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Effect of salts addition on hydrogen production by C. acetobutylicum

Alshiyab H, Kalil MS, Hamid AA, Wan Yusoff WM

Pak J Biol Sci, 2008 Sep 15;11(18):2193-200.
PMID: 19137827

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of salts addition to fermentation medium on hydrogen production, under anaerobic batch culture system. In this study, batch experiments were conducted to investigate the inhibitory effect of both NaCl and sodium acetate on hydrogen production. The optimum pH and temperature for hydrogen production were at initial pH of 7.0 and 30 degrees C. Enhanced production of hydrogen, using glucose as substrate was achieved. In the absence of Sodium Chloride and Sodium Acetate enhanced hydrogen yield (Y(P/S)) from 350 mL g(-1) glucose utilized to 391 mL g(-1) glucose utilized with maximum hydrogen productivity of 77.5 ml/L/h. Results also show that sodium chloride and sodium acetate in the medium adversely affect growth. Hydrogen yield per biomass (Y(P/X)) of 254 ml/L/g, biomass per substrate utilized (Y(X/S)) of 0.268 and (Y(H2/S) of 0.0349. The results suggested that Sodium at any concentration resulted to inhibit the bacterial productivity of hydrogen.
Effect of some environmental parameters on biobutanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum NCIMB 13357 in date fruit medium

Khamaiseh EI, Hamid AA, Yusoff WM, Kalil MS

Pak J Biol Sci, 2013 Oct 15;16(20):1145-51.
PMID: 24506014

Date fruit juice contains high concentration of simple sugars ranging from 65 to 75% (w/w) in dry form. In this study, the potential of date fruit juice as biobutanol fermentation medium by C. acetobutylicum was investigated. The fermentation process was carried out at initial pH of 5, 6 and 7, incubation temperature of 30, 35 and 40 degrees C for 72 hours. The date fruit concentrations tested were 10, 20, 30 and 40 g L(-1). Medium containing 30 g L(-1) of date fruit at 35 degrees C incubation temperature with initial medium pH 7.0 gave the highest concentration of solvents of 3.1, 0.1 and 1.1 g L(-1) butanol, ethanol and acetone respectively. The yield and productivity of biobutanol were 0.32 g g(-1) and 0.044 g L(-1)/h respectively, while for total ABE were 0.45 g g(-1) and 0.06 g L(-1) h, respectively.
Fulltext Healthcare commissioners' experience with antibiotic resistance during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study

Sulayyim HJA, Ismail R, Hamid AA, Abdul Ghafar N

J Pharm Policy Pract, 2024;17(1):2290671.
PMID: 38205192 DOI: 10.1080/20523211.2023.2290671

INTRODUCTION: The occurrence of antibiotic resistance (AR) has become a critical issue during the Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study explores the experiences of healthcare commissioners with AR during the COVID-19 pandemic, identifies challenges, and provides recommendations for combating AR during pandemics.
METHODS: This qualitative study was multi-centered and used a phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 among 11 health commissioners using video calls.
RESULTS: Seven themes emerged from the data, including knowledge of AR and its consequences, the antibiotic prescription system, the future of AR and potential contributory factors, the impact of COVID-19 on AR and their relationship, the experience of AR during the COVID-19 pandemic in healthcare facilities, barriers that prevent the misuse of antibiotics during pandemics, and recommendations regarding antibiotic resistance during pandemics.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study could be used to inform policy and practice for government healthcare workers (HCWs) and the public. Furthermore, this study identified the main challenges of AR during the pandemic, and the recommendations of health commissioners were provided accordingly. Such recommendations could be beneficial on a national and international scale to reduce the impact of future pandemics on AR.
ABBREVIATIONS: COVID-19: Novel coronavirus disease 2019; AR: Antibiotic Resistance; IPC: Infection prevention and control; MDRO: multi-drug resistant organism; ASP: Antimicrobial Stewardship Program; HCW: Healthcare worker; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; WHO: World Health Organization; MOH: Ministry of Health; MOEWA: Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture; AMR: Antimicrobial Resistance; PHCC: Primary Healthcare Center.
Fulltext Optimization of Culture Conditions for Enhanced Growth, Lipid and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Production of Aurantiochytrium SW1 by Response Surface Methodology

Nazir Y, Shuib S, Kalil MS, Song Y, Hamid AA

Sci Rep, 2018 Jun 11;8(1):8909.
PMID: 29892078 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27309-0

In this study, optimization of growth, lipid and DHA production of Aurantiochytrium SW1 was carried out using response surface methodology (RSM) in optimizing initial fructose concentration, agitation speed and monosodium glutamate (MSG) concentration. Central composite design was applied as the experimental design and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data. ANOVA analysis revealed that the process which adequately represented by quadratic model was significant (p
Fulltext Antibiotic Resistance during COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Sulayyim HJA, Ismail R, Hamid AA, Ghafar NA

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Sep 21;19(19).
PMID: 36231256 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191911931

One of the public health issues faced worldwide is antibiotic resistance (AR). During the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, AR has increased. Since some studies have stated AR has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and others have stated otherwise, this study aimed to explore this impact. Seven databases-PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane, Web of Science, and CINAHL-were searched using related keywords to identify studies relevant to AR during COVID-19 published from December 2019 to May 2022, according to PRISMA guidelines. Twenty-three studies were included in this review, and the evidence showed that AR has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most commonly reported resistant Gram-negative bacteria was Acinetobacterbaumannii, followed by Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A. baumannii and K. pneumonia were highly resistant to tested antibiotics compared with E. coli and P. aeruginosa. Moreover, K. pneumonia showed high resistance to colistin. Commonly reported Gram-positive bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium. The resistance of E. faecium to ampicillin, erythromycin, and Ciprofloxacin was high. Self-antibiotic medication, empirical antibiotic administration, and antibiotics prescribed by general practitioners were the risk factors of high levels of AR during COVID-19. Antibiotics' prescription should be strictly implemented, relying on the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) and guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) or Ministry of Health (MOH).
Fulltext Effectiveness of traditional Malaysian vegetables (ulam) in modulating blood glucose levels

Bachok MF, Yusof BN, Ismail A, Hamid AA

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2014;23(3):369-76.
PMID: 25164446 DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.2014.23.3.01

Ulam refers to a group of traditional Malaysian plants commonly consumed as a part of a meal, either in the raw form or after a short blanching process. Many types of ulam are thought to possess blood glucose-lowering properties, but relatively little is known on the effectiveness of ulam in modulating blood glucose levels in humans. This review aims to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of ulam in modulating blood glucose levels in humans. A literature review was conducted using multiple databases with no time restriction. Eleven studies were retrieved based on a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria. In these 11 studies, only Momordica charantia, locally known as "peria katak", was extensively studied, followed by Centella asiatica, locally known as "daun pegaga", and Alternanthera sessilis, locally known as "kermak putih". Of the 11 studies, 9 evaluated the effectiveness of M. charantia on blood glucose parameters, and 7 of which showed significant improvement in at least one parameter of blood glucose concentration. The remaining 2 studies reported nonsignificant improvements in blood glucose parameters, despite having high-quality study design according to Jadad scale. None of the studies related to C. asiatica and A. sessilis showed significant improvement in blood glucose-related parameters. Current clinical evidence does not support the popular claim that ulam has glucose-lowering effects, not even for M. charantia. Hence, further clinical investigation is needed to verify the glucose modulation effect of M. charantia, C. asiatica, and A. sessilis.
Saccharification of polysaccharide content of palm kernel cake using enzymatic catalysis for production of biobutanol in acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation

Shukor H, Abdeshahian P, Al-Shorgani NK, Hamid AA, Rahman NA, Kalil MS

Bioresour Technol, 2016 Feb;202:206-13.
PMID: 26710346 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2015.11.078

In this work, hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose content of palm kernel cake (PKC) by different types of hydrolytic enzymes was studied to evaluate monomeric sugars released for production of biobutanol by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 (ATCC 13564) in acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Experimental results revealed that when PKC was hydrolyzed by mixed β-glucosidase, cellulase and mannanase, a total simple sugars of 87.81±4.78 g/L were produced, which resulted in 3.75±0.18 g/L butanol and 6.44±0.43 g/L ABE at 168 h fermentation. In order to increase saccharolytic efficiency of enzymatic treatment, PKC was pretreated by liquid hot water before performing enzymatic hydrolysis. Test results showed that total reducing sugars were enhanced to 97.81±1.29 g/L with elevated production of butanol and ABE up to 4.15±1.18 and 7.12±2.06 g/L, respectively which represented an A:B:E ratio of 7:11:1.
Genetic diversity analysis among collected purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) accessions using ISSR markers

Alam MA, Juraimi AS, Rafii MY, Hamid AA, Arolu IW, Abdul Latif M

C. R. Biol., 2015 Jan;338(1):1-11.
PMID: 25468001 DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2014.10.007

Genetic diversity and relationships among 45 collected purslane accessions were evaluated using ISSR markers. The 28 primers gave a total of 167 bands, among which 163 were polymorphic (97.6%). The genetic diversity as estimated by Shannon's information index was 0.513, revealing a quite high level of genetic diversity in the germplasm. The average number of observed allele, effective allele, expected heterozygosity, polymorphic information content (PIC) and Nei's index were 5.96, 1.59, 0.43, 0.35 and 0.35, respectively. The UPGMA dendrogram based on Nei's genetic distance grouped the whole germplasm into 7 distinct clusters. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 89% of total variation occurred within population, while 11% were found among populations. Based on the constructed dendrogram using ISSR markers those accessions that are far from each other by virtue of genetic origin and diversity index (like Ac1 and Ac42; Ac19 and Ac45; Ac9 and Ac23; Ac18 and A25; Ac24 and Ac18) are strongly recommended to select as parent for future breeding program to develop high yielding and stress tolerant purslane variety in contribution to global food security.
Fulltext Optimization of aeration and agitation rate for lipid and gamma linolenic acid production by Cunninghamella bainieri 2A1 in submerged fermentation using response surface methodology

Saad N, Abdeshahian P, Kalil MS, Yusoff WM, Hamid AA

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:280146.
PMID: 25610901 DOI: 10.1155/2014/280146

The locally isolated filamentous fungus Cunninghamella bainieri 2A1 was cultivated in a 5 L bioreactor to produce lipid and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). The optimization was carried out using response surface methodology based on a central composite design. A statistical model, second-order polynomial model, was adjusted to the experimental data to evaluate the effect of key operating variables, including aeration rate and agitation speed on lipid production. Process analysis showed that linear and quadratic effect of agitation intensity significantly influenced lipid production process (P < 0.01). The quadratic model also indicated that the interaction between aeration rate and agitation speed had a highly significant effect on lipid production (P < 0.01). Experimental results showed that a lipid content of 38.71% was produced in optimum conditions using an airflow rate and agitation speed of 0.32 vvm and 599 rpm, respectively. Similar results revealed that 0.058(g/g) gamma-linolenic acid was produced in optimum conditions where 1.0 vvm aeration rate and 441.45 rpm agitation rate were used. The regression model confirmed that aeration and agitation were of prime importance for optimum production of lipid in the bioreactor.
Genetic improvement of purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) and its future prospects

Amirul Alam M, Juraimi AS, Rafii MY, Hamid AA, Kamal Uddin M, Alam MZ, et al.

Mol Biol Rep, 2014 Nov;41(11):7395-411.
PMID: 25085039 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-014-3628-1

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea), also known as pigweed, fatweed, pusle, and little hogweed, is an annual succulent herb in the family Portulacaceae that is found in most corners of the globe. From the ancient ages purslane has been treated as a major weed of vegetables as well as other crops. However, worldwide researchers and nutritionists have studied this plant as a potential vegetable crop for humans as well as animals. Purslane is a nutritious vegetable with high antioxidant properties and recently has been recognized as the richest source of α-linolenic acid, essential omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, ascorbic acid, glutathione, α-tocopherol and β-carotene. The lack of vegetable sources of ω-3 fatty acids has resulted in a growing level of attention to introduce purslane as a new cultivated vegetable. In the rapid-revolutionizing worldwide atmosphere, the ability to produce improved planting material appropriate to diverse and varying rising conditions is a supreme precedence. Though various published reports on morphological, physiological, nutritional and medicinal aspects of purslane are available, research on the genetic improvement of this promising vegetable crop are scant. Now it is necessary to conduct research for the genetic improvement of this plant. Genetic improvement of purslane is also a real scientific challenge. Scientific modernization of conventional breeding with the advent of advance biotechnological and molecular approaches such as tissue culture, protoplast fusion, genetic transformation, somatic hybridization, marker-assisted selection, qualitative trait locus mapping, genomics, informatics and various statistical representation have opened up new opportunities of revising the relationship between genetic diversity, agronomic performance and response to breeding for varietal improvement. This review is an attempt to amalgamate the assorted scientific information on purslane propagation, cultivation, varietal improvement, nutrient analyses, medicinal uses and to describe prospective research especially for genetic improvement of this crop.
Insights into the stereospecificity of the d-specific dehalogenase from Rhizobium sp. RC1 toward d- and l-2-chloropropionate

Sudi IY, Hamid AA, Shamsir MS, Jamaluddin H, Wahab RA, Huyop F

Biotechnology, biotechnological equipment, 2014 Jul 04;28(4):608-615.
PMID: 26740767

Halogenated compounds are recalcitrant environmental pollutants prevalent in agricultural fields, waste waters and industrial by-products, but they can be degraded by dehalogenase-containing microbes. Notably, 2-haloalkanoic acid dehalogenases are employed to resolve optically active chloropropionates, as exemplified by the d-specific dehalogenase from Rhizobium sp. RCI (DehD), which acts on d-2-chloropropionate but not on its l-enantiomer. The catalytic residues of this dehalogenase responsible for its affinity toward d-2-chloropropionate have not been experimentally determined, although its three-dimensional crystal structure has been solved. For this study, we performed in silico docking and molecular dynamic simulations of complexes formed by this dehalogenase and d- or l-2-chloropropionate. Arg134 of the enzyme plays the key role in the stereospecific binding and Arg16 is in a position that would allow it to activate a water molecule for hydrolytic attack on the d-2-chloropropionate chiral carbon for release of the halide ion to yield l-2-hydroxypropionate. We propose that within the DehD active site, the NH group of Arg134 can form a hydrogen bond with the carboxylate of d-2-chloropropionate with a strength of ∼4 kcal/mol that may act as an acid-base catalyst, whereas, when l-2-chloropropionate is present, this bond cannot be formed. The significance of the present work is vital for rational design of this dehalogenase in order to confirm the involvement of Arg16 and Arg134 residues implicated in hydrolysis and binding of d-2-chloropropionate in the active site of d-specific dehalogenase from Rhizobium sp. RC1.
Effects of salinity and salinity-induced augmented bioactive compounds in purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) for possible economical use

Amirul Alam M, Juraimi AS, Rafii MY, Hamid AA, Aslani F, Alam MZ

Food Chem, 2015 Feb 15;169:439-47.
PMID: 25236249 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.08.019

Dry matter (DM), total phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoid contents, and antioxidant activity of 12 purslane accessions were investigated against five levels of salinity (0, 8, 16, 24 and 32dSm(-1)). In untreated plants, the DM contents ranged between 8.0-23.4g/pot; total phenolics contents (TPC) between 0.96-9.12mgGAEg(-1)DW; total flavonoid contents (TFC) between 0.15-1.44mgREg(-1)DW; and total carotenoid contents (TCC) between 0.52BCEg(-1)DW. While FRAP activity ranged from 8.64-104.21mgTEg(-1)DW (about 12-fold) and DPPH activity between 2.50-3.30mgmL(-1) IC50 value. Different levels of salinity treatment resulted in 8-35% increases in TPC; about 35% increase in TFC; and 18-35% increases in FRAP activity. Purslane accessions Ac4, Ac5, Ac6 and Ac8 possessed potentials for salinity-induced augmented production of bioactive compounds which in turn can be harnessed for possible human health benefits.
Fulltext Screening of purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) accessions for high salt tolerance

Alam MA, Juraimi AS, Rafii MY, Hamid AA, Aslani F

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:627916.
PMID: 25003141 DOI: 10.1155/2014/627916

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is an herbaceous leafy vegetable crop, comparatively more salt-tolerant than any other vegetables with high antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. Salt-tolerant crop variety development is of importance due to inadequate cultivable land and escalating salinity together with population pressure. In this view a total of 25 purslane accessions were initially selected from 45 collected purslane accessions based on better growth performance and subjected to 5 different salinity levels, that is, 0.0, 10.0, 20.0, 30.0, and 40.0 dS m(-1) NaCl. Plant height, number of leaves, number of flowers, and dry matter contents in salt treated purslane accessions were significantly reduced (P ≤ 0.05) and the enormity of reduction increased with increasing salinity stress. Based on dry matter yield reduction, among all 25 purslane accessions 2 accessions were graded as tolerant (Ac7 and Ac9), 6 accessions were moderately tolerant (Ac3, Ac5, Ac6, Ac10, Ac11, and Ac12), 5 accessions were moderately susceptible (Ac1, Ac2, Ac4, Ac8, and Ac13), and the remaining 12 accessions were susceptible to salinity stress and discarded from further study. The selected 13 purslane accessions could assist in the identification of superior genes for salt tolerance in purslane for improving its productivity and sustainable agricultural production.
Production of butanol by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 from palm kernel cake in acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation using an empirical model

Shukor H, Al-Shorgani NK, Abdeshahian P, Hamid AA, Anuar N, Rahman NA, et al.

Bioresour Technol, 2014 Oct;170:565-73.
PMID: 25171212 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.07.055

Palm kernel cake (PKC) was used for biobutanol production by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 in acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. PKC was subjected to acid hydrolysis pretreatment and hydrolysates released were detoxified by XAD-4 resin. The effect of pH, temperature and inoculum size on butanol production was evaluated using an empirical model. Twenty ABE fermentations were run according to an experimental design. Experimental results revealed that XAD-4 resin removed 50% furfural and 77.42% hydroxymethyl furfural. The analysis of the empirical model showed that linear effect of inoculums size with quadratic effect of pH and inoculum size influenced butanol production at 99% probability level (P<0.01). The optimum conditions for butanol production were pH 6.28, temperature of 28°C and inoculum size of 15.9%. ABE fermentation was carried out under optimum conditions which 0.1g/L butanol was obtained. Butanol production was enhanced by diluting PKC hydrolysate up to 70% in which 3.59g/L butanol was produced.
Winged bean [Psophorcarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC] seeds as an underutilised plant source of bifunctional proteolysate and biopeptides

Yea CS, Ebrahimpour A, Hamid AA, Bakar J, Muhammad K, Saari N

Food Funct, 2014 May;5(5):1007-16.
PMID: 24658538 DOI: 10.1039/c3fo60667h

Hypertension is one of the major causes of cardiovascular-related diseases, which is highly associated with angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) activity and oxidative stress. In this study, winged bean seed (WBS), a potential source of protein, was utilised for the production of bifunctional proteolysate and biopeptides with ACE inhibitory and antioxidative properties. An enzymatic approach was applied, coupled with pretreatment of shaking and centrifuging techniques to remove endogenous ACE inhibitors prior to proteolysis. ACE inhibition reached its highest activity, 78.5%, after 12 h proteolysis while antioxidative activities, determined using assays involving DPPH˙ radical scavenging activity and metal ion-chelating activity, reached peaks of 65.0% and 65.7% at 8 h and 14 h, respectively. The said bioactivities were proposed to share some common structural requirements among peptides. A two-dimensional approach was employed for characterisation of effective peptides based on hydrophobicity, using RP-HPLC, and isoelectric property, using isoelectric focusing technique. Results revealed that acidic and basic peptides with partially higher hydrophobicity provided higher ACE inhibition activity than did neutral peptides. Finally, by using Q-TOF mass spectrometry, two peptide sequences (YPNQKV and FDIRA) with ACE inhibitory and antioxidative activities were successfully matched with a database. This study indicates that the WBS proteolysate can be a potential bifunctional food ingredient as the identified biopeptides demonstrated both ACE inhibitory and antioxidative activities in vitro.
Fulltext Changes of Major Antioxidant Compounds and Radical Scavenging Activity of Palm Oil and Rice Bran Oil during Deep-Frying

Hamid AA, Dek MS, Tan CP, Zainudin MA, Fang EK

Antioxidants (Basel), 2014;3(3):502-15.
PMID: 26785067 DOI: 10.3390/antiox3030502

Changes in antioxidant properties and degradation of bioactives in palm oil (PO) and rice bran oil (RBO) during deep-frying were investigated. The alpha (α)-tocopherol, gamma (γ)-tocotrienol and γ-oryzanol contents of the deep-fried oils were monitored using high performance liquid chromatography, and antioxidant activity was determined using 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. Results revealed that the antioxidant activity of PO decreased significantly (p < 0.05), while that of RBO was preserved after deep-frying of fries. As expected, the concentration of α-tocopherol in PO and γ-tocotrienol in both PO and RBO decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increased frying. Results also showed that γ-tocotrienol was found to be more susceptible to degradation compared to that of α-tocopherol in both PO and RBO. Interestingly, no significant degradation of α-tocopherol was observed in RBO. It is suggested that the presence of γ-oryzanol and γ-tocotrienol in RBO may have a protective effect on α-tocopherol during deep-frying.
Fulltext Synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of some novel imidazole and benzimidazole sulfonamides

Al-Mohammed NN, Alias Y, Abdullah Z, Shakir RM, Taha EM, Hamid AA

Molecules, 2013 Sep 26;18(10):11978-95.
PMID: 24077176 DOI: 10.3390/molecules181011978

Several new substituted sulfonamide compounds were synthesized and their structures were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, FT-IR, and mass spectroscopy. The antibacterial activities of the synthesized compounds were screened against standard strains of six Gram positive and four Gram negative bacteria using the microbroth dilution assay. Most of the compounds studied showed promising activities against both types of bacteria.
Use of prebiotics in oral delivery of bioactive compounds: a nanotechnology perspective

Heidarpour F, Mohammadabadi MR, Zaidul IS, Maherani B, Saari N, Hamid AA, et al.

Pharmazie, 2011 May;66(5):319-24.
PMID: 21699064

The oral route is considered the most patient-convenient means of drug administration. In recent years there has been a tendency to employ smart carrier systems that enable controlled or timed release of a bioactive material, thereby providing a better dosing pattern and minimizing side effects. Nano-encapsulation systems (nanocarriers) offer important advantages over conventional drug delivery techniques. Nanocarriers can protect the drug from chemical/enzymatic degradation and enhance bioavailability. Prebiotics are ideal ingredients for the nano-encapsulation and oral drug delivery due to their natural ability to protect the encapsulated compound in the upper gasterointestinal (GI) tract. Here the potential of prebiotics for oral delivery of drugs and other bioactives is reviewed.
Fulltext Effect of freeze-drying on the antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activity of selected tropical fruits

Shofian NM, Hamid AA, Osman A, Saari N, Anwar F, Dek MS, et al.

Int J Mol Sci, 2011;12(7):4678-92.
PMID: 21845104 DOI: 10.3390/ijms12074678

The effects of freeze-drying on antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activity of five tropical fruits, namely starfruit (Averrhoa carambola L.), mango (Mangifera indica L.), papaya (Carica papaya L.), muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.), and watermelon Citruluss lanatus (Thunb.) were investigated. Significant (p < 0.05) differences, for the amounts of total phenolic compounds (TPC), were found between the fresh and freeze-dried fruit samples, except muskmelon. There was no significant (p > 0.05) change, however, observed in the ascorbic acid content of the fresh and freeze-dried fruits. Similarly, freeze-drying did not exert any considerable effect on β-carotene concentration of fruits, except for mango and watermelon, where significantly (p < 0.05) higher levels were detected in the fresh samples. The results of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging and reducing power assays revealed that fresh samples of starfruit and mango had relatively higher antioxidant activity. In case of linoleic acid peroxidation inhibition measurement, a significant (p < 0.05) but random variation was recorded between the fresh and freeze-dried fruits. Overall, in comparison to β-carotene and ascorbic acid, a good correlation was established between the result of TPC and antioxidant assays, indicating that phenolics might have been the dominant compounds contributing towards the antioxidant activity of the fruits tested.
Fulltext Green synthesis and antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles using Vitex negundo L

Zargar M, Hamid AA, Bakar FA, Shamsudin MN, Shameli K, Jahanshiri F, et al.

Molecules, 2011 Aug 08;16(8):6667-76.
PMID: 25134770 DOI: 10.3390/molecules16086667

Different biological methods are gaining recognition for the production of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) due to their multiple applications. One of the most important applications of Ag-NPs is their use as an anti-bacterial agent. The use of plants in the synthesis of nanoparticles emerges as a cost effective and eco-friendly approach. In this study the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Vitex negundo L. extract and its antimicrobial properties has been reported. The resulting silver particles are characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopic techniques. The TEM study showed the formation of silver nanoparticles in the 10-30 nm range and average 18.2 nm in size. The XRD study showed that the particles are crystalline in nature, with a face centered cubic (fcc) structure. The silver nanoparticles showed the antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Vitex negundo L. was found to display strong potential for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents by rapid reduction of silver ions (Ag+ to Ag0).

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