The presence of natural antioxidant in plants is well known. This paper reports the antioxidative activities of some methanolic plant extracts namely 'ulam raja' (Cosmos caudatus), kesum' (Polygonum minus), 'selom' (Oenanthe javanica), 'pegaga' (Centella asiatica) and 'curry leaf' (Murraya koenigii). The analysis carried out was total phenolic content, ferric reducing power, ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) tests. From the analyses, M. koenigii had the highest yield extraction (1.65%), highest total phenolic content (38.60 mg TAE/ 100 g fresh weight) and antioxidant activity (70.60%) using FTC method. Increasing the concentration of the extracts resulted in increased ferric reducing antioxidant power for all methanolic extracts tested. TBA analysis showed that C. caudatus extract had the highest antioxidant effect. Total phenolic content had positive correlation with antioxidant capacity (r = 0.451). This shows that the plants, especially M. koeniigi, may be potent source of natural antioxidants. � 2009 Academic Journals.

This study was conducted on selected local herbs such as ulam raja (Cosmos caudatus), kesum (Polygonum minus), selom (Oenanthe javanica), pegaga (Centella asiatica) and curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) to investigate their antioxidative activities. The water extracts of the herbs were analysed for total phenolic content, reducing antioxidant power, ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test was also accried out. Polygonum minus showed the highest total phenolic content and reducing power among the herbs. Increasing the concentration of the extracts resulted in increased Fe3+ reducing antioxidant power for all the herbs. FTC and TBA tests on the extracts during seven days of storage showed that all the herbs extracts had the ability to reduce oxidation compared to the control (P < 0.05). From the FTC analysis, Murraya koenigii leaves was best in reducing the oxidation rate (67.67%) compared to the other herbs studied. Analysis of TBA showed that Centella asiatica extract had the highest antioxidant effect. However, both TBA and FTC analysis for these two herbs showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) from Polygonum minus and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHT) a synthetic antioxidant. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations between amount of total phenolic content and reducing power (r = 0.75) and antioxidative activities (r = 0.58) in linoleic acid emulsion system. This shows that antioxidative activities of these Malaysian herbal plants especially Polygonum minus may be a potential source of natural antioxidants with similar characteristics to the synthetic antioxidant, BHT.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to improve the nutritional value of chicken nuggets by partial substitution of animal fat with palm stearin. Three nugget formulations with the fat level of 10.3 per cent palm fats consisted of blends from Olein: Stearin at ratios of 30:70, 50:50, 70:30 were used to replace chicken skin (control). Palm fat treatments resulted in a significant decrease of cholesterol content. Design/methodology/approach: Four nugget formulations with the fat level of 10.3 per cent palm fats consisting of blends from Olein: Stearin at ratio of 30:70, 50:50, 70:30 and a commercial shortening, Socfat 36 are studied. The same formulation using chicken skin as a control and a commercial brand of nugget is used as a comparison. Proximate analysis of raw and cooked palm fat nuggets showed a decrease in the protein content and an increase of the fat content. The cholesterol content were reduced up to 45.9 per cent through the addition of palm fat, when compared against the control treatment. Fatty acid composition of palm fats in the palm substituted formulations increased the level of C16:0 and decreased C16:1, C18:1, C18:2, compared with fat from chicken skin. Findings: The cholesterol content was reduced by 45.9 per cent when chicken skin and fat were substituted with palm fats. The texture of chicken nugget increased when added with palm fats. Palmitic acid (C16:0) content increased while palmitoleic acid (C16:1), oleic (C18:1) and linoleic acid (C18:2) decreased in palm fat treated nuggets. Originality/value: The paper is of value in showing how palm stearin and olein usage in chicken nuggets helps reduce the product's cholesterol content. � Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Abstract: The effects of rice bran and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the oxidative stability of smokedchicken sausages were determined. Lipid oxidation was analyzed at several different days of chilled storage(n=3, for all measurements). Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values and peroxide value (PV) of smoked chickensausages increased throughout the nine days of storage (4°C). Chicken sausage formulated with Red Palm MidFraction (RPMF) showed significantly lower TBA value compared to the samples prepared with chicken fat(p<0.05). However, -carotene content showed the highest significant value (p<0.05) in sausage incorporatedwith RPMF. It was concluded that the utilization of RPMF significantly reduced the oxidation of lipid, whichwas indicated, by the TBA values. This study also showed that the small amount of dietary fiber (rice bran) alsoimprove the oxidative stability of smoked chicken sausages. It can be suggest that the time for oxidation studyneed longer storage duration to see the good result plot and changes that occur can be determined clearly. Key words: Oxidative Stability Red Palm Mid Fraction Chicken Fat Chicken Sausage