The effect of heat treatments on the bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and cosmeceutical properties (anti-pigmentation and anti-ageing) of fermented broken rice

Previously, broken rice was subjected to solid-state fermentation using locally isolated Aspergillus oryzae under optimised conditions. The fermented broken rice (FBR) has shown great promise as a bioingredient in the formulation of health foods and cosmeceutical products. However, the effects of heat treatment on the bioactive compound content and biological activities of FBR are still unknown. Thus, the goal of this study was to see how different heat treatments affected the bioactive compound content, antioxidant activity, and cosmeceutical properties of FBR, such as anti-pigmentation and anti-aging. This study involved heating FBR at three different temperatures (autoclaving: 105°C, 5–15 mins; pasteurising: 80°C, 90°C, 10 mins; and oven heating: 60°C, 80°C, 24 hrs). The antioxidant activity was measured using ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), while the anti-pigmentation and anti-aging activities were measured using tyrosinase inhibition and elastase inhibition activity, respectively. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the composition of phenolic acids. Heat treatment at 60°C or 80°C for 24 hrs increases total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, anti-pigmentation, and anti-ageing activity in FBR, but oven heating at 80°C for 24 hrs produces the best results of all treatments. Additionally, oven heating at 80 °C for 24 hrs increases the content of gallic acid and syringic acid. However, some phenolic acids, such as p-catechuic, benzoic, and vanillic acids, were reduced at the same temperature. These findings suggested that heating conditions influence FBR's antioxidant activity, cosmeceutical properties, and bioactive compound content. FBR has the potential to be used as a promising bioingredient in the health food and cosmetic industries, given all of the enhanced effects from heat treatment.

Okara yoghurt – a high value-added fermented product from soybean curd residue

Okara is a by-product that consists of insoluble parts of soybean that remain after filtration of the pureed soybean during the manufacturing of soymilk or tofu, which is often underutilized or dumped into the landfills and caused environmental pollution. However, being rich in nutrients, it can, therefore, serve as a good growth medium for lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and developed as fermented products. The purpose of this study was to develop a yoghurt formulation using okara and determine the physicochemical properties and chemical composition of the okara based yoghurt. In this study, different formulations were assessed to develop the okara yoghurt. Higher numbers of colony forming units (CFU/mL) of the LAB starter cultures were observed in okara yoghurt (4.3×109CFU/mL) in comparison to plain milk yoghurt (1.43×109 CFU/mL). A lower pH was attained due to the higher amount of titratable acidity (1.421±0.53%) produced at a faster rate, especially for okara yoghurt (without skimmed) in comparison to milk yoghurt. The chemical composition of the okara yoghurt showed a substantially higher amount of protein (4.46±0.0424%), carbohydrate (16.15±0%), fibre (4.43±0%) and energy (101±0 kcal), in comparison to the commercial milk yoghurt. Furthermore, the addition of okara in the yoghurt formulation also showed an increase in microbial growth during the fermentation due to the presence of dietary fibre. In conclusion, the incorporation of okara with the fortification of skimmed milk not only can enhance probiotic growth but also assist in improving the texture and producing a better taste of okara yoghurt. Therefore, the development of new okara yoghurt from soy by-product is a valuable approach where the low value and low-cost by-products can be turned into a high value-added product with health benefits.

Synergistic of antimicrobial activities of lactic acid bacteria in fermented Tilapia nicoliticus incorporated with selected spices

Fermented tilapia (Tilapia nicoliticus) is one of the famous fermented food in Malaysia. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which well known as GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) are present in most fermented foods and they are well-known non-pathogenic bacteria that play an important role in everyday life. Apart from LAB, spices have also been used for centuries across different regions of the world to improve aroma, flavour and food preservative. This research was aimed to explore a potential natural food preservative using LAB isolated from fermented Tilapia nicoliticus incorporated with various spices (9% turmeric, 6% chilli and 9% black pepper) against foodborne pathogens. The isolation of LAB in different media (MRS, MRS+CaCO3, M17 and Tomato Juice Agar) showed the highest LAB count on day-9 and day-15 during the fermentation period in fermented Tilapia incorporated with black pepper, turmeric and chilli. The highest antimicrobial activity by LAB against Bacillus cereus was observed in fermented tilapia incorporated with black pepper. On the other hand, fermented fish incorporated with chilli showed the highest antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Higher antimicrobial activity was detected in fermented Tilapia in the presence of LAB together with the spices, in comparison to the presence of LAB alone, suggesting synergistic effects between LAB in fermented fish with spices could enhance stronger antimicrobial activities against food pathogens and therefore, served as a natural food preservative.

Knowledge on Bone Banking among Participants in an Orthopaedic Conference: A Preliminary Survey

Despite increasing use of bone graft in Malaysia, there was still lack of data to quantify knowledge level on bone banking among orthopaedic community who are involved in transplantation related work. Therefore, a survey on awareness in tissue banking specifically bone banking, usage and choice of bone grafts was conducted. From 80 respondents, 82.5% were aware about tissue banking however only 12.5% knew of the existence of tissue banks in Malaysia. Femoral head was the bone allograft most often used as a substitute to autograft. Only 34.8% respondents preferred irradiated bone grafts whilst 46.9% preferred nonirradiated, indicating the need to educate the importance of radiation for sterilising tissues. Exhibition was the most preferred medium for awareness programme to disseminate information about bone banking in the orthopaedic community. The professional awareness is necessary to increase the knowledge on the use of bone graft, hence to increase bone transplantation for musculoskeletal surgeries in the country.