.1%.
  19. Fulltext Miswak and oral health: An evidence-based review
    Nordin A, Bin Saim A, Ramli R, Abdul Hamid A, Mohd Nasri NW, Bt Hj Idrus R
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Jul;27(7):1801-1810.
    PMID: 32565699 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.05.020
    Poor oral health has been associated with several chronic and systemic disease. Currently, the most common method of teeth cleaning is the use of a toothbrush together with dentifrices. However, natural chewing stick such as S. persica miswak is still used in many developing countries due to their low cost and availability. The present review aims to summarize the evidences on effectiveness of miswak in promoting oral health. The search was performed using Medline via Ebscohost, Scopus and Google Scholar database to obtain relevant articles published between 2010 to May 2020 using the following set of keywords 1) Miswak OR Salvadora OR persica AND 2) dental OR caries OR plaque OR oral OR orthodontics. Isolated microbial inhibition studies were excluded from the review due to its well-established wealth of literature. Miswak was administered as ten different forms, namely mouthwash, toothpaste, chewing stick, essential oil, aqueous extract, ethanol extract, probiotic spray, dental varnish, dental cement or chewing gum. All studies reported a positive effect of miswak as an anti-plaque, anti-gingivitis, anti-cariogenic, promotion of gingival wound healing, whitening properties, orthodontic chain preservation, and biocompatibility with oral cells. Miswak in its different forms demonstrated positive effect towards oral health maintenance and management.
  20. Fulltext Bioassay studies on the reaction of Aedes aegypti & Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) on different attractants
    Nur Athen MH, Nazri CD, Siti Nazrina C
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Oct;27(10):2691-2700.
    PMID: 32994728 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.06.016
    BACKGROUND: The studies on mosquito attractants had been develop intensively in the recent years. However, the study on fruit peel extract as mosquito attractant was scarce, even though various fruits had demonstrated the ability to attract different types of mosquito species.

    OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the potential of Carica papaya (papaya) and Ananas comosus (pineapple) peel extracts to attract Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti.

    METHODS: The Aedes mosquitoes response to the fruit peel extracts were conducted in the no-choice and choice assay using modified olfactometer. The Preference Index (PI) in each assay was calculated and arcsine transformed before conducting independent t-test to determine the significant different between the mean arcsine transformed PI and the tested hypothesis mean PI.

    RESULT: No choice assay indicate both Aedes species have significant attraction to the papaya and pineapple peel extracts (p  0.05) while Ae. aegypti is significantly attracted to the papaya peel extract (p 

Related Terms
    Try searching for something
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links