This research aimed to determine the total antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the papaya seeds. These papaya seeds then were introduced into the prepared ice cream to determine the effect of the papaya seeds to the physicochemical and the acceptability of ice cream by making four different formulations (Control, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0% of papaya seeds). Two methods namely free radical scavenging assay (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were used to determine the total antioxidant activity of the papaya seeds, whereas total phenolic content was determined by FolinCiocalteu’s method (TPC). The papaya seeds showed high total phenolic content in the TPC analysis result. Furthermore, DPPH and FRAP showed high antioxidant activity of the papaya seeds. Acceptability of the ice cream was conducted by sensory evaluation and the results showed that the control (0.0%) papaya seeds ice cream formulation was the most favorable by the panelists followed by 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0% papaya seeds formulation. In conclusion, the papaya seeds are proven to contain antioxidants by the results given in DPPH, FRAP, and TPC tests. Surprisingly, the papaya seeds also did not affect the physicochemical of the ice cream and the ice cream was accepted by the panelists. Keywords: Acceptability, Ice Cream, Antioxidant, Papaya Seeds

Sustainability of energy has always become an issue globally as current energy supplies are depleting gradually. Humans were too dependent on natural gasses as a source of energy before, which brought us to this crisis as they are non-renewable energy and take up to a million years to recover. Not only that, prolonged utilization of this type of energy brought deterioration to our environment. Biofuels are one of the renewable energy sources that are favoured in the industry nowadays. They have the potential to replace non-renewable energy while simultaneously decrease the environmental damage. Sourced from various agricultural residues and other plant substances, lignocellulosic materials are capable of being converted to non-renewable energy due to their lavish availability through three basic steps, pre-treatments, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. This review seeks to observe the prospect of cassava peels as a source for biofuels production and other value-added products such as formic acid, levulinic acid, glycolic acid and vanillin.

Menjaga kemuliaan al-Quran merupakan kewajipan bagi umat Islam. Pelupusan al-Quran secara patuh syariah adalah langkah yang diambil bagi menjaga kemuliaan kitab suci ini sejak zaman berzaman sehingga kini. Di Malaysia, pelupusan al-Quran dilakukan terhadapmushaf yang tersilap cetak, terkoyak, rosak, usang dan luput. Tambahan pula, belakangan ini isu mushaf rosak akibat bencana banjir menyebabkan teks tersebut basah, kembang dan berlumpur kembali meningkat. Secara umumnya di Malaysia, kaedah pembakaran diguna pakai untuk melupuskan kitab suci ini, namun mushaf yang rosak akibat banjir menyebabkan kasukaran untuk bahan itu dilupuskan secara pembakaran. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti sejumlah kaedah pelupusan al-Quran berdasarkan pandangan sarjana Muslim yang bersesuaian untuk digunakan pasca bencana banjir. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan instrumen pengumpulan data kajian menerusi analisis dokumen. Hasil dapatan mendapati bahawa terdapat beberapa kaedah pelupusan al-Quran yang dibincangkan oleh para sarjana Muslim seperti kaedah pembakaran, penanaman dan nyahdakwat (deinking). Walaupun kaedah penanaman sudah di wartakan di peringkat pusat menerusi Muzakarah MKI kali ke 30 pada tahun 1992 tetapi masih belum pernah di praktikkan melalui agensi terbabit. Justeru, kajian berharap supaya kaedah penanaman dapat diketengahkan sebagai alternatif penyelesaian isu pelupusan al-Quran pasca banjir.

[No abstract available]

Cassavapeel has been a notable agricultural waste material to researchers because of its potential to produce sugar, a valuable product in the food, agricultural, and cosmetic industries. The peels constitute lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose, also known as lignocellulosic biomass. Cassava peels must undergo a pre-treatment method to separate the lignocellulosic material effectively. This study aimsto investigate the optimal chemical pre-treatment methods and optimal pre-treatment concentration to produce sugar from cassava peel. Cassava peels were pre-treated with sodium hydroxide, sulphuric acid,and methanol with a catalyst (organosolv). Then, enzymatic hydrolysis was performed using cellulase to hydrolyze cellulose to glucose. The glucose yield is quantified using Dinitrosalicylic Acid Assay and a portable blood glucometer. The results showed that pre-treatment using sodium hydroxide at a concentration of 0.05 M at 121°C for 15 minutes gave the highest glucose yield of 4.53±1.20 mg/ml. Glucose produced from 0.05 M sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and 0.2 M organosolv sodium methoxide (MeOH+NaOAc) were 3.55±0.68 mg/ml and 3.29±0.93 mg/ml, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the effect of different pre-treatment methods and pre-treatment concentrations had a significant glucose yield (P<0.05). Similarly, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the glucose yield under different pre-treatment concentrations. Further study on mechanical-assisted chemical pre-treatment methods is recommended.

Vanillin is one of the most commonly utilized aromatic flavoring chemicals in the food and cosmetics industries. It is derived from natural sources, making it more expensive than synthetic vanillin, and it constitutes less than one percent of the annual market demand.Pineapple peel stands out as a valuable source for extracting ferulic acid, which in turn is utilized in the synthesis of vanillin. As a result, researchers are exploring alternative methods for producing vanillin, such as biotechnological production from ferulic acid. In this study, the capability of pineapple peels as a substrate for the microbial fermentation of ferulic acid by Aspergillus nigerto produce vanillin in a single step was investigated. The biotransformation of ferulic acid from pineapple peel by alkaline hydrolysis was optimized using different concentrations of NaOH. Further, the detection and quantification of vanillin and ferulic acid were carried out using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method. Through HPLC analysis, the amount of vanillin concentration produced from the supernatant culture was 1.47±0.24 μg/ml from 1.0 M NaOH concentration and 2.83±0.44 μg/ml from 2.0 M NaOH concentration. From this study, 57.09±1.84 μg/ml and 83.84±4.01 μg/ml of ferulic acid were produced from the 1.0 M NaOH and 2.0M NaOH,respectively. In addition, using the TBA technique, vanillin concentrations were calculated, resulting in 12.92 ± 0.54 μg/ml and 15.38 ± 0.77 μg/ml from 1.0 M and 2.0 M NaOH concentrations, respectively. Briefly, the pineapple peel has been discovered as a good source for vanillin production using Aspergillus nigerin the fermentation method.

Vanilla is the main natural flavouring agent used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, food, flavouring, and fragrance, in which vanillin is the major component. Vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) is a secondary metabolite of plants and the major organoleptic aroma component of natural vanilla. The vanillin compound can be produced using the following routes: direct vanilla bean extraction, chemical synthesis, and biotechnological processes (bio-vanilla production). Nowadays, the chemical synthesis method used for vanillin production has been rejected by the United States and European legislation, while plant-derived vanillin is expensive. The current study demonstrates vanillin production from pumpkin peels (Cucurbita moschata) by Aspergillus niger via one-step fermentation approach. This study implements different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (1.0 M and 2.0 M) during alkaline hydrolysis pretreatment and different feeding volumes of hydrolysates during the biotransformation processes of ferulic acid into vanillin, classified as small feeding volumes (SFV) and large feeding volumes (LFV). Detection and quantification analysis were carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), resulting in vanillin yield of 0.49 mg/L (1.0 M SFV), 0.5 mg/L (1.0 M LFV), 0.33 mg/L (2.0 M SFV), 0.59 mg/L (2.0 M LFV). Analysis with ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometry using thiobarbituric acid as reagent was carried out as well, resulting in vanillin yield of 2.76 µg/ml (1.0 M SFV), 3.78 µg/ml (1.0 M LFV), 2.68 µg/ml (2.0 M SFV), 3.05 µg/ml (2.0 M LFV). In conclusion, pumpkin peels can be considered a great source of ferulic acid and Aspergillus niger was reported as an efficient fungus in converting ferulic acid to vanillic acid, which will then be transformed into vanillin.

SOYGO is an energy bar that can be categorized as a meal replacement bar. SOYGO energy bar comes in a single-serving size and does not have to be refrigerated. As the name suggests, this SOYGO energy bar is made with soybean, the primary source of high-quality protein content. Moreover, this product is rich in ingredients that provide instant energy, and the convenience of energy bars makes them a perfect grab-and-go bite. Due to its high potential to be commercialized, this SOYGO Energy Bar product is registered as a Trade Secret (TS00132023) at Research and Innovation Management Centre (RIMC), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia.

Conversion of agricultural residues into valuable products has become an important study in the industry. Generally, they are made up of lignocellulose biomass which requires a particular method such as pretreatment to enhance the desired yield to produce the end product. However, pumpkin is commercialized in very little way in Malaysia, and their processing generates tons of seeds and peels as byproducts. Not to mention the fact that pumpkin wastes have many beneficial nutrients and dry matter that can be utilized in many ways. Pumpkin peel is particularly rich in glucose content and can be converted through several main steps in bioethanol production; pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, and fermentation which usually uses fungi to obtain fermentable sugar and followed by distillation. Furthermore, bioactive compounds such as carbohydrate, protein, minerals, fatty acid and a significant value on antioxidant compounds like tocopherol, phenols and carotenes are also found in pumpkin seed. On top of that, pumpkin seeds and peels contain quite an amount of pectin that can be extracted through acid hydrolysis and have great potential as gelling agents and thickeners in the food industry as an alternative source from the commercial pectin. These have proven that the usage of pumpkin residuals not only it can provide good benefits to human, in fact, various valuable products can be produced in a cheaper and sustainable way.