Determination of ultra-morphological changes of trichophyton rubrum treated with hydroxychavicol

Introduction: Trichophyton rubrum is a common pathogenic fungal species that is responsible for causing infection of human skin, hair and nail. The antifungal-resistant strains however, complicate the treatment regime. Hydroxychavicol (HC) is one of the main compounds from the Piper betel leaf that have antifungal potential and its mechanism of action has yet to be studied. This study was carried out to determine the antifungal properties of HC against Trichophyton rubrum using transmission electron microscope (TEM) on gross and ultrastructure of Trichophyton rubrum hypha. Methods: Broth dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of HC and miconazole (MI) against the Trichophyton rubrum (ATCC 28188). Trichophyton rubrum was treated with HC and MI at concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/mL for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days continuously. Results: The MIC results of the HC and MI against Trichophyton rubrum were 0.00048 mg/mL and 0.000061 mg/mL respectively. MFC results showed 0.0019 mg/mL for HC and 0.000061 mg/mL for MI. Microscopically, the fungi structures became more severely damaged at increasing treatment duration. The cell wall of the fungi treated with HC showed a rough surface, shrinkage and demolition similar to that of the MI treated group. The fungi organelles were also demolished and disorganized. Conclusions: This study reveals that HC has the ability to inhibit Trichophyton rubrum growth and it has the potential to be an antifungal agent especially in treating dermatitis. KEYWORDS: Piper betel, Trichophyton rubrum, hydroxychavicol, miconazole, antifunga

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF DUKU (LANSIUM DOMESTICUM CORR) AND LANGSAT (LANSIUM DOMESTICUM JACK) EXTRACTS ON THE GROWTH OF BIFIDOBACTERIA SPP.

Objective: Lansium domesticum Corr. is a fruit tree species belongs to the family Meliaceae. There are numerous forms of the species and grouped into two main types: Duku and Langsat. The objective of this study is to screen the ability of adding extracts of freeze-dried duku and langsat to stimulate the growth and stability of selected Bifidobacteria spp in skimmed milk.Methods: Samples were prepared by adding either 5% or 12% of oligosaccharides from duku, langsat, inulin, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) to 5% and 12% (w/v) reconstituted nonfat dry milk (NDM), respectively. The specific growth rates (µ) for each sample were calculated. All experiments were replicated ten times.Results: The mean doubling time (Td) for Bifidobacterium longum, was lowest in the presence of freeze-dried duku and langsat compared to GOS, FOS and inulin. Retention of the viability of five Bifidobacterium species was greatest in the presence of freeze-dried duku and langsat followed by GOS, FOS and inulin. The highest percentage of acetic and lactic acids were produced by B. longum, B. infantis and B. adolescentis with freeze-dried duku and langsat. The pattern of results was similar to the commercial product, oligosaccharides (inulin, GOS and FOS). Conclusion: Therefore, this study provides promising results on promoting growth and probiotic activity of natural oligosaccharides compound from freeze-dried duku and langsat

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES (KAP) ON GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES (GMP) AMONG FOOD HANDLERS IN TERENGGANU HOSPITALS

Objective: This study was conducted to study the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) on good manufacturing practices (GMP) among food handlers in Terengganu hospitals.Methods: A cross-sectional study was done with four hospitals involved. Then, sampling method used was purposive convenience sampling. The data had been collected using a method of a questionnaire and being analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 20.0 version.Results: The findings from this study indicate that food handlers in four Terengganu hospitals have a good level of knowledge (83.0±1.51), attitudes (87.2±3.42) and practices (90.7±1.76) regarding GMP. Results show that the association between socio-demographic data factors and variables of level KAP on GMP had significant value. The socio-demographic data involves were gender, ages, working experiences and attendance of training courses. In the other hand, a positive correlation was pointed out for three levels each, between knowledge and attitudes (r=0.13), knowledge and practices (r=0.24), and between attitudes and practices (r=0.42). However, only level practices and attitudes show significant correlation with p<0.05.Conclusion: As the conclusion, effective and compulsory food safety training on a regular and ongoing basis should be highlighted and conducted for all food service employees in order to minimize the prevalence of foodborne hazards

Hypocholesterolemic effect of red pitaya (Hylocereus sp.) on hypercholesterolemia induced rats 1,2*

Abstract: This study was carried out to evaluate the total phenolic content and anti-oxidant activity of methanolic extract of red pitaya, and hypocholesterolemic effect of red pitaya (Hylocereus sp.) on lipid profiles status on hypercholesterolemia induced rats. From the analysis, total phenolic content in red pitaya is 46.06 ± 1.77 mg GAE/100 g fresh weight and antioxidant activity is 76.10% using FTC method. TBA analysis also showed red pitaya extract had high antioxidant effect (72.90%). An in-vivo study also showed red pitaya has hypocholesterolemic effect on induced hypercholesterolemia rats. After 11 weeks of study, total blood cholesterol significant decrease (p<0.05) in the groups supplement with red pitaya. The total cholesterol (TC) level for group PF1 were reduced from 3.356 mmol/L to 1.707 mmol/L (49.14%), group PF2 reduced from 3.435 mmol/L to 1.487 mmol/L (56.72%) and group PF3 reduced from 3.448 mmol/L to 1.412 mmol/L (59.06%) as compare to baseline respectively. The mean total cholesterol level in both negative (N -5.12%) and positive controls (group HC -13.79%) were not significantly different (p<0.05). The mean triglycerides (TG) level for all groups had shown a reduction (p<0.05) with value of 23.87% (group N), 22.674% (group HC), 42.81% (group PF1), 52.82% (group PF2) and 59.52% (group PF3) as compare to baseline levels. The mean HDL level increased by about 2.12% (group N), 19.31% (group PF1), 21.93% (group PF2) and much higher increase in group PF3 (34.42%). The mean LDL decreased by about 39.06% (PF3), 15.10% (PF2), 1.50% (PF1) and 4.33% (group N). The positive control has showed significantly increase with the mean value for 25.68%. In conclusion, all groups that received red pitaya supplementation has high antioxidant properties and showed a good results in managing of lipid profile. It was suggested that the consumption of red pitaya demonstrated the potential to reduce dyslipidemia and play a role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease