Marine algae: chemistry and potential

Seaweeds or macroalgae are valuable marine plants that have garnered much attention from the public due to their high bioactive, nutrients and minerals content. They are classified into three higher taxa, namely Chlorophyta (green seaweed), Phaeophyta (brown seaweed) and Rhodophyta (red seaweed), based on their pigmentation. Due to their the valuable nutrition and bioactive components, seaweeds have been used in multiple applications, including in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries as well as in fine chemical and enzymes production. The extraction of these components is influenced by various process parameters such as drying methods, solvent extraction, pH, temperature, extraction time, solid to solvent ratio etc. Thus, it is important to design the experimental to get the optimised condition to get the significant amount of the interest components. Response surface methodology (RSM) is one of the economically efficient experimental procedure for optimising this complex process. Compared to using ‘one to one factor’ method, RSM is far better since in RSM the several process variables simultaneously interact with each other. Therefore, in this presentation underlying the approach of our research on the optimisation of the extraction of valuable components in seaweeds will be discussed

Synergistic effects of antibiotics in combination with essential oils against pathogenic bacterial strains

The incidence of epidemics due to drug resistant bacteria had posed public health concern. Thus, a novel antibacterial approach to synergize antibiotics in combination with essential oils of selected zingiberaceae plants was chosen in this study to aid in increasing the susceptibility of bacteria. The aim was to evaluate the in vitro interaction between the essential oils and five types of antibiotics against two gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus) and two gram-negative bacteria (Esherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Essential oils from rhizomes of Curcuma mangga Val., Zingiber officinale var. rubrum Thelaide and Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith were extracted by hydrodistillation. The antibacterial testing employed was Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) using broth microdilution method. The interaction of essential oils and antibiotics was determined by Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (FIC) using chequerboard technique. Results revealed that essential oil of Curcuma mangga Val. synergized with erythromycin and tetracycline against B. cereus, and with streptomycin against E. coli. Essential oil of Z. officinale synergized with erythromycin and tetracycline against B. cereus and E. coli. Combination with penicillin also produced synergism against E.coli. Essential oil of Z. zerumbet when combined with tetracycline acted synergistically towards S. aureus, B. cereus and P. aeruginosa. Combination with penicillin acted synergistically towards B. cereus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa. When combined with streptomycin, it synergized against S. aureus and E. coli, while with ampicillin it synergized against B. cereus. From the results, all three essential oils exhibit antibacterial properties. Z. zerumbet has the most potent antibacterial property as it produced synergistic effects towards all four types of bacteria

In-vivo toxicity of Prophet's medicinal plant, lawsonia inermis (henna) leaves

Lawsonia inermis (henna) is always being explored solely for its scientific components, not for its usage as the Prophetic medicine. Although henna is a popular medicinal plant around the world, only scant toxicity studies have been reported about Malaysia henna and hardly any study that investigated histopathological changes of liver and kidneys of mice due to administration of henna leaves extracts. Antiurolithiatic effect of Malaysian henna in-vitro had been proven and in order to continue study the effect in-vivo, toxicity of the henna towards kidneys should be determined first. The objectives of this study are to observe acute oral toxicity effect of the hydroethanolic (75 % ethanol) extract of henna leaves on behavioural and clinical patterns of the mice and to compare the histopathological changes between control and treatment groups of the mice. Leaves were extracted using soxhlet with hydroethanolic solvent. Single oral dose of 2000 mg/kg henna leaves extracts diluted with distilled water were assigned to treatment group of mice while control group was given distilled water only. Observations were done for 14 days and the mice were sacrificed. Selected organs were taken and weighed but only livers and kidneys were taken for histological assessments. Overall, the behavioral and clinical patterns of the mice were observed to be normal. Biostatistically, all selected organs’ means weight between control and treatment groups are not statistically significant (p>0.05). Furthermore, the irregularities found were not very apparent when histopathological examinations were done. Even though there was not death occurred during the experimental period and no gross changes were observed, there were degeneration of connective tissues between the tubules of the kidneys and pyknotic nuclei within hepatocytes. In conclusion, it is scientifically proven that single dose of hydroethanolic extract of L. inermis (henna) leaves can cause toxicity towards liver and kidneys of the mice

Pengembangan Keterampilan Pengelolaan Sampah Menjadi Kompos Guna Mewujudkan Kawasan Bersih dan Hijau di Desa Tanjungkulon Kabupaten Pekalongan

The problem of abundant leaf litter and the potential for livestock whose weight is not yet optimal is the basis for implementing this activity. This activity aims to improve community skills in utilizing existing resources in the surrounding location. This activity was carried out using a participatory method. There are several stages carried out in this method. The initial stage involves gathering aspirations for problems to deepen the existing substance at the location. Then the community is equipped with new knowledge and direct practice in processing existing resources around their village location. The output achieved by this activity was high enthusiasm from the community to be involved in this activity. The continuation of the process will continue to be accompanied and evaluated periodically. In the end, community independence can be created in utilizing the resources available around their village

Fatty acids as biological markers for symbiotic bacteria in Phyllidia varicosa and Phyllidiella pustulosa

The fatty acid (FA) composition of Phyllidia varicosa and Phyllidiella pustulosa (notum and viscera) was investigated. Samples were collected from coastal water of Balok - Pahang - Malaysia. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that nudibranchs species host symbiotic bacteria by using fatty acids as biological markers. A high level of fatty acids group specific to the bacteria were detected in the selected species that called odd- branched chain fatty acids. Among them, high levels of iso- anteiso-C15:0, C15:0, iso-C16:0, C17:0, iso-C17:0, iso C17:1(n-5), iso C18:0, 14-methyl-C18:0 and iso-C18:0) were found and their percentages in the notum are significantly different compared to viscera. The total odd- branched chain fatty acids were 29.64% in P. varicosa and 30.66% in P. pustulosa compared to another group of fatty acids such as saturated FA, monounsaturated FA and polyunsaturated FA. The present study deals with the identification of cyclopropane FA in the nudibranch tissue for the first time which cyclopropaneoctanoic acid 2-hexyl and cyclopropaneoctanoic acid 2-octyl were detected. We suggest that symbiotic bacteria associated with the nudibranchs tissue originate these fatty acids