Mushrooms have been consumed by mankind for millennia. In Malaysia, there are many species of edible mushrooms which are either cultivated (Agaricus spp., Auricularia spp., Pleurotus spp.) or harvested in the wild (Ganoderma spp., Polyporus spp., Termitomyces spp.). With the advancement of technology, numerous discoveries have been made that elucidated the nutritional (high in fibres, proteins, vitamins; low in fats, cholesterols, sodium) and medicinal (anti-oxidative, anti-hypertensive, neuritogenesis) properties of edible mushrooms, all of which are highly beneficial for the maintenance of human health and well-being. This review thus compiles and documents the available literatures on edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia complete with scientific, English, and vernacular names for future references; provides a comprehensive and updated overview on the nutritional and medicinal properties edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia; and identifies the research gaps to promote further research and development on edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia. Overall, Malaysia is and remains a natural repository for wild and cultivated edible mushrooms. Deeper investigation on their nutritional and medicinal properties will certainly serve as an impetus for economic as well as scientific progress.
Recently, there has been an increasing demand and interest in developing plant extracts as natural food sanitizer, owing to their antimicrobial properties. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of salam (Syzygium polyanthum L.) leaves methanolics extract on the number of microflora on chicken meat and shrimp. Salam leaves extract at different concentrations (0.0%, 0.1%, 1.00%) and exposure times (5, and 10 min) used to treat chicken meat and shrimp by using dilution method. Result showed that the total plate count and Staphylococcus aureus had been detected in untreated chicken and shrimp samples with 6.66 ± 0.12, 8.66 ± 0.15 and 7.25 ± 0.21, 6.54 ± 0.21, respectively. However, there was no Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Vibrio cholerae detected in both samples. The number of total plate count (TPC) and S. aureus in chicken meat and shrimp were starting to reduce significantly at 0.01% concentration of salam leaves extract for 5 minutes of exposure time compared to initial count. There was no significantly different between exposure times. The highest reduction in number of microorganism population was at treatment with 1.0% extract for 10 min where TPC was reduced from 6.66 ± 0.12 to 0.00 ± 0.00 log10 CFU/ml, and from 8.66 ± 0.15 to 4.88 ± 0.00 log10 CFU/ml in shrimp while S. aureus reduced from 7.25 ± 0.21 to 3.88 ± 0.01 and from 6.54 ± 0.21 to 4.92 ± 0.04 in chicken and shrimp, respectively. For the sensory acceptability, overall acceptability were accepted by panellists until treatment 0.10% for 5 min and 10 min of soaking time. In conclusion, salam leaves extract might be developed as natural sanitizer for rinsing raw food materials such as chicken meat and shrimp.
Maintaining the quality of bakery products is vital for consumers’ health and preference. Since bakery products are intermediate-moisture foods, spoilage by moulds is among the major causes of shelf life reduction. In the present work, the effects of substituting banana purée with banana powder to extend the shelf life of banana cakes were investigated over a ten-day storage period. Three types of banana cake were made using banana purée (control), laboratory-formulated powder (LP), and commercial powder (CP). Results indicated a significant difference in moisture contents and water activities between all treatments in which LP and CP exhibited mould growth at day 9 compared to day 5 in control. For fungal load, LP yielded the lowest CFU by the end of storage period. Although significant differences in texture and appearance were noted between all treatments, untrained sensory panellists scored LP as acceptable. Further works are therefore warranted to assess LP’s commercialisation potentials.
Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause for foodborne diseases. Extensive use of antibiotics has led to emergence of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus. Hence, interest on natural plant-based alternative which limits the use of synthetic chemicals is growing. The present work evaluated the antibacterial capacity of garlic, aloe vera, galangal, pineapple peel, neem, papaya leaf, lemongrass, peppermint, nutmeg and clove separately extracted with hexane, ethanol and water to a final concentration of 10% w/v against ampicillin+penicillin-resistant isolates of S. aureus in vitro. Streptomycin was used as a drug control against the resistant isolates; BRS023, BRS068 and DRS072. According to the interpretive standards for inhibition zone diameter provided by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, isolates BRS068 and DRS072 were considered resistant (≤ 12 mm), and isolate BRS023 was considered intermediate (13-14 mm). Against these isolates, all crude plant extracts exhibited varying degrees of inhibition. However, a coherent trend was observed in the inhibition between resistant and intermediate isolates regardless of plants and solvents used. It was also found that extraction solvent types impacted the resulting antibacterial activity. In terms of positive inhibition, the solvents were ranked in the order of hexane (77%) > water (73%) > ethanol (57%). 10% hexane extract of galangal gave the overall highest inhibition zones (17.8 ± 1.4 mm) closely followed by 10% ethanol extract of nutmeg (16.3 ± 1.1 mm). Further phytochemical analyses of the antibacterial compounds from galangal and nutmeg, and their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) are needed. Potential applications of plant-based antibacterial compounds as natural, costeffective and less-toxic food preservatives against drug-resistant foodborne pathogens should be explored.