Apoptosis pathway of Gelam (Melaleuca cajupati) honey on human colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) / Dr. Wan Iryani Wan Ismail and Dr. Mizaton Hazizul Hassan

Honey has been used for medical purposes since a long time ago. It had antimicrobial, antiviral and antiparasitic activities, and showed anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimutagenic effects. Previous studies demonstrated that honey may have potential as an anticancer agent as well. However, study of honey as anticancer agent is still at infancy level particularly in Malaysia. Several type of Malaysian honey such as Gelam, Pineapple and Coconut honey may have potential as an anticancer agent. Gelam honey showed better antimicrobial, antioxidant and wound healing activities, and therapeutic value than other honey and natural products. This was due to the difference in their phenolic contents which has a direct correlation to the antioxidant activity of honey. Antioxidant activity prevents oxidation reactions of free radical such as hydroxyl radical in cancer cell lines. High activity of antioxidant may provide a better anticancer agent. Thus, the honey will be chosen for the first time to analyse the possible mechanism pathway, in particular apoptosis pathway of human breast cancer (MCF7) using Western blot analysis. Understanding the molecular basis of Gelam honey to act against the cancer cell lines may shed new light on these honeys as a new anticancer agent in the future

Effectiveness of extension agent services in influencing the adoption of modern hive in sustainable stingless beekeeping

The role of extension services in the development of agricultural practices is believed to have more significant impact in influencing the adoption of modern technology. This study identifies factors affecting the effectiveness of extension agent services on participants’ adoption of modern stingless beekeeping hives. A total of 117 respondents were interviewed with structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and regression analysis were employed. The survey revealed that 78 out of 117 beekeepers had adopted modern hives. Of this, 66 were men and 12 were women, with the majority being full-time operators. The factor analysis identified four factors influencing the effectiveness of extension services in the adoption of modern hives, namely guidance and encouragement from extension agent, education, training provided and outcome. However, only education and training provided by extension agents were significantly positive in influencing the effectiveness of extension services. This study suggests that capacity-building and enhancement of extension agents and services through ongoing programs seem to be the most important strategies to ensure that beekeepers understand and acquire knowledge about the advantage of adopting modern hives

Pineapple honey inhibits adipocytes proliferation and reduces lipid droplet accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Honey has potential in controlling obesity by reducing excess weight gain and other obesity parameters such as triglyceride levels. However, its effects on the cells that stores lipid (adipocytes) is still unclear. This study was performed to observe the effects of pineapple honey on the growth and lipid accumulation of adipocytes in vitro. Pineapple honey was standardised according to its total phenolic and flavonoid contents prior to treating on differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Proliferation of adipocytes was observed using 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dipenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay while lipid accumulation and droplet size were determined using oil red O staining and Feret’s diameter. Pineapple honey exhibited 0.0379 ± 0.001 mg/100 mL GAE of total phenolic content and 0.098 ± 0.001 mg catechin/kg of total flavonoid content. It significantly inhibited adipocytes’ proliferation starting from 6.25% of pineapple honey concentration. In addition, the honey also significantly reduced lipid droplet size by 33.78% to 70.36% and reduced lipid accumulation compared to the control. These findings suggest that pineapple honey may affect the storage of lipids in adipocytes. Future investigation involving the biomarkers of adipogenesis is required to confirm whether the reduction in lipid accumulation is attributed to the effect of honey on these pathways

Physicochemical profiles of honey harvested from four major species of stingless bee (Kelulut) in North East Peninsular of Malaysia

Stingless bee honey is one of the high demand honey in Malaysia. However, honey characters particularly from different species is lacking in order to increase its commercial value. Thus, physicochemical profile analysis of honey harvested from four major species of stingless bee in Kelantan, Malaysia, Geniotrigona thoracica, Heterotrigina itama, Lepidotrigona terminata and Tetragonula laeviceps was conducted to investigate the honey character. Character of the stingless bee honey harvested from various species from the same geographic area was compared. The results were then compared to stingless bee honey from other countries. Most of physicochemical data of stingless bee honey from different species collected from Kelantan showed almost similar values. However, value of pH, free acidity and total acidity displayed significant different results. This indicates species of stingless bee may affect the results. In order to compare local stingless bee honey with international stingless bee honey, the data was represented as mean regardless of their species. From the results, moisture content was consistently high in stingless bee honey harvested from Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil and Venezuela while, other data showed different values. The results demonstrated that species of stingless bee particularly from other countries is crucial in order to characterize the honey. However, Malaysian stingless bee honey has unique character based on physicochemical data. The data can be used as a marketing strategy in increasing commercial value of local stingless bee honey

Adulterated honey consumption can induce obesity, increase blood glucose level and demonstrate toxicity effects

The effects of adulterated honey consumption towards human health is not widely known; mainly due to lack of systematic and scientific studies and low public awareness. In this study, short-term and long-term effects of consumption on two brands of commercially honey are available in Malaysian market was investigated and compared to normal control (NC) rats and rats fed with natural pineapple honey (PH) using male Sprague dawley rats. Adulteration of honey used in the study was measured using physicochemical and antioxidant analyses and identified as adulterated honey A (FHA) and B (FHB). No toxicity effect was found for short-term consumption (14 days with one honey consumption). However, visible effects were observed after 16 weeks of study. Both FHA and FHB showed a significant increase (p>0.05) in cholesterol (48.6 ± 4.8 mmol/L, 46.5 ± 3.6 mmol/L), triglycerides (26 ± 1.2 mmol/L, 24.4 ± 1.8 mmol/L) and glucose (28.4 ± 2.5 mmol/L, 25 ± 2.6 mmol/L) level respectively. In contrast, rats from NC and PH groups have lower cholesterol (26.5 ± 4.4 mmol/L, 18.94 ± 3.6 mmol/L), triglycerides (17.5 ± 1.2 mmol/L, 13.5 ± 1.5 mmol/L) and glucose (6.4 ± 1.4 mmol/L, 8.0 ± 1.5 mmol/L) level, respectively. The most critical finding was in total five rats from both fake honey groups showed early mortality. This intensive study indicates long-term adulterated honey may harm to human health and required prompt actions from various authorities locally and internationally to avoid other consequences in the future

Indinavir and nelfinavir inhibit proximal insulin receptor signaling and salicylate abrogates inhibition : potential role of the NFkappa B pathway

The molecular basis of insulin resistance induced by HIV protease inhibitors (HPIs) remains unclear. In this study, Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with high levels of human insulin receptor (CHO-IR) and 3T3-L1 adipocytes were used to elucidate the mechanism of this side effect. Indinavir and nelfinavir induced a significant decrease in tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor b-subunit. Indinavir caused a significant increase in the phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) on serine 307 (S307) in both CHO-IR cells and 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Nelfinavir also inhibited phosphorylation of Map/ERK kinase without affecting insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation. Concomitantly, levels of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), suppressor of cytokines signaling-1 and -3 (SOCS-1 and -3), Src homology 2B (SH2B) and adapter protein with a pleckstrin homology domain and an SH2 domain (APS) were not altered significantly. When CHO-IR cells were pre-treated with sodium salicylate (NaSal), the effects of indinavir on tyrosine phosphorylation of the IR b-subunit and phosphorylation of IRS-1 at S307 were abrogated. These data suggest a potential role for the NFkB pathway in insulin resistance induced by HPIs.National Research Foundation (Rated Researcher Incentive funding) of South Africa, the National Health Laboratory Service, South Africa and the Young Lecturer Scheme under Universiti Teknologi MARA and Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-4644hb201

Gellan gum hydrogels filled edible oil microemulsion for biomedical materials: phase diagram, mechanical behavior, and in vivo studies

The demand for wound care products, especially advanced and active wound care products is huge. In this study, gellan gum (GG) and virgin coconut oil (VCO) were utilized to develop microemulsion-based hydrogel for wound dressing materials. A ternary phase diagram was con-structed to obtain an optimized ratio of VCO, water, and surfactant to produce VCO microemulsion. The VCO microemulsion was incorporated into gellan gum (GG) hydrogel (GVCO) and their chemical interaction, mechanical performance, physical properties, and thermal behavior were examined. The stress-at-break (σ) and Young’s modulus (YM) of GVCO hydrogel films were increased along with thermal behavior with the inclusion of VCO microemulsion. The swelling degree of GVCO hydrogel decreased as the VCO microemulsion increased and the water vapor transmission rate of GVCO hydrogels was comparable to commercial dressing in the range of 332–391 g m−2 d−1. The qualitative antibacterial activities do not show any inhibition against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) bacteria. In vivo studies on Sprague–Dawley rats show the wound contraction of GVCO hydrogel is best (95 ± 2%) after the 14th day compared to a commercial dressing of Smith and Nephew Opsite post-op waterproof dressing, and this result is supported by the ultrasound images of wound skin and histological evaluation of the wound. The findings suggest that GVCO hydrogel has the potential to be developed as a biomedical material

Development of stingless beekeeping projects in Malaysia

Malaysia is in need of new high income project to meet the targeted high income nation by 2020. One such potential project in agriculture is stingless beekeeping. The project could supplement the existing beekeeping projects from Apis spp. such as Apiscerana and Apis mellifera in terms of honey production and pollination services. The introduction of stingless beekeeping in 2004 by MARDI was expected to provide new alternative species that was free from diseases and required simple farm management practices where adopters can operate the project as a part time job. The remaining labour hours can be used to earn off farm income. The project alone could generate a monthly income of up to RM5000 for the adopters with available capital and land, and this will enhance additional income and dietary consumption of the stingless bee products. The project is hypothesized to provide positive relationship with income and nutritional quality. For those farmers with land, government assistance is needed in providing cheaper credit to purchase stingless bee colonies which are the major portion of initial investment. In summary, the project is expected to reduce rural and urban poverty and generate a new source of wealth to private investors in Malaysia