A study was conducted to quantitate the concentrations of heavy metals, such as Hg, Pb and Cd in eight species of marine fin fish caught off the coast of Langkawi Island in Malaysia, as well as in its waters. The same fish were also used to determine the content of nutritional minerals, such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), and manganese (Mn).Fish and water samples were collected from four different areas, namely (1) Main Jetty Pulau Tuba (MJPT), (2) Teluk Cempedak Jetty (TCJ), (3) Simpang Tiga Chian Lian (STCL) and (4) Main Jetty Kuah (MJK) around Langkawi Island. Results showed that for the vital elements, all species had higher concentration of Zn compared to other elements. For the toxic elements, lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) were found to have lower concentration of the mean values than the permissible limits set by FAO/WHO (1984). However, cadmium (Cd) level was slightly higher than the permissible limit but was still acceptable according to the Malaysian Food Regulation (1985). It can be concluded that all fish species studied are safe to be consumed.
Gelatin from goatskin pretreated with hydrochloric acid and extracted with distilled water at 60oC for 9 hours was characterized and compared to that of bovine skin gelatin (BSG). A yield of 10.26% (wet weight basis) was obtained. Goatskin gelatin (GSG) had high protein (86.58%), suitable moisture (9.58%), low fat (1.46%) and low ash (0.11%) content. The functional properties of GSG including gel strength (301 g bloom) and emulsion activity index (94.27%) were higher than the functional properties of BSG including gel strength (192 g bloom) and emulsion activity index (49.74%). The foaming property of GSG (102%) was lower than that of BSG (164.67%). This study shows that GSG has a high potential for application as a source of commercial gelatin.
Characterization and quantification of carotenoid compound is complicated, costly and timeconsuming. The accuracy and reliability of the data depend solely on the standard and to High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis but the major constraint is to acquire and to maintain the pure standards. Carotenoid standards are commercially available but they are expensive and are prone to isomerization and oxidation. Thus, the purpose of this study is to establish an analytical method for isolating β-carotene by using open column chromatography (OCC) from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) to be used as one of the carotenoid standards for determination of total and individual carotenoid. Pumpkin with orange flesh has been chosen due to the non-seasonal nature and its availability all year-round. This study demonstrated that the purity of β-carotene standard; determined by HPLC was ranged from 92.21 to 97.95%. The standard curves with five different concentrations of β-carotene extract from pumpkins in triplicate were constructed by plotting the peak area against the concentration. The coefficient of correlation was 0.9936. Therefore, this study established that pumpkin can be a reliable source of beta-carotene standard as it is cheap and commonly available throughout the year.
Gelatins from the skin of four local marine fish, namely “kerapu” (Epinephelus sexfasciatus), “jenahak” (Lutjianus argentimaculatus), “kembung” (Rastrelliger kanagurta), and “kerisi” (Pristipomodes typus) have been successfully extracted by acid extraction. Results characterization showed that the fish gelatins were comparable to the fish gelatins from other fish species previously reported. They appeared snowy white in color with crystal-like and light texture. The gelatine extracted from “kerapu” had the strongest fishy odor, followed by the gelatines derived from “jenahak”, “kembung” and “kerisi”. In terms of bloom strength, the gelatin extracted from “kerapu” was found to be the strongest one compared to others, with the bloom value of more than 2000 g. The gelatins developed in this study contained almost all essential amino acids, with glycine being the most predominant one.