Aqueous extracts obtained from five Malaysian brown seaweeds, Sargassum duplicatum, Sargassum binderi, Sargassum fulvellum, Padina australis, and Turbinaria turbinata, were investigated for their abilities to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage RAW 264.7 cell lines as well as to determine their chemical composition. The percentage yield of extracts varied among species, with P australis having the lowest yield and E turbinata having the highest yield. The chemical compositions of the extracts showed that the percentage of sulfate ions as well as uronic acid and total sugar content varied significantly. All extracts contained high fucose and inhibited NO secretion in a dose-dependent manner. Extracts of P australis and T turbinate dosed at 200 mu g/mL were able to inhibit NO secretion by > 75%. Furthermore, cytotoxicity assays revealed that some extracts were moderately toxic, while others were not. Based on these results, brown seaweed of Malaysian origin should be investigated for the production of additional anti-inflammatory compounds.

In recent years, the search for natural, safe and effective therapies for the management of obesity has become important. The present study investigated the potential of brown seaweeds Sargassum oligocystum and Padina australis from Malaysian waters as natural alternatives for the management of obesity. Both seaweeds were macerated using acetone at room temperature for ten hours. The S. oligocystum extracts (SE) and P. australis extracts (PE) were then applied to 3T3-L1 cells during the differentiation stage and during the mature stage of the adipocyte life cycle to assess the effects of extracts on adipogenesis and adipolysis. Application of SE at 12.5 and 50 mu g/ml to the cells decreased adipogenesis by 71.7%, and 84.8%, respectively, while cells treated with 12.5 and 50 mu g/ml PE showed 85.7%, and 89.0% adipogenesis respectively, compared to control. Application of SE and PE to mature lipid cells stimulated adipolysis and the release of glycerol into the culture media. Application of SE at 12.5 and 50 mu g mu g/ml in the cell media induced glycerol release by up to 88.6 and 93.0%, respectively, while PE increased glycerol release up to 92.9 and 95.6% respectively, compared to isoproterenol. This study demonstrates the potential of whole brown seaweed extracts from S. oligocystum and P. australis collected from Malaysian waters as natural anti-obesity agents. Incorporation of the brown seaweed into the diet as a functional food will be useful for prevention and treatment of obesity. (C) All Rights Reserved

Carotenoids are antioxidants with pharmaceutical potential. The major carotenoids important to humans are alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin. Some of the biological functions and actions of these individual carotenoids are quite similar to each other, whereas others are specific. Besides genotype and location, other environmental effects such as temperature, light, mineral uptake, and pH have been found affect carotenoid development in plant tissues and organs. Therefore, this research investigated the effects of the season and storage periods during postharvest handling on the accumulation of carotenoid in pumpkin. This study shows that long-term storage of pumpkins resulted in the accumulation of lutein and beta-carotene with a slight decrease in zeaxanthin. The amounts of beta-carotene ranged from 174.583 +/- 2.105 mg/100g to 692.871 +/- 22.019 mg/100g, lutein from 19.841 +/- 9.693 mg/100g to 59.481 +/- 1.645 mg/100g, and zeaxanthin from not detected to 2.709 +/- 0.118 mg/100g. The pumpkins were collected three times in a year; they differed in that zeaxanthin was present only in the first season, while the amounts of beta-carotene and lutein were the highest in the second and third seasons, respectively. By identifying the key factors among the postharvest handling conditions that control specific carotenoid accumulations, a greater understanding of how to enhance the nutritional values of pumpkin and other crops will be gained. Postharvest storage conditions can markedly enhance and influence the levels of zeaxanthin, lutein, and beta-carotene in pumpkin. This study describes how the magnitudes of these effects depend on the storage period and season.

Microencapsulation is a promising approach in drug delivery to protect the drug from degradation and allow controlled release of the drug in the body. Fucoxanthin-loaded microsphere (F-LM) was fabricated by two step w/o/w double emulsion solvent evaporation method with poly (L-lactic-co glycolic acid) (PLGA) as carrier. The effect of four types of surfactants (PVA, Tween-20, Span-20 and SDS), homogenization speed, and concentration of PLGA polymer and surfactant (PVA), respectively, on particle size and morphology of F-LM were investigated. Among the surfactants tested, PVA showed the best results with smallest particle size (9.18 pm) and a smooth spherical surface. Increasing the homogenization speed resulted in a smaller mean F-LM particle size [d(0.50)] from 17.12 to 9.18 pm. Best particle size results and good morphology were attained at homogenization speed of 20 500 rpm. Meanwhile, increased PLGA concentration from 1.5 to 11.0 (% w/v) resulted in increased F-LM particle size. The mean particle size [d(0.5)] of F-LM increased from 3.93 to 11.88 pm. At 6.0 (% w/v) PLGA, F-LM showed the best structure and external morphology. Finally, increasing PVA concentration from 0.5 to 3.5 (% w/v) resulted in decreased particle size from 9.18 to 4.86 pm. Fucoxanthin characterization before and after microencapsulation was carried out to assess the success of the microencapsulation procedure. Thermo gravimetry analysis (TGA), glass transition (Tg) temperature of F-LM and fucoxanthin measured using DSC, ATR-FTIR and XRD indicated that fucoxanthin was successfully encapsulated into the PLGA matrix, while maintaining the structural and chemical integrity of fucoxanthin.

Considerable attention has been directed to nanoparticles based on gelatin biopolymer due to its numerous available active group sites for attaching target molecules and acting as a drug or nutraceutical delivery system aiming to improve the therapeutic effects and also to reduce the side effects of formulated drugs as gelatin is a natural biodegradable biocompatible polymer, nontoxic, readily available, cheap and is used in parental formulations. With mammalian gelatin (pig and cow) as the major source of gelatin production, alternatives are required due to socio-cultural and health concerns to maintain halal status. This paper aims at reviewing fish skin gelatin from warm water species which can provide a potential alternative source of gelatin with almost the same rheological properties as mammalian gelatin and is a beneficial way to use fish waste such as skin, bones and fin which is generally discarded. The study also entails a lot of research being done in the field of nanoencapsulation of gelatin with various nutraceuticals as well as drug and gene therapy. There is an especially increasing interest in encapsulating biopeptides within gelatin nanoparticles in the functional food industry due to their role in preventing or delaying the onset of various diseases, food fortification, improvement of food quality, increase in shelf life, targeted peptide delivery and hence can be used as additives in food products. This review also attempts to provide an overview of the application of gelatin nanoparticles in nanoencapsulation in the food industry. (C) All Rights Reserved

This paper discusses effects of metal toxicity and environment on health and followed by a study report on mineral and heavy metal contents of fish conducted in Malaysia as an example. Fish, a part of being a good source of digestible protein vitamins, minerals and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), are also an important source of heavy metals. Some of the metals found in the fish might be essential as they play important role in biological system of the fish as well as in human being, some of them may also be toxic as might cause a serious damage in human health even in trace amount at a certain limit. A comprehensive study was conducted to fishes collected in Langkawi Island, a popular tourist destination in Malaysia and the overall findings revealed that from the human health point of view, the fin is a type offish found in the coastal areas of the island are safe for the consumption. The mineral and heavy metal contents are within the allowable limit of consumption. (C) All Rights Reserved

Gelatin is one of the most widely used food ingredients, with wide applications in the food industry. It was reported that 41% of the gelatin produced in the world is sourced from pig skin, 28.5% from bovine hides and 29.5% from bovine bones. However, factors such as the outbreak of BSE (a.k.a. mad cow disease) and increasing demand for non-mammalian gelatin for halal and kosher food markets have revived interest in gelatin replacers from plant sources. In this study, we have successfully extracted valuable pectin-as gelatin replacer--from various types of plant wastes. Pectin is a high value functional food ingredient widely used as a gelling agent and stabilizer. It is also an abundant, ubiquitous and multifunctional component of the cell walls of all land plants. Mango peel was screened as the ideal source for high-yield (36.6%) pectin of satisfactory quality. The results indicate that citric acid was the best solution for recovery of pectin from mango peels. An extraction temperature of 90 degrees C and pH 2 provided the optimum conditions for maximum yield of pectin. The resulting crude mango peel pectin (CMPP) was analyzed for physicochemical parameters. The results indicated values for ash content (0.0412%), moisture content (0.303%), viscosity (45.18%), galacturonic acid content (36.8-37.2-40%) and degree of esterification (38.3-41%). Following analysis of its gelling properties and sensory evaluation, CMPP has good potential to be applied in the food industry as a low-methoxyl pectin and a cheap source of gelatin replacer for jam preparations. (C) All Rights Reserved

Extraction of gelatin using traditional acid-base pretreatment method has several limitations such as time consuming and causes serious water pollution. Chemical treatment often being used as an alternative process to overcome the weaknesses of the conventional method. However, excessive chemical elements would damage the structure of the gelatin due to its high sensitivity to the acid content. High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a novel and environmental friendly method that has been suggested to assist gelatin extraction. Pressurization during pretreatment could reduce the extraction time and amount of acid used. It also has a potential in enhancing the properties of the gelatin extract and increasing the gelatin yield. In this research, One-Factor-at-Time (OFAT) and optimization study were done to determine the optimum parameters for extraction of gelatin assisted by HPP from red tilapia skin. Four parameters; applied pressure, pressure holding time, ratio of acid to skin and extraction time have been selected for the OFAT design and concentration of the gelatin extract and percentage of yield gelatin were evaluated. From OFAT, optimum technical parameters for response surface optimization design were 250 MPa pressure, 7.5 ml of acid to 1 g of skin and 12 hours extraction time. Pressure holding time was fixed for 10 min. FCCCD has been used for optimization study. Results from the data shows that the optimum conditions for gelatin extraction from red tilapia skin were 250 MPa for pressure, 10 min of pressure holding time, 7.5 ml of acid for 1 g of skin and 12 hours of extraction time while the maximum concentration and yield were 19.51 mg/ml and 32.04% (320.4 mg/g), respectively. These findings proved that HPP could increase the concentration and the yield of the gelatin while reducing the chemical waste and shortening the extraction process. (C) All Rights Reserved

Gastrodin elata blume (Tianma in Chinese, Chunma in Korean) is a perennial parasitic herbaceous plant native to Korea, Japan and China (Chae et al., 2008). The plant has recently received very good attention, especially in Korea, due to its excellent health-promoting properties. This plant is reported to have excellent antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. This paper briefly reviews some characteristics and functional properties of Chunma. (C) All Rights Reserved

Camel bone was demineralized through HCl acidulation process at different concentrations (0.0%, 1.5%, 3.0%, and 6.0%) over 1-5 days. The level of demineralization was acid concentration and soaking time dependent. Highest demineralization (62.0%) was recorded in bone sample treated with 6.0% dilute acid for 5 days. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) elemental analysis revealed reduction in Ca and increase in N and H, while O remains unaffected. Particulate characteristics by scanning electron microscope showed an increased surface roughness of bone after demineralization. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis of ossein depicted the presence of functional group similar to that of bone protein (collagen). Statistical optimization by central composite design (CCD) revealed a significant quadratic model for optimum values of extraction temperature, pH, and extraction time. The highest gelatin yield from camel bone was 23.66% at optimum extraction condition (71.87 degrees C, pH 5.26, and 2.58 h) and the bloom was 205.74 g. Camel bone is suitable for production of gelatin with good potentials in food and nonfood applications.