The pulp and pericarp of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) fruit are popular food, beverage and health products whereby 60% of the fruit consist of the pericarp. The major metabolite in the previously ...neglected or less economically significant part of the fruit, the pericarp, is the prenylated xanthone α-mangostin. This highly bioactive secondary metabolite is typically isolated using solvent extraction methods that involve large volumes of halogenated solvents either via direct or indirect extraction. In this study, we compared the quantities of α-mangostin extracted using three different extraction methods based on the environmentally friendly solvents methanol and ethyl acetate. The three solvent extractions methods used were direct extractions from methanol (DM) and ethyl acetate (DEA) as well as indirect extraction of ethyl acetate obtained via solvent partitioning from an initial methanol extract (IEA). Our results showed that direct extraction afforded similar and higher quantities of α-mangostin than indirect extraction (DM: 318 mg; DEA: 305 mg; IEA: 209 mg per 5 g total dried pericarp). Therefore, we suggest that the commonly used method of indirect solvent extraction using halogenated solvents for the isolation of α-mangostin is replaced by single solvent direct extraction using the environmentally friendly solvents methanol or ethyl acetate.
Abstract The environmental contamination by extremophile Aspergillus species, i.e., Aflatoxin B1, is hardly controllable in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, which lack handling resources and ...controlled storage facilities. Acute aflatoxicosis poisoning from aflatoxin-prone dietary staples could cause acute hepatic necrosis, acute liver failure, and death. Here, as the cheaper, more straightforward, and facile on-site diagnostic kit is needed, we report an ultraviolet-excitable optical aptasensor based on a fluorinated ethylene propylene film strip. Molecular dynamics on the aptamer.AFB1 complex revealed that the AFB1 to the aptamer increases the overall structural stability, suggesting that the aptamer design is suitable for the intended application. Under various influencing factors, the proposed label-free strategy offers a fast 20-min on-site fabrication simplicity and 19-day shelf-life. The one-pot incubation provides an alternative to catalytic detection and exhibited 4 times reusability. The recovery of crude brown sugar, processed peanuts, and long-grain rice were 102.74 ± 0.41 (n = 3), 86.90 ± 3.38 (n = 3), and 98.50 ± 0.42 (n = 3), comparable to High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array Detector results. This study is novel owing to the peculiar UV-active spectrum fingerprint and the convenient use of hydrophobic film strips that could promote breakthrough innovations and new frontiers for on-site/forensic detection of environmental pollutants.
Jatropha curcas is an oil-rich seed crop with huge potentials for bioenergy production. The inflorescence carries a number of processes that are likely to affect the overall yield potentials; floral ...development, male-to-female flower ratio, floral abscission and fruit set. In this study, a weighted gene co-expression network analysis which integrates the transcriptome, physical and simple sugar data of J. curcas inflorescence was performed and nine modules were identified by means of hierarchical clustering. Among them, four modules (green4, antiquewhite2, brown2 and lightskyblue4) showed significant correlation to yield factors at p≤0.01. The four modules are categorized into two clusters; cluster 1 of green4 and antiquewhite2 modules correspond to number of flowers/inflorescence, total seed weight/plant, number of seeds/plant, and number of fruits/plant, whereas cluster 2 of brown2 and lightskyblue4 modules correspond to glucose and fructose. Descriptive characterizations of cluster 1 show putative involvement in gibberellin signaling and responses, whereas cluster 2 may have been involved in sugar signaling, signal transductions and regulation of flowerings. Our findings present a list of hub genes for J. curcas yield improvement and reproductive biology enhancement strategies.
The pulp and pericarp of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) fruit are popular food, beverage and health products whereby 60% of the fruit consist of the pericarp. The major metabolite in the previously ...neglected or less economically significant part of the fruit, the pericarp, is the prenylated xanthone alpha-mangostin. This highly bioactive secondary metabolite is typically isolated using solvent extraction methods that involve large volumes of halogenated solvents either via direct or indirect extraction. In this study, we compared the quantities of alpha-mangostin extracted using three different extraction methods based on the environmentally friendly solvents methanol and ethyl acetate. The three solvent extractions methods used were direct extractions from methanol (DM) and ethyl acetate (DEA) as well as indirect extraction of ethyl acetate obtained via solvent partitioning from an initial methanol extract (IEA). Our results showed that direct extraction afforded similar and higher quantities of alpha-mangostin than indirect extraction (DM: 318 mg; DEA: 305 mg; IEA: 209 mg per 5 g total dried pericarp). Therefore, we suggest that the commonly used method of indirect solvent extraction using halogenated solvents for the isolation of alpha-mangostin is replaced by single solvent direct extraction using the environmentally friendly solvents methanol or ethyl acetate.
Histamine is commonly present in food containing proteins, like in mackerel. Consuming fish is imperative for the improvement of human muscles. Nevertheless, some studies reported ingesting fish ...containing histamine more than 50 mg·kg-1 can cause toxicity. This study analyzed and determined the composition of histamine in mackerel and its products commonly consumed in Malaysia, especially on the East Coast of Malaysia. These included processed mackerel such as canned products, satay (skewed fish) and keropok lekor (fish cake/ cracker). Histamine analysis was performed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a fluorescence detector. A derivatizing reaction was applied to increase the sensitivity of HPLC to histamine using 9-flourenilmethylchloroformate (FMOC-Cl). The chromatographic separation was achieved in 15 min. Method validation was in accordance to Commission Decision 657/2002/CE. The linear range was at 0.16 – 5.00 µg·mL-1 (histamine) with the LOD at 0.10 µg·mL-1 and LOQ at 0.30 µg·mL-1 . Method applicability was checked on seven real samples involving raw, cooked, and dry products, yielding acceptable recovery.
Dengue is the main health problem in Malaysia. One of the main causes of dengue is the lack of participation in combating dengue. To improve participation, stakeholder’s engagement is considered the ...best solution which promotes an effective way of forming good governance. Engagement involves a level of knowledge, awareness, and understanding through past intended behavior. The objective of this study is to assess and compare the level of engagement of stakeholders toward dengue control techniques. A survey was conducted on 399 stakeholders who were selected randomly in the Klang Valley region, Malaysia. Result of the study showed that the stakeholders have a moderate level of engagement on dengue control techniques. The scientists seemed (a) more knowledgeable (4.81) than the public (4.68), (b) more aware (4.80) than the public (4.55), and (c) more intended behavior (4.31) than the public (4.11) to behave accordingly in supporting the implementation of these techniques. This study also identified the level of engagement factor across gender, religion, education level, and age were moderate which were translated to a moderately attached in dengue control techniques. However, one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) initially detected no significant differences across demographic factors except religion on stakeholder’s engagement. Therefore, these findings will serve as a benchmark to evaluate stakeholder’s engagement to understand their participation in the implementation of dengue control techniques. Good participation promotes good governance in sustaining healthy life without dengue.
The current study aims to provide a roadmap for future research by analyzing the research structures and trends in scholarly publications related to the status of zinc in public health. Only journal ...articles published between 1978 and 2022 are included in the refined bibliographical outputs retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database. The first section announces findings based on WoS categories, such as discipline heterogeneity, times cited and publications over time, and citation reports. The second section then employs VoSViewer software for bibliometric analysis, which includes a thorough examination of co-authorship among researchers, organizations, and countries and a count of all bibliographic databases among documents. The final section discusses the research’s weaknesses and strengths in zinc status, public health, and potential future directions; 7158 authors contributed to 1730 papers (including 339 with publications, more than three times). “Keen, C.L.” is a researcher with the most publications and a better understanding of zinc status in public health. Meanwhile, the USA has been the epicenter of research on the status of zinc in public health due to the highest percentage of publications with the most citations and collaboration with the rest of the world, with the top institution being the University of California, Davis. Future research can be organized collaboratively based on hot topics from co-occurrence network mapping and bibliographic couplings to improve zinc status and protect public health.
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