Finogel - halal nanomaterials from fish collagen extracts

Finogel is a gelatin extract from fish (perch) skin. It is 100% protein, nano coil-tubular structures, pure white coloration, high solubility and other functional properties. When reconstituted, it behaves like Newtonian fluid. It is categorized as Type A and B due to its molecular composition. It is in the form of dried powder. Generally, gelatin, one of the most popular biopolymers, is widely used in food (confectionary, dairy products, bakery, low fat spreads, meat product beverages), pharmaceutical (hard capsule, soft capsules, coatings, plasma expanders), wound care (surgical/dental sponges, hydrocolloids dressings) cosmetic , and photographic(silver halide crystal-containing emulsion layer, coating layer, sub-coating layer, antihalogen layers and non-curl layer) applications because of its unique functional and rheological properties. It can act as binder, bioactive carrier for drug delivery, amino acids supplements, encapsulating agent, wound healing, clarification, texturizer, etc. Finogel is an improved product. It is quite distinct from all available fish gelatin due to the intrinsic qualities which make it a direct match with mammalian gelatin. In order to achieve improvement in production of Finogel, the production process was studied, modified and optimized. This lead to the eradication in associated negative qualities of fish gelatin like fishy odour, low gel-strength, low melting point, turbidity and low yield. In fact, Finogel is quite very high in gel-strength. Gel-strength is a very important parameter of gelatin, measured in bloom and determine its market value. High bloom value commands high price and vice versa

Optimisation of browning index of Maillard reaction in gelatine powder by response surface methodology (RSM) for halal authentication

Gelatine as the product of collagen extraction from animals is widely used in the food industry. In a glance, the physical properties of gelatine from several sources such as fish, bovine and porcine are similar. Therefore, distinguishing between the sources of gelatine is a tedious task. The differentiation of the gelatine from its sources requires an approach of a chemical reaction. This paper focused on the optimisation of Maillard reaction from different sources of gelatine by Response surface methodology (RSM). The experiment was designed with several imperative parameters; temperature, time and presence of metal ion Cu2+. The response was recorded from the absorbance of reacted gelatine mixture at specific wavenumber (420 nm) through UV-Vis instrumentation. The optimal reaction condition of all type of gelatines in water bath was 95°C for 9 hrs. From solution given, only 5mM concentration of metal ion Cu2+ has an influence on the bovine gelatine compared to fish and porcine gelatine. Maillard reaction with a combination of UV-Vis spectroscopy is one of the convenient protocols for rapid authentication purpose. RSM help to optimize the reaction condition of gelatine from different sources

Study on anti-bacterial potentials of some Malaysian brown seaweeds

With increasing in emergence of resistance pathogenic microorganisms to majority of antibiotics, there is an urgent and continuous need for exploring and developing cheaper and effective plant based drugs with better bioactive potential and least side effects. Bioactive extracts from four species of brown seaweeds (Sargassum plagyophillum, Sargassum flavellum, Padina australis and Sargassum binderi) of Malaysia origin were tested in vitro for their anti-bacterial activities against gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli). Four solvents (methanol, acetone, ethyl acetate and chloroform) were used during the preliminary screening stage to obtain crude extracts. None of the crude extracts displayed antimicrobial activity against the gram negative bacteria while the gram positive bacteria were inhibited. Methanol extract of S. plagyophillum was the best in terms of yield (4.72%) and antimicrobial activity with inhibition zone of 12 mm against B. subtilis. Chloroform fraction gave highest inhibition zone of 17 mm against B. subtilis. Hence, the result from this work showed that S. plagyophillum has the potential for antimicrobial drug production

Nutritional perspectives of early Muslims’ eating habits

In recent time, there has been a great influx of numerous processed foods into the market. The utilization of improved technologies in food ecosphere has not only led to the emergence of complex foods but has also raised concerns about their nutritional, safety and halal status among consumers. Consumers are confused whether to reject or adopt the proceesed foods and have become divided into various groups based on their eating habits. In order to ameliorate their concerns, consumers seek the adoption of knowledge-based eating habits. This review provides details on the nutritional perspectives of eating habits by early Muslims. Islam, as a complete way of life, entails well-defined eating habits as a comprehensive guide for mankind