Sodium and potassium contents in selected salts and sauces

The study was undertaken to determine and compare the sodium and potassium contents in selected salts (table salt, coarse salt, French sea salt, Himalayan pink salt and bamboo salt) and sauces (light soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, chili sauce, tomato sauce and mayonnaise). Findings of the present study showed that the sodium content of salts was highest in table salt (35870.0 mg/100 g) and lowest in French sea salt (31235.0 mg/100 g), whereas the potassium content was highest in bamboo salt (399.4 mg/100 g) and lowest in table salt (43.7 mg/100 g). There was no significant difference between sodium amounts of the salts. Bamboo salt was significantly higher in potassium than other salts. The ranking of sodium and potassium in sauces was similar, where light soy sauce contained the highest amount (4402.0 and 395.4 mg/100 g) and mayonnaise contained the least (231.3 and 63.6 mg/100 g). Both sodium and potassium contents of light soy sauce were significantly higher than other sauces. Bamboo salt is a better choice instead of other salts in terms of the potassium level. Among sauces, although light soy sauce is high in potassium; however, its high sodium has offset the beneficial effect of potassium

Vitamin A in Health and Disease

Vitamin A refers to a group of related compounds with all-trans retinol biological activity and includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid as well as the retinyl esters. Dietary source of vitamin A ranges from animal-based or plant-based foods, fortified food products and supplements. The vital biological roles of vitamin A compounds include normal cell growth, cell differentiation, vision and immunology. Vitamin A status is monitored to prevent occurrence of both subclinical deficiency and toxicity. Vitamin deficiency or excess is determined through the measure of vitamin A status. Prolonged vitamin A intake at high doses is shown to be toxic, which leads to various health symptoms. Xerophthalmia, a dry eye condition is the most severe clinical effects known to be caused by vitamin A deficiency. The resulting deleterious effects on human health led to efforts of supplementation, food fortification and dietary diversification in combating vitamin A deficiency. In brief, this chapter covers on vitamin A, with focus on its general information, dietary recommendations, biological roles, vitamin A status assessment, deficiency or excess effects to human health as well as the prevention measures

Carotenoid composition and antioxidant potential of Eucheuma denticulatum, Sargassum polycystum and Caulerpa lentillifera

Three species of Malaysian edible seaweed (Eucheuma denticulatum, Sargassum polycystum and Caulerpa lentillifera) were analyzed for their carotenoid composition using a combination of high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS), while the antioxidant capacities were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The HPTLC analysis exhibited a distinct carotenoid pattern among the three seaweed groups. The UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis showed fucoxanthin as the major carotenoid present in S. polycystum while lutein and zeaxanthin in E. denticulatum. For C. lentillifera, β-carotene and canthaxanthin were the major carotenoids. Some of the carotenoids, such as rubixanthin, dinoxanthin, diatoxanthin and antheraxanthin, were also tentatively detected in E. denticulatum and S. polycystum. For antioxidant activity, S. polycystum (20 %) and E. denticulatum (1128 μmol TE/g) showed the highest activity in the DPPH and ORAC assays, respectively. The findings suggest the three edible varieties of seaweeds may provide a good dietary source with a potential to reduce antioxidative stress

The nutritional composition of mayonnaise and salad dressing in the Malaysian market

Mayonnaise and salad dressing are fast becoming popular condiments for Malaysian. The aim of this study was to obtain the nutritional composition of mayonnaise and salad dressing commercially available in the Malaysian market. The data will be used to update the Malaysian Food Composition Database which was last updated in 1997. A total of six brands from each type of mayonnaise and salad dressing were sampled from local supermarkets in the Klang Valley and analysed using standard methods. The validity of test data was monitored with the application of internal quality controls in line with the requirements of ISO 17025. The energy contents of mayonnaise and salad dressings were up to 626.40 kcal/100 g. Our findings were also in agreement with the energy labelling on the packaging. Sodium was high in mayonnaise and salad dressing because it is used in the final mixture of both condiments to improve their characteristics for certain reasons. Mayonnaise and salad dressing have been identified as potent sources of vitamin A and vitamin E and both condiments were found to contain high levels of these antioxidants. It can be concluded that this study are useful not only in providing information on the nutritional content of several commercial types of mayonnaise and salad dressing, but also in improving the public understanding of healthy food choices

Sugar content of selected Malaysian desserts, snacks and cooked foods commonly consumed by Malaysian older adults

Excess added sugar consumption is related to poor health outcomes in older adults. The sugar content of local food is limited. However, this information is imperative for understanding potential risks from overconsumption of sugars among older adults. This study was carried out to determine the type and total sugar contents in 70 types of local desserts, snacks and cooked foods, using high performance liquid chromatography. The type of food chosen was based on the highly consumed food by the older adults in Malaysia. The samples were collected in triplicates from local restaurants or stalls located in Selangor, Perak and Johor, stored at -20°C and freeze dried prior to analysis. Results showed that average sugar in each 100 g of local desserts, snacks and cooked foods were 13.69 ± 5.94 g, 8.41 ± 6.15 g and 2.1 ± 1.87 g respectively. The highest sugar content per 100 g samples was found to be in sweet potato donut (kuih keria), mashed banana fritter (cekodok pisang) and noodles with sweet potato gravy (mee rebus). The lowest sugar content per 100 g samples was found to be baked glutinous rice (pulut panggang), vadai and noodle soup (mee sup). Meanwhile, the highest sugar content per standard portion was found to be noodles with sweet potato gravy (mee rebus), peanut pancake (kuih apam balik) and banana savoury (pengat pisang). Percentage of recovery for the sugar analysis was 95.2 ± 6.8%. The main type of sugar found in this analysed food samples was sucrose followed by maltose, glucose, fructose and lactose. Sucrose was the most common added sugars in local desserts, snacks and cooked foods of this study. However, compliance with low added sugar recommendations may not be achievable for the general public. Thus, these findings can be utilised in raising public awareness and assist in better estimation of sugar contents and intake

PNA biosensor based on reduced graphene oxide/water soluble quantum dots for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Electrochemical biosensor holds great interest in establishing robust analytical method for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. Tuberculosis). Herein, fabrication of a highly sensitive electrochemical PNA biosensor based on functionalized graphene oxide (NH2-GO) composited with CdS quantum dots (QDs) for the detection of M. Tuberculosis has been described. Firstly, NH2-GO/QDs was applied onto screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) surface by electro-deposition method, then the PNA probe was immobilized onto the surface of NH2-GO/QDs modified SPCE via EDC/NHS coupling technique. Subsequently, the developed PNA biosensor was used to hybridize with target DNA. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was employed to monitor the hybridization event by using methylene blue (MB) as the electrochemical indicator. Under the optimal conditions, a linear detection range of the PNA biosensor was obtained from 1 × 10−11 to 1 × 10−7 M with the detection limit of 8.948 × 10−13 M. The biosensor has successfully discriminated between negative and positive sample of M. Tuberculosis DNA sequences from real sample analysis

Evaluation of trace elements in Malay women with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Trace elements are essential for human health. This study determines the level of chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), copper (Cu), ferrum (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in the hair and nails of married Malay women with type 2 diabetes mellitus from Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. The trace elements were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after an acid digestion treatment. The levels of all trace elements measured were higher in the hair samples than in nails except for Se. Mean levels of Zn and Se were significantly higher in the hair of non-working women (84.91 ± 10.32 μg/g and 0.42 ± 0.15 μg/g, respectively) compared to working women (64.98 ± 11.10 μg/g and 0.30 ± 0.18 μg/g). Copper levels in hair were significantly higher among women with good and satisfactory diabetes control (20.41 ± 4.20 μg/g) compared to the poor diabetes control group (15.67 ± 4.31 μg/g). However, a contradictory result was obtained from the nails of women with good and satisfactory diabetes control with a Cu level of 3.35 ± 0.46 μg/g and 4.69 ± 0.33 μg/g for the poor diabetes control group. In hair samples, significant positive correlations were obtained with Cr-Cu (r = 0.55), Zn-Mn (r = 0.46) and Se-Mn (r = 0.38). In nails, significant positive correlations were also obtained between Cr-Zn (r = 0.31), Zn-Fe (r = 0.30) and Fe-Mn (r = 0.47). In conclusion, age, educational status, number of children and duration of diabetes did not influence trace elements levels

Nutrient content in selected commercial rice in Malaysia: An update of Malaysian food composition database

Abstract There is an increase need and demand to update Malaysian Food Composition Database (FCD) which was last updated in 1997. The current FCD program was designed to expand the quantity and improve the quality of the existing database. The present work was aimed to determine the nutrient content of commercial rice products from three rice varieties classified as raw and processed foods, namely Basmati, Siam, and Fragrant rice. A total of six brands from each type of rice were sampled from a local supermarket within Klang Valley. Analyses were carried out for 27 nutrients that include proximate (Energy, Water, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrate, Total Dietary Fibre, and Ash), minerals (Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, Iron, Zinc, and Copper), water soluble vitamins (C, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B9), fat soluble vitamins (A and E), total sugar, fatty acids (total saturated fat, total monounsaturated fat and total polyunsaturated), trans fatty acids, and cholesterol. The three rice varieties were found to contain comparable nutrient levels except for vitamin C, B1, A, E and total sugar which were not detected in all samples. The fatty acid (total saturated, total monounsaturated, and total polyunsaturated) as well as transfatty acid were detected at very low levels. Cholesterol was not detected in all samples. These findings can be utilised in raising public awareness and assistance to better estimate nutrient contents and intake depending on the varieties of rice

Clinical performance of reverse transcription loop mediated isothermal amplification COVID-19 assay on gold- nanoparticle-modified screen-printed Carbon Electrode using differential pulse voltammetry

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as the gold standard for coronavirus disease detection. In this study, we aim to validate the clinical performance of reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay on gold-nanoparticle-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (AuNP/SPCE) using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and to compare it with real-time RT-PCR. The shape of the electrodeposited AuNP on SPCE was quasi-spherical with a size of ±500 nm. The developed RT-LAMP primer was designed from the GenBank database using the NCBI Multiple Alignment tools and Jalview software. Nasopharyngeal clinical samples were obtained from suspected COVID-19 patients (n = 148). The RT-LAMP products were dropped on the modified AuNP/SPCE under DPV setting, which resulted in current change (∆I) responses. The positive and negative samples produced significantly different ∆I signals with a p-value <0.0001 at a 95% confidence interval using Student’s t-test. The RT-LAMP assay using Au/SPCE exhibited a 30 s response time per analysis. The clinical sensitivity and specificity obtained were 79.7% and 85.1%, respectively, with a detection limit of 0.4 copies µl−1. Hence, this proposed method is suitable for COVID-19 RNA detection in resource-limited settings

Exosomal microRNAs in the development of essential hypertension and its potential as biomarkers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory molecules that are involved in posttranscriptional modifications. These noncoding RNAs are usually ferried by extracellular carriers such as exosomes or other protein and lipid carriers inside a range of body fluids including plasma and urine. Due to their ability to withstand harsh external conditions, exosomal miRNAs possess enormous potential as noninvasive disease biomarkers for, notably hypertension, whereby exosomal miRNAs have been implicated in its pathophysiological processes. More importantly, alterations in the microenvironment as a result of disease progression can induce active and selective loading of miRNAs into exosomes. In this paper, we first review the mechanisms of miRNA loading into exosomes, followed by the roles of exosomal miRNAs in the development of hypertension, and the potentials of exosomal miRNAs as biomarkers in comparison with other free circulating miRNAs. Finally, challenges and future research surrounding exosomal miRNAs will also be discussed. This review will aid in the understanding of noninvasive biomarkers for the early diagnosis of hypertension and for probing therapeutic efficacy