Burden of household smoking habits on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms among Malaysian adolescents

Background: This study aimed to assess the burden of household smoking habits on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms among young adolescents in Malaysia. Methodology: The impact of Secondhand Smoke (SHS) exposures on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms was investigated on 234 adolescents (13-14 years old) residing in two states in Malaysia. Adolescents completed a self-administered questionnaire adapted from Global Youth Tobacco survey that comprised of items on socio-demographic and SHS exposures. Respiratory symptoms were assessed using a standard questionnaire of International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Hair samples were collected from each adolescent and were analyzed for nicotine via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry with nitrogen detection method. Result: The geometric mean of hair nicotine was 0.0184± 2.31 ng/mg. The prevalence of current, ever wheeze, nocturnal cough, exercised-induced wheeze and self-reported asthma were 7.69%, 14.1%, 11.5%, 20.5% and 13.7%, respectively. A significant association was found between household smoking status with exercise-induced wheeze (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR 1.06; 95%Confidence Interval, CI 0.42-2.66) and nocturnal cough (AOR 14.2; 95%CI 1.60-125). Reported ever wheeze was linked to reported SHS exposure in family’s vehicle (AOR 3.27; 95%CI 1.15-9.34). The risk of exercise-induced wheeze was related with postnatal SHS exposure (AOR 2.69; 95%CI 1.13-6.43). Conclusion: Respiratory symptoms were mostly affected by household smoking habits. Thus, in an attempt to reduce the repercussion of SHS exposure among younger adolescents, effort should be emphasized in encouraging parents to move from indoor to outdoor smoking far from the vicinity of children

Chemical constituents of Malaysian Apis mellifera propolis

Propolis is a resinous material collected by honey bees from various plant sources. The chemical constituents differ depending on the source of vegetation area. To date, no study of the chemical constituents of Apis mellifera propolis from Malaysia has been reported. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the chemical constituents of Malaysian Apis mellifera propolis. Raw propolis samples were collected from Acacia mangium apiary from northern and southern regions of Peninsular Malaysia and were extracted using 70% ethanol. Then, the ethanolic extracts were evaporated and were lyophilized to dryness. The silylated compounds were identified by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). The compounds were characterised by comparison with NIST02 and Wiley275 libraries. Twenty-six individual compounds were identified and β-panasinsene was identified for the first time in propolis. The main compounds identified from both southern and northern regions of Peninsular Malaysia were terpenoids. Terpenoids belong to an important class in the propolis compounds due to its valuable biological properties. The amount of terpenoids ranged from 7.19 to 11.46% indicating that although the main plant source for both regions was Acacia mangium, other shrubs and fruit orchards surrounding the two apiaries may differ which may contribute to the variations

Wound contraction effects and antibacterial properties of Tualang honey on full-thickness burn wounds in rats in comparison to hydrofibre

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Full-thickness burn wounds require excision and skin grafting. Multiple surgical procedures are inevitable in managing moderate to severe full-thickness burns. Wound bed preparations prior to surgery are necessary in order to prevent wound infection and promote wound healing. Honey can be used to treat burn wounds. However, not all the honey is the same. This study aims to evaluate the wound contraction and antibacterial properties of locally-produced <it>Tualang </it>honey on managing full-thickness burn wounds <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-six female <it>Sprague Dawley </it>rats were randomly divided into three groups. Under anaesthesia, three full-thickness burn wounds were created on the dorsum of the rats. The full-thickness burn wounds were inoculated with a specific organism (10⁴), namely <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>(n = 12), <it>Klebsiella pneumoniae </it>(n = 12), or <it>Acinetobacter baumannii </it>(n = 12). The three burn wounds were dressed with <it>Tualang </it>honey, hydrofibre and hydrofibre silver respectively. Swab samples were obtained every 3 days (day 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21) for quantitative and semi-quantitative microbiological analyses. Clinical assessments, including observations concerning the appearance and wound size, were measured at the same time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a rapid 32.26% reduction in wound size by day 6 (<it>p </it>= 0.008) in the <it>Tualang </it>honey-treated wounds, and 49.27% by day 15 (<it>p </it>= 0.005). The wounds remained smaller by day 18 (<it>p </it>< 0.032). <it>Tualang </it>honey-treated rats demonstrated a reduction in bacterial growth in <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>inoculated wounds (<it>p </it>= 0.005). However, hydrofibre silver and hydrofibre-treated wounds are superior to honey-treated wounds with <it>Acinetobacter baumannii </it>(<it>p </it>= 0.035). There was no statistical significant of antibacterial property in <it>Klebsiella pneumonia </it>inoculated wounds.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Tualang </it>honey has better results with regards to its control of <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>and its wound contraction effects on full-thickness burn wound <it>in vivo</it>.</p

Higher hair nicotine level in children compared to mother living with smoking father in Malaysia

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to determine parental and children’s hair nicotine levels, their relationships as well as to investigate the association of smoking status of the fathers with mothers’ and children’s hair nicotine. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted among 124 families who were participants of the Universiti Sains Malaysia Pregnancy Cohort Study. Both parents with their 2\ua0years old children joined this study. A total of 92 hair samples of fathers, 124 hair samples of mothers and 111 hair samples of children were collected and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Results: Of total, 52.4\ua0% of the fathers reported smoking. None of the mothers were smokers. Hair nicotine levels of fathers were found to be significantly correlated with mothers (r\ua0=\ua00.233, p\ua0=\ua00.026) and children (r\ua0=\ua00.508, p\ua

Gamma Irradiation Increases the Antioxidant Properties of Tualang Honey Stored Under Different Conditions

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of evaporation, gamma irradiation and temperature on the total polyphenols, flavonoids and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activities of Tualang honey samples (n = 14) following storage over three, six or twelve months. The mean polyphenol concentrations of the six gamma irradiated honey samples at three, six and twelve months, respectively, were 96.13%, 98.01% and 102.03% higher than the corresponding values of the eight non-gamma irradiated samples. Similarly, the mean values for flavonoids at three, six and twelve months were 111.52%, 114.81% and 110.04% higher, respectively, for the gamma irradiated samples. The mean values for DPPH radical-scavenging activities at three, six and twelve months were also 67.09%, 65.26% and 44.65% higher, respectively, for the gamma irradiated samples. These data indicate that all gamma irradiated honey samples had higher antioxidant potential following gamma irradiation, while evaporation and temperature had minor effects on antioxidant potential