Different from cooking oils which contain long‐chain fatty acids, virgin coconut oil (VCO) has high medium‐chain fatty acids, making it a potential functional food which can provide some health benefits. In this study, our objective is to investigate the physicochemical properties, antioxidant capacity, and metal contents of the VCO extracted through four different processing methods: chilling and centrifugation; fermentation; direct micro expelling‐oven dried; and direct micro expelling‐sun‐dried processes. We found that the physicochemical properties, including moisture content, refractive index, viscosity, iodine value, saponification value, peroxide value, free fatty acid, and fatty acid content, of all the VCO conform to the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) standard. All of the VCO predominantly contains lauric acid which is in the range of 48.40%–52.84% of the fatty acid content. The total phenolic content and DPPH radical‐scavenging activity (IC 50) of the VCO was obtained to be in the range of 1.16–12.54 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g and 7.49–104.52 mg/ml, respectively, and the metal contents in the VCO were within the acceptable range of the recommended APCC limit. These findings ensure good quality and safety assurance of the VCO produced from the coconut grown in Brunei Darussalam through the different processing methods.

In this study, the physicochemical, antioxidant, antibacterial properties, and the toxicity of propolis particles produced by stingless bee Heterotrigona itama found in Brunei Darussalam were investigated. Propolis particles of different sizes were extracted from raw propolis using various volume fractions of ethanol in water. Spectroscopic analyses were utilized to characterize the chemical structures, functional groups, as well as absorbance and fluorescence properties. The total antioxidant capacity of propolis particles, which was assessed using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay, was found to increase with volume fraction of ethanol. The maximum antioxidant capacity was as high as 317.65 mg ascorbic acid equivalent per gram of propolis particles. All of the propolis particles showed antibacterial activity against Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The diameters of the inhibition zone were either significantly higher or equivalent to those of two standard antibiotics (rifampicin and streptomycin), suggesting strong antibacterial activity. The toxicity studies of propolis particles against Caenorhabditis elegans revealed that they are non-toxic after 24 h exposure. Overall findings suggest that H. itama propolis particles are not only an important source of natural antioxidants that could be beneficial for human health, but they have potentials as antimicrobial against bacteria.

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Traditionally, there are some medicinal plants believed to treat diabetes, as they have been proven in research studies to possess antidiabetic properties, such as improved insulin sensitivity and hypoglycemic activities, due to their high level of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and glycosides. We conducted a systematic review to identify potential medicinal plants used during human clinical trials in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries on prediabetic or type 2 diabetic individuals and to potentially identify any bioactive compounds involved in effectively treating symptoms of diabetes such as lowering of blood glucose. A total of 1209 reference titles were retrieved from four selected databases (Science Direct, Scopus, Springer Link, and PubMed) and only three met the inclusion criteria. Upon evaluation of the selected articles, four medicinal plants were identified: turmeric (Curcuma longa), garlic (Allium sativum L.), bitter melon (Momordica charantia), and Rosella flower (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.). Of these, only the bitter melon study did not show any significant change in the blood glucose of participants after intervention. This review demonstrates the limitations in published articles of human clinical trials for medicinal plants’ intervention for diabetes. Upon further investigations on the four identified medicinal plants included in the animal studies, the findings showed positive effects in the management of diabetes, such as hyperglycemia. Hence, further testing and standardization of the methods in the studies can be suggested for human clinical trials for reliable data collections such as methods of extract preparation, duration of intervention, and conditions set for the study design.

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Citrus maxima white pith was utilized for the isolation of pectin under acidified condition using L-(+)-tartaric acid, at extraction pH in the range of 1.0 and 2.0. The extraction yield and physicochemical properties (ash content, equivalent weight, methoxy content, anhydrouronic acid, degree of esterification) of the isolated pectin was investigated. The highest yield (70.2%) obtained in this extraction was at pH 1.0, 60°C, 120 minutes. The optimized condition of the isolated pectin in this study was based on the yield and physicochemical properties, where pectin extracted at pH 2.0 and 6080°C for 60120 minutes resulted in a 59.6% yield, with low ash content (2.82%), highest equivalent weight (1098.8) for gelling effect and highest DE (39.2%). The findings are within the range for a good quality pectin. The FTIR spectra of the isolated pectin at different pH mediums, but at constant temperature of 70°C and extraction time of 60 minutes were compared. The presence of methyl esterified carboxyl (1696 cm-1) and carboxylate group confirms the presence of pectin. This isolated pectin as an innovative raw material is potentially applicable for adsorbents, thin films, environmentally-friendly agents and green corrosion inhibitors.

Energy demands keep increasing in this modern world as the world population increases, which leads to a reduction in fossil fuels. To resolve these challenges, Pennisetum purpureum, an invasive grass in Brunei Darussalam, was examined as the feedstock for renewable energy through a catalytic pyrolysis process. The activated carbon was applied as the catalyst for a simple and economical solution. The catalytic pyrolysis was executed at 500 °C (the temperature for the highest biofuel yield) for both reactors to produce the highest amount of upgraded biofuels. The biochar produced from the non-catalytic and catalytic pyrolysis processes showed a consistent yield due to stable operating conditions, from which the activated carbon was generated and used as the catalyst in this work. A significant amount of improvement was found in the production of biofuels, especially bio-oil. It was found that for catalysts, the number of phenolic, alcohol, furans, and ketones was increased by reducing the amount of acidic, aldehyde, miscellaneous oxygenated, and nitrogenous composites in bio-oils. The highest amount of phenolic compounds was produced due to a number of functional groups (-C=O and -OH) in activated carbon. The regenerated activated carbons also showed promising outcomes as catalysts for upgrading the bio-oils. The overall performance of synthesized and regenerated activated carbon as a catalyst in catalytic pyrolysis was highly promising for improving the quality and stability of bio-oil.

The proximate and mineral analyses were conducted in the Department of Biochemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria, in May 2019. The study was carried out to determine the proximate and mineral composition of the fruit of Ficus polita using standard analytical methods. The fruit on dry weight basis (DW) contains moisture (9.12 %), ash (1.30 %), crude lipid (20.51 %), crude fibre (56.69 %), crude protein (1.19 %), available carbohydrates (11.40 %), and calorific value (234.98 Kcal/100 g). The fruit also contains potassium (324.46 mg/100 g), sodium (164.78 mg/100 g), calcium (91.09 mg/100 g), magnesium (70.06 mg/100 g), iron (3.39 mg/100 g), zinc (0.46 mg/100 g), manganese (0.37 mg/100 g), copper (0.23 mg/100 g), and cobalt (0.11 mg/100 g). The study revealed that F. polita fruit contains an appreciable amount of calorific value, crude fibre, crude lipid, available carbohydrate, and crude protein. The fruit was also found to be rich in minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and iron. The fruit should be recommended as a good source of energy, fibre, lipid, carbohydrate, protein, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.