Production of Natural Food Colourants Using Food Grade Microbial Pigments: A New Focus in Industrial Microbiology

In today’s food industry, the new focus on large-scale microbial production of natural food colourants has emerged among the manufacturers due to the relatively costly production of plant-derived food colourants, and the doubtful safety status of inorganic and synthetic colourants. However, it is still very challenging to change the consumers’ reliance on synthetic colourants. In fact, the first European success on the launch of β-carotene from Blakeslea trispora in 1995 has headed more search for new sources of natural food grade microbial pigments. The acceptance and rejection of a microbial food grade pigment by a community of consumers depend on two main contributing factors i.e. the regional and the traditional-based legislations. This paper discusses the classification of natural pigments, the legislation on natural food colourants, the success and new sources of potential pigment-producing microbes, and the advantages of microbial fermentation

Identification of bacterial species from longevity spinach leaves

Gynura procumbens or longevity spinach plant is a type of medicinal plant that distributes widely in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Phillipines. In Malaysia, G. procumbens is commonly called as pokok Sambung Nyawa, Sabong Nyawa, Akar Sebiak or Kecam Akar; and often consumed as ulam or salad. Ulam means the food is served raw or freshly uncooked; thus there might be a number of microorganism particularly bacteria that are still inhabiting the leaves. As modern technology is growing rapidly, there is still little to no information in studies and researches focusing on the link between medicinal plants and bacteria that inhabit the plant specifically epiphytic bacteria on the leaf surface. Besides, studies on diversity of bacteria inhabiting the phyllosphere is still unclear. Thus, this study aimed to identify bacteria from the surface of G. procumbens leaves based on morphology through Gram-staining and genetics using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing; and to determine the possible contribution of the bacteria to the medicinal properties of G. procumbens. The findings from this research suggested the presence of five species of bacteria i.e. Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Pantoea agglomerans, Sphingomonas melonis and Burkholderia cepacia. From further readings, it is known that some of the species have its potential towards medicinal application such as production of antibiotics. In addition, it is hypothesised that the production of some secondary metabolites in the plant might be due to the presence of the bacteria

Genetic identification and gut content of Gerong fish Osteochilus waandersii from Larai River

Gerong fish, or Osteochilus waandersii, is a popular freshwater fish among the Jakun tribe in Kampung Peta, Johor National Park of Endau-Rompin, particularly for its use in traditional medicine to alleviate dizziness by consuming its raw gut. Despite its cultural significance, the genetic and feeding behavior of Gerong fish remains unclear. This study aimed to amplify the mitochondrial DNA barcode region of Gerong fish for genetic identification and to identify its gut content. The DNA barcodes were produced using polymerase chain reaction and single-pass DNA sequencing of partial COI gene, and the gut content was observed using stereo microscope. Several five partial COI gene sequences were successfully obtained after DNA sequencing. In addition, the results of BLAST analysis with percent identities of 96.24% to 97.20% along with the phylogenetic inference of maximum likelihood analyses suggested the Gerong fish as Osteochilus waandersii or the Waanders's hard-lipped barb. The sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession numbers MN223396-MN223400). Microscopic observation of the fish guts revealed undigested worms and digested aquatic mosses, known as lumut batuk. These findings mark a significant step forward in understanding the genetics and feeding behavior of the Gerong fis

Urinary apolipoprotein A1 and its potential as a biomarker for coronary artery disease in young adults

INTRODUCTION: Very few studies have focused on exploring the utilisation of urinary protein biomarkers to improve the risk stratification of coronary artery disease (CAD) in young adults. Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) as a primary constituent protein of Highdensity Lipoprotein (HDL) known to modulate cholesterol metabolism exhibits promising properties to be used as a protein biomarker, specifically for CAD in young adults. Thus, this study is aimed to evaluate the potential of urinary ApoA1 as a urinary biomarker of CAD in young patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). MATERIALS AND METHOD: This case-control study recruited 40 newly diagnosed AMI patients and 40 healthy control subjects aged 18–45. Urine samples were collected from all subjects. Once centrifuged, the supernatant was collected and stored at -80 °C until further analysis. The urinary concentration of ApoA1 was quantified using the ApoA1 Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit according to the manufacturer's protocol. All subjects' risk factors were determined and documented, such as smoking status, Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol, and glucose levels. RESULTS: The mean age of AMI patients was higher than the controls; 37.1 1 ± 5.2 and 31.6 ± 8.1 years respectively. The mean urinary concentration of ApoA1 of AMI patients was significantly higher than the controls (12. 442 ± 3.571 vs. 10.067 ± 5.606 ng/ mL (p0.05). CONCLUSION: A significant elevation of urinary excretion of ApoA1 in AMI young adults demonstrated its potential use as a urinary protein biomarker for CAD in young adults

Potential of urinary apolipoprotein A1 as a biomarker for coronary artery disease in young adults

INTRODUCTION: Coronary artery disease (CAD) in young adults associate with significant socio-economic burden to individuals, families and community. Studies on new protein biomarkers to improve risk stratification of CAD in young adults mainly focused on plasma samples, while urinary biomarkers remain minimally researched. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the urinary concentration of Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) in young patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). MATERIALS AND METHOD: This study recruited 40 newly diagnosed AMI patients and 40 healthy control subjects aged 18 to 45 years. Urine samples were collected from all subjects and centrifuged. Following removal of the sediment, the supernatant was collected and stored at -80 °C until analysis. The urinary concentration of ApoA1 were measured using the Abcam Human ApoA1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Risk factor profiles for CAD such as smoking status, body mass index, blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol and glucose levels of all subjects were determined and documented. RESULTS: The mean age of AMI patients and the controls was 37.1 ± 5.2, and 31.6 ± 8.1 years, p0.05). CONCLUSION: A significant elevation of urinary excretion of ApoA1 in AMI young adults proposed its potential role as a urinary biomarker for CAD in young adults. Urinary biomarker may serve as an alternative non-invasive approach to recognize early onset of CAD in this cohort

Simulating the Effectiveness of an IoT Parcel Alert System for Enhancing Delivery Efficiency and Safety During Covid-19

The Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized the way devices communicate and interact with one another. Malaysia has witnessed a substantial increase in online purchasing in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic and the Malaysian government's mobility control order (MCO) have contributed to the rise in online sales. This circumstance has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of packages that Malaysian delivery firms must manage, producing issues for both homeowners and delivery services. Unattended parcel delivery, parcel loss, and unsuccessful delivery efforts have become widespread. This paper proposes an IoT-based Parcel Delivery Alert System to address the challenges associated with unattended parcel delivery, parcel loss, and failed delivery attempts. The system comprises a parcel safe box that integrates with IoT sensors, such as weight and load sensors, image sensors, and light sensors. The IoT sensors provide real-time information about the delivery status and alert the recipient once the delivery has been made. The system's efficiency and effectiveness were evaluated using the MARS simulator, demonstrating a significant improvement in parcel delivery performance. This paper presents the design, development, and simulation of an IoT-based Parcel Delivery Alert System that can enhance the delivery experience while minimizing delivery-related problems. The paper describes the design and development of the parcel safe box and the eventual evolution of the system. One can acquire access to the safe box by scanning the tracking number on the package's delivery label using a QR code

Plasma haptoglobin as a potential biomarker for coronary artery disease in young hypertensive adults

Introduction: Uncontrolled hypertension is a primary risk factor for premature coronary artery disease (CAD) in young adults. The risk of CAD among young hypertensive adults is commonly underestimated owing to the young age. Hence, identification of novel biomarker(s) to improve risk stratification of CAD in young hypertensive adults is essential for more accurate CAD risk assessment and thus to improve management of hypertension in this cohort. This study investigated plasma haptoglobin concentration in young adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and hypertension to evaluate the potential of haptoglobin as a biomarker in the establishment of CAD in young hypertensive adults. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 male young adults aged between 18 to 45 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional study (40 subjects in control, hypertensive and AMI group respectively). Blood samples were collected from all subjects. Plasma concentrations of haptoglobin was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Other CAD risk factors including high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were analyzed. Results: Plasma concentration of haptoglobin in the AMI group was the highest as compared to hypertensive and control group (290.63±99.90 vs. 208.47±112.93 vs. 170.02±108.11 ng/ml, p<0.006). There was a significant association between AMI and plasma haptoglobin concentration in hypertensive subjects independent of other known CAD risk factors (OR: 0.985, 95% CI 0.973-0.997, p=0.017). There was positive correlation between plasma haptoglobin and hs-CRP (r=0.0370, p<0.001). Conclusion: Plasma haptoglobin is a potential biomarker to identify young hypertensive adults who are at risk of developing CAD. (246 words

The mitogenome data of Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota (Brandt,1835) from Malaysia

White threads fish Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota (Brandt, 1835) or locally known as bat puntil is a neritic marine organism, and it is widely distributed in Indo Pacific. They serve many important roles in ecosystem services and were discovered to contain many bioactive compounds that are useful for medicinal value. However, despite its abundance in Malaysian seawater, there is still a lack of records on H. leucospilota mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) from Malaysia. The mitogenome of H. leucospilota originating from Sedili Kechil, Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia, is presented here. Whole genome sequencing was successfully sequenced using Illumina NovaSEQ6000 sequencing system and the mitochondrial-derived contigs were assembled using de novo approach. The size of the mitogenome is 15,982 bp which consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 21 transfer RNAs, and 2 ribosomal RNAs. The overall composition of nucleotide bases was estimated to be 25.8% for T, 25.9% for C, 31.8% for A and 16.5% for G (with A + T content of 57.6%). Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that the mitochondrial Protein-Coding Genes (PCGs) sequence data from our H. leucospilota is closely related to H. leucospilota from accession number MK940237 and H. leucospilota from accession number MN594790, followed by H. leucospilota from accession number MN276190, forming sister group with H. hilla (MN163001), known as Tiger tail sea cucumber. The mitogenome of H. leucospilota will be valuable for genetic research, mitogenome reference and future conservation management of sea cucumber in Malaysia. The mitogenome data of H. leucospilota from Sedili Kechil, Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia is available in the GenBank database repository with accession number ON584426

Preliminary Studies on Species Diversity of Coastal Bivalves and the Traditional Knowledge on Bivalve Fishery in Sedili Kechil, Johor

Research on bivalves in Malaysia and documentation on bivalve fishery is still lacking in the recent years. Study on the diversity of bivalves will help contribute to the Malaysian database and the documentation of traditional knowledge on bivalve fishery will prevent the knowledge from going extinct. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the species diversity of bivalves present in Sedili Kechil, Johor and also to gain access to the traditional knowledge of the fishermen involved in bivalve fishery practiced in the area. Bivalves were handpicked randomly throughout the coastal region and a total of 10 respondents make up the sample size of this study. The traditional knowledge were gathered with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire through a combination of non-participant observation and in-depth interview method. This study has collected the first record of species of bivalves in Sedili Kechil. The bivalves’ diversity in Sedili Kechil is medium to low diversity by using Shannon Wiener Index (1.26) and Pielou’s Index of Evenness (0.41) and the traditional knowledge is documented regarding the variety of habitat preferences, fishery seasons, and exploitation and preservation methods. It is discovered that most bivalves occupy sandy substrates with four periods of availability and also with different exploitation methods with respective to species. No preservation method is practiced by the villagers. The association with abiotic components and non-abiotic components and preference timing and depth for bivalve fishery are also noted. This record on species diversity and the documentation of traditional knowledge is hoped to be contributing to the Malaysian database and become preliminary data for future researches

Species Identification and Relationship of Sea Cucumber species from Pulau Tinggi and Sedili Kechil, Johor Based on Ossicle Shape

Sea cucumbers are an abundant echinoderm group in Malaysia which provides commercial and medicinal values to local people. Due to the lack of data on sea cucumbers status in Johor coastal seawaters, this study was conducted. This study aimed to identify the species and relationship of sea cucumber from two selected Johor coastal seawater; Pulau Tinggi and Sedili Kechil based on ossicle shape. The current study recorded 53 individuals of sea cucumbers, of which 23 individuals were from Pulau Tinggi, Mersing District and 30 individuals were from Sedili Kechil, Kota Tinggi District. A number of 10 species of sea cucumber were found in the coastal waters of Pulau Tinggi, Mersing and three species in Sedili Kechil, Kota Tinggi, Johor. A total of 10 ossicle shapes were observed and extracted from the sea cucumber samples namely button, perforated plate, table, C-shaped rod, rosette, anchor, spider, I-shaped rod, boomerang, and J-shaped rod. The species relationship based on ossicle shapes was analysed using clustering option of PAST (PAleontological STatistics) software version 4.03. The analysis concluded that two groups of sea cucumber families i.e. Holothuriidae and Stichopodidae were present, although S. chloronotus clustered closer with the members of family Holothuriidae.. Although more specimens are required to generate better conclusive results, the outcomes provided updated data on sea cucumber species in Johor seawater