Physico-chemical properties and quality of palm-based vegetable ghee

Samples of trans-free vegetable ghee were made using palm oil/palm stearin/palm olein (PO/POs/POo) blends (set A) and using palm oil/palm stearin/palm kernel olein (PO/POs/PKOo) blends (set B). Palm stearin of iodine value (IV) 30 was used in this study. The products were evaluated for their physical and chemical properties. Changes in quality during storage were monitored during a period of 16 weeks. Most of the vegetable ghee were granular (grainy) and had a shiny appearance. Chemical analyses indicated that vegetable ghee consisting of PO/POs/POo had higher IV (47.7-52.4) than the PO/POs/PKOo vegetable ghee due to their higher content of unsaturated fatty acids, 46.0-50.0% compared to 36.6-45.0% in Set B. Decreasing the amount of palm oil while increasing palm stearin in the formulations resulted in higher slip melting point (SMP) and higher yield values. Eutectic interaction was noted in PO/POs/PKOo blends. The crystals in samples PO/POs/POo (set A) were predominant in the §’ polymorphic form. One formulation in set B (B4) exhibited § crystallinity. Free fatty acids (FFA) were lowest in samples PO/POs/POo 80:5:15 (A4) and PO/POs:/PKOo 80:5:15 (B4) throughout storage. There was no clear trend on anisidine value (AV) while IV remained almost constant. Selected vegetable ghee, A4 wasused to shallow fry roti canai and for cooking nasi minyak. Sensory evaluation on these two products revealed that there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in texture, taste and overall quality between samples A4 and B4

Performance analysis of optimized screen-printed electrodes for electrochemical sensing

The screen-printed electrode (SPE) sensor is widely employed in food analysis, environmental health monitoring, disease detection, toxin detection and other applications. As it is crucial for the SPE sensor to have an outstanding performance, this study examined the effects of manipulating the working electrode (WE) radius, gap spacing between electrodes, and counter electrode (CE) width on the performance of an SPE sensor. Finite element simulation on various geometrical dimensions was done prior to screen-printed electrode SPE sensor’s fabrication at Jabil Circuits Sdn Bhd. The electrodes performance is measured through cyclic voltammetry (CV) using a potentiostat at an optimum scan rate of 0.01 V/s and a voltammetry potential window range of -0.2 to 0.8 V in 0.01 M Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution. It is discovered that adjusting the WE area and the gap separation between the electrodes had the most impact on sensor performance compared to varying the CE width. In both simulation and CV measurements, WE with the highest radius of 0.9 mm with an effective area of 2.54 mm2 and the smallest gap spacing of 0.7 mm has shown the highest current density of 0.04 A/mm2 (simulation) and 0.3 μA/mm2 (experiment) which can be translated as the highest sensitivity for the SPE sensor. Further CV measurement in nicotine sensing application has proven that the SPE sensor can effectively detect the nicotine oxidation indicating its promising potential as a biosensor. Combination of optimum SPE dimension together with suitable electrode modification process serves as the basis for an effective and sensitive SPE sensor for various biosensing applications

Bioconversion of Aspergillus niger KM treated Rice and Wheat Bran for Experimental Rat Feed Formulation

This study investigated the nutritional value of pre-treated rice and wheat bran wastes as feed formulation in experimental rats. Aspergillus niger KM isolated from decomposing organic matter was tested for cellulase assay. The lignocellulosic agricultural residues (wheat bran and rice bran) were pretreated with ammonia and diluted sulfuric acid after which solid substrate fermentation with Aspergillus niger KM was carried out. Determination of reducing sugar was carried out and the fermented residues were included as components in feed formulation and were fed to different groups of rats for four weeks. The proximate analysis of the feed formulation showed that the NH3 pretreated feeds gave higher protein content of 21.94%, relative to the control or other groups. Growth performances of animals fed with NH3 pretreated wheat bran significantly increased from 158.25 to 201.66 g throughout the feeding periods. Evaluation of the various feeds’ effect on tissue marker enzymes revealed inconsistent alterations relative to the control. Bioconverted wheat or rice bran has nutritive value to support animal growth and could be explored in animal feed preparation