A survey was conducted to investigate the level of consumption of ‘ulam’ in Selangor State among 252 adults (> 17 years) (male 28.6%, female 71.4%) of major ethnics (Malays-51.6%; Chinese-30.5%; Indians-17.5%) with the mean age of 42.7 ± 13.9 years. Consumption data were collected using 24 hours duplicate samples together with questionnaire on perceptions of ‘ulam.’ Results showed that ‘ulam’ was preferred by majority of the subjects (82.1%), especially amongst Malays (92.3%). A total of 52% of the subjects consumed partially or boiled ‘ulam.’ Factors that affect their preferences on ‘ulam’ were the perception of therapeutic effects of the ‘ulam’ towards health, its good taste and unique
aroma. The most consumed ‘ulam’ were cucumber (Cucumis sativus) (60.6%) ‘kacang botol’ (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) (33%), Indian pennywort (Hydrocotyle asiatica) (31.5%), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) (27.6%), ‘petai’ (Parkia speciosa) (29%) and ‘ulam raja’ (Cosmos caudatus) (21.9%). The most preferred partially or boiled ‘ulam’
were tapioca shoot (Manihot esculenta) (31.5%), ocra (Hibiscus esculentus) (12.5%) and ‘jantung pisang’ (Musa sapientum) (20.1%). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) amongst the three different ethnic groups on the consumption of ‘ulam’ and the median for total intake per day was within the range of 30-39 g/day. Ulam is a potential
source for increasing vegetable consumption to meet recommendation by World Health Organization (WHO), which is 400 g per day.
Keywords: Adults; perception; ‘ulam;’ Selangor State
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a foodborne pathogen associated with pneumoniae. Multiresistance to antibiotics of K. pneumoniae is a significant public health treat. Recently, the use of natural products such as herbs to inhibit the growth of pathogens is increasing. Java turmeric (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb.) has been reported to possess antibacterial activity against foodborne pathogens. Unfortunately, the antibacterial activity of java turmeric extract against the resistance to multiantibiotics of K. pneumoniae has not been investigated. In this study, the antibacterial activity of Java turmeric extract was tested against 24 isolates of resistant K. pneumoniae that was isolated from several vegetables; lettuce, cucumber, tomato and carrot, using the methods recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CSLI), including disc diffusion method, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) and killing time at concentration 0× MIC, ½× MIC, 1× MIC, 2× MIC and 4× MIC with predetermined time of 0, 0.25 , 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 h. The results showed that Java turmeric extract is susceptible to all resistant K. pneumoniae with inhibition zones ranging from 8.67 ± 0.58 to 10.00 ± 0.00 mm. The MIC and MBC values for the K. pneumoniae isolates against all bacterial isolates was 1.25 and 2.5 mg/ml, respectively. The killing time curve shows the reduction of resistant K. pneumoniae cells is fast acting; > 3 log10 within less than 15 min at 4× MIC (5.0 mg/ml). Finally, the isolates were completely killed at 4× MIC for 15 min. In conclusion, the Java turmeric extracts can be developed as natural antimicrobial agent to inhibit the growth of K. pneumoniae in food system.
The organic foods’ market is becoming one of the rapidly growing sections in agricultural economies in the world. During the last two decades, food-borne outbreaks associated with fresh produce have rapidly increased. E. coli O57:H7, the caustic agent of acute hemorrhagic diarrhea and abdominal cramps, is mainly associated with meat and poultry product outbreaks but frequent outbreaks linked to the consumption of vegetables have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in some organic foods. A total of 230 organic food samples including four-winged bean, tomato, white radish, red cabbage, chinese cabbage, lettuce, cucumber and chicken form retailed groceries and supermarkets in Malaysia were investigated. Low prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was detected in organic vegetables and chickens. The estimated quantity of E. coli O157:H7 in all samples ranged from 2400 MPN/g. The overall MPN/g estimate of E. coli O157:H7 in the samples from organic groceries was higher than supermarket with the maximum of >2400 MPN/g. Most of the samples from supermarket showed a minimum of
Occurrence and distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), and pyrethroid pesticides (PYRs) residues in the leafy vegetables were analyzed together with the soil samples using gas chromatography-electron capture detector. Edible tissues of vegetables showed detectable residues of these compounds indicating the influence of the conventional farms and nearby organic farms. In the vegetables, the OCPs concentrations were recorded as nd-133.3 ng/g, OPPs as nd-200 ng/g, and PYRs as nd-33.3 ng/g. In the soil, the OCPs concentrations were recorded as nd-30.6 ng/g, OPPs as nd-26.6 ng/g, and for PYRs as nd-6.7 ng/g. Bioconcentration factor (BCF) was higher for the OPPs (0.3) than the OCPs and PYRs (1.1). The OCPs concentration in the vegetables decreased in the following order: spinach > celery > broccoli > cauliflower > cabbage > lettuce > mustard. For OPPs, the concentration decreased in the following order: cauliflower > spinach > celery > cabbage > broccoli > lettuce > mustard and for PYRs as spinach > celery > lettuce > cabbage > broccoli. Principal component analysis indicates that the sources of these pesticides are not the same, and the pesticide application on the vegetables depends on the type of crop. There is a significant positive correlation between OPPs and the soil (r = 0.65) as compared to OCPs and PYRs (r = 0.1) as the vegetables accumulated OPPs more efficiently than OCPs and PYRs.