Journal Of Agrobiotechnology (Journal of UniSZA - Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin)
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Effect of Different Drying Methods on Physicochemical and Microbiological and Properties of Dried Shrimp (Parapenaeopsis spp.) Powder
Get PDFThe shrimp species of the penaeid family, ecological and commercial importance in the regions as a food source. These aquatic products can be treated by salting to reduce water activity and produce a commercial product with a good shelf life. This study aims to analyse the effects of four drying methods, including sun drying (SD) at 45–50 °C, hot air drying (HAD), and vacuum drying (VD), and oven drying (OD) at 50 °C, on the quality of shrimp (Parapenaeopsis spp.) powder. The nutritional content was determined using the AOAC methods for dried shrimp powder. The microbial growth in dried shrimp powder was determined by total plate count (TPC) method. The HAD resulted in low moisture content about 6.11±2.20 and high protein content about 46.59±3.76 for dried prawn powder. The lightness index for dried shrimp decreased due to the Maillard reaction. The sample using HAD showed the highest value of lightness, which is 62.68±2.79. The water activity of dried shrimp powder prepared by VD and HAD resulted in the highest and lowest values, 0.93±0.01 and 0.43±0.01, respectively. The colony count for HAD has the lowest value of colony count, 2.90 ±0.84 Log CFU/ml while highest colony count recorded in VD, 6.28±0.09 Log CFU/ml. HAD shown the best quality of dried shrimp compared to other drying methods
The Effect of Feeding Duration on Omega Fatty Acid Accumulation in Muscle of Village Chicken Fed Diet Supplemented with Flaxseed Oil
Get PDFVillage chicken is an indigenous chicken which is known to have lean meat and now becoming one of the important protein sources available in Malaysia. The demand for this chicken has also increased in recent years as people has become more health conscious, and value-adding the meat product may be an advantage to improve its functional properties. Thus, an experiment was conducted to determine the optimum feeding duration of village chicken fed with diet supplemented with flaxseed oil on the accumulation of omega fatty acids in the breast and thigh muscles. A total of 120 male village chickens were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 5 replications and were fed omega supplemented feed for 3 different duration lengths. The chickens were fed isonitrogenous and isocaloric corn-soy based diets supplemented with 2% flaxseed oil as omega source for 5 weeks (T5), 3 weeks (T3), 1 week (T1), and a control diet (T0) without any supplementation of flaxseed oil for 5 weeks. The omega fatty acids, linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) were present in all breast and thigh muscles except for control breast muscle. Chickens fed with flaxseed oil for 5 weeks showed highest accumulation of alpha-linolenic acid in thigh muscle (85.74mg/100g). Longer duration of feeding with flaxseed oil resulted with higher accumulation of alpha-linolenic acid in thigh muscle. In the breast muscle however, accumulation of alpha-linolenic acid was found to be abundant in the 3 weeks (42.12mg/100g) and 5 weeks (40.39mg/100g) treatment. The linoleic acid content in both thigh (360.22–440.95mg/100g) and breast (177.78–221.55mg/100g) muscles however were higher in all feeding durations compared to alpha-linolenic acid. In this study, it was found that 3 weeks of flaxseed oil supplementation is sufficient to accumulate the alpha-linolenic acid into the breast and 5 weeks supplementation for thigh muscle of village chicken
Producing Defatted Hybrid Catfish with High Protease Activity Via Optimization of Sc-CO2 Extraction Process
Get PDFFish viscera is a great source for recovering polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), proteins and digestive enzymes. However, the presence of lipids in fish viscera reduces the efficiency of extracting, isolating and purifying the enzymes. Supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO2), a green solvent, is useful in substituting organic solvent defatting process. Sc-CO2 helps to remove the lipid in the viscera with minimal denaturing of the proteins and enzymes found in the defatted sample. The viscera of hybrid catfish (C. gariepinus × C. macrocephalus) in this study were defatted by the Sc-CO2 extraction process. The protease was then, extracted from the defatted viscera. This study aimed to optimize the pressure and temperature of Sc-CO2 in the defatted viscera. The optimization of Sc-CO2 parameters was based on the Central Composite Design (CCD) of Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Optimum points were observed within the variables of pressure (P): 17-25 MPa and temperature (T): 39-43 °C with constant CO2 flow rate (F) and extraction time (text) at 25 g/min and 30 min, respectively. The response variables were executed on the amount of fat residue and protease specific activity in the defatted viscera. The optimum Sc-CO2 parameters were found to be at P: 18.17 MPa and T: 41.33 °C with the highest protease activity of 77.51 U/mg and fat residue of 71.17 %. The coefficient of determination (R2) for protease specific activity and fat residue was 90.27% and 93.03%, respectively. The differences between the verification and predicted values for both responses were less than 5%. Hence, the feasible optimum condition to produce a defatted sample with high specific activity at relatively low fat residue as predicted by the RSM in MINITAB statistical software version 16 was acceptable. Nevertheless, the ability of Sc-CO2 to defat the sample with minimal denaturing proteins and enzymes highlights the usefulness of this technology in substituting other organic solvents for the defatting process
Effect of Fresh Azolla (Azolla pinnata) on Growth and Yield of TR8 Rice Variety under Reduced Nitrogen Rates
Get PDFNitrogen is required practically throughout the vegetative phase of rice especially during tillering and panicle initiation stage. Therefore, many synthetic fertilizers are required in rice cultivation. However, synthetic chemical fertilizers are extremely expensive. In addition, the use of chemical fertilizers has detrimental effects on the environment and human health over time. Thus, the use of Azolla as a biofertilizer can replenish nitrogen in the rice field. However, the effect of fresh Azolla in promoting TR8 rice variety growth and yield has not been reported. This experiment was conducted in the insect-proof rain shelter at the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan Campus, Sabah, from August until December 2022. The experiment was laid in a completely randomized design (CRD) for six treatments with five replications. The treatments used in this study were: T1: 60 kg ha-1 N, 30 kg ha-1 P2O5, 30 kg ha-1 K2O + 0% Azolla, T2: 50 kg ha-1 N, 30 kg ha-1 P2O5, 30 kg ha-1 K2O + 10% Azolla, T3: 40 kg ha-1 N, 30 kg ha-1 P2O5, 30 kg ha-1 K2O + 20% Azolla, T4: 30 kg ha-1 N, 30 kg ha-1 P2O5, 30 kg ha-1 K2O + 30% Azolla, T5: 20 kg ha-1 N, 30 kg ha-1 P2O5, 30 kg ha-1 K2O + 40% Azolla, T6: 100% Azolla (50 g). The rice plants were cultivated on the same planting medium of topsoil and goat dung with a ratio of 3:1. The plant height, number of tillers, panicle number per plant, spikelet number per panicle, grain weight per panicle and 1000 grain weight showed significant differences (p<0.05) among the treatments. Results revealed T4 recorded the highest number of tillers (41) compared to T6 (27, negative control) and T1 (32, positive control). There were 51% and 28% differences between T4 and T6 and T1, respectively. In addition, the T3 and T4 produced higher panicle number per plant (47%), spikelet number per panicle (9.4%), grain weight per panicle (27.1%) and 1000 grain weight (9%) compared to T6 (negative control), but showed a similar performance as T1 (positive control). Therefore, T4 is recommended for TR8 rice production with lower chemical fertilizer application with the addition of Azolla
Effect of short-term bee bread on testicular cell development and testosterone level in male Sprague Dawley rats
Get PDFBee bread has been widely traditionally used for male fertility enrichment although limited scientific data are available on its effectiveness. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of bee bread on testicular cell development and testosterone level in male Sprague Dawley rats. In this study, 24 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and divided equally into four treatment groups (n = 6/group) which were Control (C: 0 g of bee bread/kg body weight), Treatment 1 (T1: 1 g of bee bread /kg body weight), Treatment 2 (T2: 2 g of bee bread /kg body weight) and Treatment 3 (T3: 3 g of bee bread /kg body weight). The bee bread was administered daily and orally according to the designated treatment groups using oral gavage for 28 days. After 28 days of treatment, rats were euthanised and testicular cell development and testosterone level were measured. Results showed that rats in the T2 group had thicker (P<0.05) seminiferous tubular diameter (STD) than the control group and higher (P<0.05) seminiferous epithelial height (SEH) compared to C and T1 groups. The testosterone level in the T1, T2 and T3 groups was significantly higher (P<0.05) compared to control. In conclusion, this study suggests that supplemented with 2 g of bee bread per kg body weight is likely to give a positive effect by improving testicular cells development and testosterone level in male Sprague Dawley rats
Morphological Characterization of Gac Fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis SPRENG) Based on Qualitative and Quantitative Traits: Gac Fruit, Morphology
Get PDFMomordica cochinchinensis is a fruit which originated from South-East Asia and it is a newly introduced crop in Malaysia. It is a superfruit with high nutritional and medicinal properties. However, being an introduced crop, gac fruit is a less-known fruit in Malaysia. A study was conducted in IIUM, Kuantan Pahang involving a total of four gac fruit accessions. The objective of this study was to characterize gac fruit morphology involving qualitative and quantitative morphological traits. Completely randomized design with five replications was used. Based on qualitative traits, variations were observed in parameters such as leaf color, leaf venation, leaf apices, leaf bases, fruit shape and spike density. Generally, the gac fruits were reddish-orange in color, the leaf was dark green on the adaxial part and light green on the abaxial part, and the female and male flower was light yellow and white in color. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences (P<0.05) among accessions in all quantitative traits evaluated. The fruit weight ranged from 193.72 g (GD) to 334.70 g (GH), fruit length ranged from 9.42 cm (GD) to 12.13 cm (GH), leaf size ranged from 218.43 cm2 (GD) to 337.96 cm2 (GM) and seed weight ranged from 1.43g (GM) to 3.94g (GX). Overall, the study revealed significant morphological differences among the accessions evaluated, indicating genotypic diversity that can be incorporated into breeding programs
Proximate Compositions, Physical and Sensory Characteristics of Mixed Green Tea Leaves with Vegetables Snack
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to develop mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snacks. Proximate compositions, physical and sensory properties of mixed green tea leave with vegetables snack were assessed. The vegetables such as water spinach, spinach and Kailan were mixed with green tea leaves separately to produce GWS, GS, and GK, respectively. Commercialized seaweed snack (CS) was used as a control. The proximate composition of mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snack and control were determined using Association of Analytical Chemists (AOAC) method. The physical properties (i.e. water activity and texture profile) of the control and mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snacks were assessed using water activity meter and texture profile analyzer, respectively. Sensory evaluation was evaluated by 40 semi-trained panelists. The ash, crude protein, crude fiber, crude fat as well as calories of mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snacks were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the control. Moisture and carbohydrate of mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snack were significantly (P<0.05) lower than control. Texture profile analysis indicated that mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snack and control were no significant (P>0.05) in terms of fracturability, adhesiveness, gumminess and chewiness. Sensory evaluation results indicated that mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snacks were acceptable by panelists as they received score higher than 4.00. Therefore, the findings from this study showed that mixed green tea leaves with vegetables snacks has potential to be developed into snack which is similar with the seaweed snack
Physicochemical Properties and Sensory Evaluations of Muffin Supplemented with Immature Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) Flour
Get PDFImmature Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is considered good for the production of flour because it has a long shelf-life and it is stable in physical and chemical characteristics. Since the immature MMT was removed and not fully utilized, these issues cause farmers to suffer the significant losses. This study evaluated the physicochemical properties and sensory properties of the muffins supplemented with different levels of immature MMT flour. MMT was processed into flour by using a method of a drying process at 60°C using a cabinet dryer for 6 hours. Four muffins’ formulations were prepared with immature MMT flour: 0% as a control (MMTF0), 10% (MMTF10), 20% (MMTF20) and 30% (MMTF30). Proximate values show that increasing the percentage of immature MMT flour in the muffin formulation resulted in an increase in the moisture content (20.26% to 24.32%), ash (1.78% to 2.44%) and fat (12.59 to 6.20%). However, increasing the percentage of immature MMT flour decreased the composition of protein (10.40% to 10%) and carbohydrate (76.2% to 72.35%). Next, the addition of immature MMT flour considerably reduced the values of hardness, chewiness, gumminess and springiness of the muffins. Sensory evaluation was done using hedonic test which involved seven attributes; colour, odour, texture, taste, moistness, aftertaste and overall acceptability. Furthermore, this study revealed that MMTF0 is the most acceptable sample, followed by sample MMTF10 which score was not significantly different from the former. In summary, MMTF10 was the best formulation in terms of its proximate value, physicochemical characteristics and sensory analysis
Maturity Assessment Based on Physicochemical Properties of Senna tora Compost Production Using Bokashi Technique
Get PDFSenna tora is a leguminous plant species belonging to the Fabaceae family, known for its ability to engage in nitrogen fixation. It might improve compost output for sustainable soil fertility control. Bokashi compost is an organic amendment produced in two to four weeks through the fermentation of organic material. The purpose of this study is to assess the maturity of Senna tora compost made using the bokashi method for future uses. Senna tora compost produced by the bokashi method reached a mesophilic temperature (> 35 °C) on the first day and a thermophilic level (> 50 °C) on the second day. From Day 2 to Day 12, a thermophilic temperature level was observed. The temperature decreases until Day 35, signifying the finish of the decomposition process. The pH level of the compost showed a fluctuating pattern, starting at 7.8 and spiking at 8.4 before lowering to 7.2 (neutral) by the end of the study. The height of the compost decreased by approximately 53.97% over the duration of the study, showing that the decomposition process has reached a state of maturity. During the decomposition process of Senna tora, the nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), with 2.88%, 0.654% and 6.671%, respectively, are released and eventually reach the desired target value. The initial carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio of the compost was 25, and it gradually decreased to 14 at the end of study. Senna tora compost produced a statistically significant result in the evaluation of compost maturity. The compost is deemed suitable for use as an organic fertilizer since it meets the specified nutrient availability criteria
Validated Molecular Marker for Downy Mildew Disease Resistance Breeding of Sunflower: A Short Review
Get PDFThe oomycete pathogen Plasmopara halstedii responsible for sunflower downy mildew (DM), that is a significant and important disease that greatly affects the economy. As of now, there is no non-race-specific resistance for this disease and breeders are depended on race-specific resistance to control DM disease. On the other hand, using conventional breeding procedure introgression of the DM resistance genes is a long-term task due to the highly virulent and aggressive nature of the P. halstedii pathogen. Molecular markers that can be applied at the seedling stage, offers rapid response for selection with higher precision as well as a lower cost. There are currently 36 downy mildew resistance genes (R genes), designated as Pl (Pl1-Pl36, Plhra, and PlArg, in sunflowers, each with a unique linkage group (LGs). The availability of DM resistance genomic data of sunflower, related to Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) based markers with mine allelic diversity maximize the opportunity of utilizing Marker assisted selection (MAS) techniques for downy mildew resistance breeding. This review highlights the available genetic marker and their utilization at MAS techniques for enhancing downy mildew disease resistant breeding program of sunflowers