Canarium odontophyllum Miq. fruit, popularly recognized as dabai fruit in Sarawak, is a
seasonal fruit found in the tropical rainforest of East Malaysia. A dabai fruit can be divided into
several anatomical parts, and different parts of the fruit have different valuable phytochemicals. Due
to the lack of promotion, dabai fruit is viewed as nutritionally inferior fruit by the public. On the
contrary, the fruit is rich in nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium, calcium and iron.
Many phytochemicals have been detected from different parts of dabai fruit, and these molecules have
been linked to beneficial properties such as hypolipidemic, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-cholinesterase,
antimicrobial and potentially anti-diabetic. The aim of this article is to review research studies on this
fruit in order to provide adequate baseline information for commercial exploitation as well as for
future studies.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of disability and premature death throughout the world. This disease is commonly experienced by people with unhealthy lifestyle, stress and physical inactivity. Cholesterol has received the most attention as single risk factor of CVD. Reducing the intake of cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans faty acids may be beneficial, yet controversy is still lingering to what constituents more beneficial dietary fats. The purpose of this article is to give an overview on the impact of major dietary fatty acids on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and to give an insightful information regarding fatty acids composition in selected fruits oils in search for novel oils as potential therapy against CVD.
Introduction: Preparation of herbal mixtures from the traditional knowledge has been used for over centuries to im- prove and maintain health condition. Nonetheless, lack of scientific evaluations on regard to their bioactive metab- olites as a mixture and their pharmacological effects have yet to be reported. Therefore, the objectives of this study are 1) to determine the effect of processing techniques (blending and juicing) on extracting polyphenols and 2) to determine the effect ratio of honey in herbal mixture (containing ginger, garlic, honey, apple cider vinegar, and lem- on juice). Methods: Raw ingredients such as garlic, ginger, lemon and apple cider (1:1:1:1) were used as the base for this herbal mixture. The base was either blended using a blender or juiced using a juicer. The mixture was simmered (85oC - 100oC) until reduced to half of the initial volume and cooled down before being added with honey in 1:1 (rA) or 1:3 (rB) ratio. The mixtures were tested for pH, total phenolic, total flavonoid content and alpha glucosidase inhibitory activities. Results: Both of juiced samples in both honey ratio (rA and rB) have lower acidity compared to blended samples. Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) also showed significantly high- er levels (p
Capsaicin (N-vanillyl-8-methyl-6-(E)-none amide) is a unique and significant compound from group component of capsaicinoids. This component can only be found in the plants from the Capsicum genus. It is the primary source of pungency or spiciness of chilli pepper. Traditionally, capsaicin has been used to alleviate pain. Recently, some studies showed significant therapeutic effects of capsaicin in many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer and obesity. Determination of the most effective dosage used and underlying working mechanism of capsaicin are still in progress. Currently, capsaicin research, especially in drug interaction and encapsulation technologies, has not been reviewed. We aim to report current experimental evidence of capsaicin research focusing on its pharmacolog- ical properties, interaction with drugs and ways to improve the bioavailability of capsaicin. It is essential to provide a general orientation for further investigation that can discover more potency of capsaicin usage as a medicinal supplement to treat various diseases.
Introduction: Overweight currently has become a major global burden. Salmon is one of the major sources for fish oil to treat inflammatory related cardiovascular diseases. Yellow-stripe scad (YSS) on the other hand, is a local Malaysian fish which can be a good substitute for salmon; however, the therapeutic effects of YSS is still unclear. Objective: Therefore, this study compared the nutritional values EPA+DHA of YSS and salmon on body mass index (BMI), leptin and activation markers for both platelet and endothelial cell. Methods: Healthy overweight Malaysian adults (n=45), aged 21-55 years old, were recruited for 6-months cross-over trial study. They were randomised equally to receive eight weeks of either steamed whole YSS fish or salmon fillet, for three days per week, obtaining approximately 7000 mg EPA+DHA weekly. The diets were switched after an eight-week washout period. Baseline dietary fish intakes were similar in the two groups. Results: Significant differences observed in serum leptin for YSS-baseline group I and salmon-baseline group II (p0.05) on time and treatment in all variable after 16 week, but there was a significant effect of treatment on sCD40L from YSS and vWF from salmon (p
Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effect of saffron extract and crocin on blood biomarkers associated with obesity using the rat model.
Methods: Obesity was induced by feeding a high-fat diet to 42 male Sprague-Dawley rats for 12 weeks, after which they were equally distributed into seven groups. Three groups served as controls namely, normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), and high-fat diet plus orlistat (HFD + ORL), while the remaining four treatment groups consisted of HFD added low or high dose (40 and 80 mg/kg/day) of either saffron extract or crocin in the food. At the end of 8 weeks, blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture for biochemical analysis.
Results: Obese rats treated with a high dose of saffron extract and crocin showed significantly lower plasma glucose levels (5.26 and 5.67 mmol/L respectively) than the HFD rats (6.92 mmol/L). Saffron extract and crocin at a high dose showed significantly lower levels of plasma insulin (3.97 and 3.88 ng/mL respctively) compared to HFD control (5.41 ng/mL). Adiponectin levels significantly increased in obese rats fed saffron extract and crocin at high doses (7.44 and 7.92 µg/mL respectively) compared to HFD control (5.34 µg/mL). Ghrelin level significantly increased from 419.10 to 284.10 pg/mL,while leptin level significantly decreased from 8.08 to 5.68 ng/mL for the high dose crocin groups compared to HFD control. No significant differences in plasma serotonin levels were found among the groups.
Conclusion: Saffron extract and crocin show potential in reducing blood biomarkers associated with obesity as well as anti-inflammatory and regulatory potential of adipocytokines in an animal model.
Defatted dabai peel contains a high amount of anthocyanin. Anthocyanins are known to prevent several
types of disease, including cardiovascular-related complications. This study aimed to describe the
effects of different doses of defatted dabai peel extract by histopathological analyses on lesions in the
liver, kidney, heart and aorta. Histopathology methods were applied to determine the protective effects
of defatted dabai peel extracts against hypercholesterolemia-induced oxidative damages to animal
organs. Haematoxylin and eosin staining was applied for histopathology examination for liver, kidney,
heart and aorta. Data showed that a high dose of defatted dabai extract (3000 mg per day) applied to
hypercholesterolemic rabbits for eight weeks had mild protective effect, especially reducing the severity
of hepatic fibrosis and steatosis of the renal medulla. The high dose of extract supplementation also
reduced inflammation of aorta and formation of atherosclerosis plaque in the cell wall of right ventricle
of the heart. The high dose of defatted dabai peel extract could be a protective agent against oxidative
stress.
The present study was carried out to determine the concentrations of selected metal elements (lead, copper, manganese, zinc and iron) in 51 samples of commercial drinking water and tap water available in Malaysia. The results indicated that low metal elements were found in the studied water samples. Lead, manganese, zinc and iron were not detected in some of the studied samples, except copper. The concentrations of the metal elements in the studied samples were well below the maximum permitted concentrations as recommended. Therefore these drinking water are safe for consumption and do not pose adverse effect to the health of consumers due to metal toxicity.
Introduction: Different solvents extraction was used to extract the good fatty acid composition of Dabai fruits. Nev- ertheless, solvents extraction may exhibit harmful effects. The present study was aimed to evaluate the safety of using supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SCO2) of dabai pulp oil by acute toxicity study in Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Methods: The CO pulp oil extract was prepared by SCO2 extraction of the freeze- dried pulp and was administered orally to SPF SD rats (consisted of 5 rats/sex/group) at upper limit dose 5000 mg/kg body weight (BW) for 14 days. The study includes the control and treatment groups, each consisting of 5 male and female rats. The rats were fed and allowed to drink sterilized water ad libitum. Fatty acid composition (FAC) of the extract was determined using GC-FID. Electrolytes and biochemical parameters in blood, as well as relative organs weight were measured. Results: The extract at a single dose of 5000 mg/kg did not cause any acute toxicity effects or mortality to the treatment of rats during observation periods in 14 days. FAC of the SCO2 extracted oil exhibited high content of palmitic and linoleic acids. The relative organs weights (ROW) and histopathology of rats were within normal range. Conclusion: Thus, the LD50 was estimated to be more than 5000 mg/kg of CO pulp oil extract and can be considered for further investigation for its therapeutic efficacy in a larger animal model.
Thirty-six adult male SD rats, weighing 200-250 g were used in this study. Dietary obesity was induced by feeding high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. One group of animal (n=6) served as normal control which received normal diet from the beginning to the end of the study. The other 30 male obese animals induced by HFD were randomly divided into five experimental groups: The group which received high-fat diet considered as a negative control and the other four groups were treated with saffron extract and crocin in low and high dosages of 40 and 80 mg/kg for 8 weeks. At the end of treatment period, kidney and pancreas were removed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). There were significant histopathological changes, such as tubular degenerative, vascular congestion and interstitial inflammation in the kidney and extensive pancreatic adipose tissue infiltration in high-fat diet rats group when compared with normal control. The results showed less significant histopathological changes of the kidney and also moderate pancreatic adipose tissue infiltration in the groups treated with crocin. Interestingly saffron extract dose-independently displayed significant renal protective effect while a significant decrease in pancreatic adipose tissue infiltration was observed in obese rat treated with high dose of saffron extract (80 mg/kg). From these results, it can be concluded that consumption of saffron extract reduced the untoward effects of high-fat diet in kidney and pancreas of high-fat diet induced obese rats.
This study was aimed at assessing the antioxidant capacity and phenolic (free, bound, and total) contents in selected commercial beverages. Three different types of beverages commonly available in Malaysian supermarkets namely, cocoa, coffee and tea were selected. Phenolic contents were determined using a Folin-Ciocalteu assay. Antioxidant capacity (ferric reducing power and scavenging activity) was determined using FRAP and TEAC assays. Based on analysis of variance, coffee showed the highest amount of free phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity compared to cocoa and tea (p < 0.05). The major phenolic compound detected in coffee was chlorogenic acid. Cocoa showed higher phenolic content than tea. However, cocoa and tea have similar catechin content and possessed comparable antioxidant capacity. The free phenolic content in the three beverages was found to be highly correlated with antioxidant capacity. In addition, moderate correlation was observed between total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. On the other hand, there was no significant contribution of bound phenolic compounds towards antioxidant capacity. The contribution of antioxidant capacity in these beverages could be due to phenolic compounds in the free form. The study indicated that the beverages studied possessed varying degrees of antioxidant capacity and phenolic contents.