The effect of low melting fractions of milk fat on oxidative stability of ice cream was investigated. Cream was fractionated at three different temperatures (25, 15, and 10 • C), designated as LF-25, LF-15, and LF-10. All the low melting fractions were individually incorporated into ice cream and compared with a control, unmodified milk fat. The other ingredients were the same as in the control. Ice creams were stored at-18 • C for six months and sampled every 30 days. Fractionation induced major changes in the fatty acid composition of all fractions. Concentration of short-chain and long chain unsaturated fatty acids increased in the low melting fractions. Peroxide value and anisidine value of LF-10 increased from 0.23 to 3.95 (meq/kg O 2) and 3.87 to 8.04. Conjugated dienes of control and LF-10 after six months were 1.39 and 4.72 at the same storage period. The flavor score of LF-10 was more than the control and remained indifferent from the control until two months of storage. After six months, the flavor score of LF-10 dropped by 3.6 points as compared to the control, 1.2 points. Low melting fractions of milk fat can be added in the formulation of ice cream to improve its nutritional value with acceptable sensory attributes. However, storage of ice cream formulated from low melting fractions is not recommended for over 60 days at-18 • C.

Nadeem M., Abdullah M., Hussain I., Inayat S., Javid A., Zahoor Y. (2013): Antioxidant potential of Moringa oleifera leaf extract for the stabilisation of butter at refrigeration temperature. Czech J. Food Sci., 31: 332-339.The antioxidant potential of a leaf extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) -LEMO was studied for the stabilisation of butter at refrigeration temperature. LEMO was obtained by extracting the ground and dried leaves with 80% ethanol at room temperature for 48 hours. LEMO was added into butter at three different concentrations, i.e. 400 ppm (T 1 ), 600 ppm (T 2 ), and 800 ppm (T 3 ) and compared with a treatment which was not supplemented with LEMO, i.e. control (T 0 ). The addition of LEMO at all three levels did not have any effect on butter composition. Free fatty acids, peroxide value and p-anisidine value (AnV) of T 2 after 90 days of storage were 0.10%, 0.71 meq/kg and 14.85 as compared to the control 0.16%, 1.24 meq/kg and 28.85, respectively. Peroxide value of the control and T 2 in Schaal oven test after 5 days in oven was 8.19 and 2.99 meq/kg, respectively. Induction period and overall acceptability score of the control and T 2 were 6.35 h, 8.91 h and 7.6, 7.2, respectively. The results of this study suggest that LEMO at 600 ppm may be used for reasonable storage stability of butter at refrigeration temperate with acceptable sensory characteristics.

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Malaysian sea cucumber was incorporated into hydrogel formulation by using electron beam irradiation technique and was introduced as novel cross-linked Gamat Hydrogel dressing. This study investigated whether Gamat Hydrogel enhanced repair of deep partial skin thickness burn wound in rats and its possible mechanism. Wounds were treated with either Gamat Hydrogel, control hydrogel, OpSite V R film dressing or left untreated. Skin samples were taken at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post burn for histological and molecular evaluations. Gamat Hydrogel markedly enhanced wound contraction and improved histological reorganization of the regenerating tissue. Furthermore, the dressing modulated the inflammatory responses, stimulated the activation and proliferation of fibroblasts, and enhanced rapid production of collagen fiber network with a consequently shorter healing time. The level of proinflammatory cytokines; IL-1a, IL-1b, and IL-6, were significantly reduced in Gamat Hydrogel treated wounds compared with other groups as assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In summary, our results showed that Gamat Hydrogel promoted burn wound repair via a complex mechanism involving stimulation of tissue regeneration and regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The resultant wound healing effects were attributed to the synergistic effect of the hydrogel matrix and incorporated sea cucumber.

A novel cross-linked honey hydrogel dressing was developed by incorporating Malaysian honey into hydrogel dressing formulation, cross-linked and sterilized using electron beam irradiation (25 kGy). In this study, the physical properties of the prepared honey hydrogel and its wound healing efficacy on deep partial thickness burn wounds in rats were assessed. Skin samples were taken at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after burn for histopathological and molecular evaluations. Application of honey hydrogel dressings significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) wound closure and accelerated the rate of re-epithelialization as compared to control hydrogel and OpSite film dressing. A significant decrease in inflammatory response was observed in honey hydrogel treated wounds as early as 7 days after burn (P < 0.05). Semiquantitative analysis using RT-PCR revealed that treatment with honey hydrogel significantly (P < 0.05) suppressed the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-6). The present study substantiates the potential efficacy of honey hydrogel dressings in accelerating burn wound healing.

BackgroundArdisia crispa Thunb. D.C is used mostly in some parts of the Asian region by traditional practitioners to treat certain diseases associated with oxidative stress and inflammation including cancer and rheumatism. In Malaysia, it is popularly known as ‘Mata Ayam’ and local traditional practitioners believed that the root of the plant is therapeutically beneficial.MethodsThe cytotoxic effect of hydromethanolic extract of A. crispa and its solvents partitions (ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts) against breast cancer cells were evaluated by using MTT assay. The cells were treated with concentration of extracts ranging from 15.63 μg/mL- 1000 μg/mL for 72 h. The quantification of phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts were carried out to determine the relationship between of phytochemical compounds responsible for cytotoxic and antioxidative activities. The antioxidant capacity was measured by DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging assay and expressed as milligram (mg) Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity per 1 g (g) of tested extract.ResultsThe hydromethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts showed moderate cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 with IC50 values of 57.35 ± 19.33 μg/mL, and 54.98 ± 14.10 μg/mL, respectively but aqueous extract was inactive against MCF-7. For MDA-MB-231, hydromethanolic, ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts exhibited weak cytotoxic effects against MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values more than 100 μg/mL. The plant revealed high total phenolic content, total flavonoid and antioxidant capacity.ConclusionThe response of different type of breast cancer cell lines towards A. crispa extract and its partitions varied. Accordingly, hydromethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts appear to be more cytotoxic to oestrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer than oestrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer. However, aqueous extract appears to have poor activity to both types of breast cancer. Besides that, hydromethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts exhibit higher TPC, TFC and antioxidant capacity compared to aqueous extract. Synergistic effect of anticancer and antioxidant bioactives compounds of A. crispa plausibly contributed to the cytotoxic effects of the extract.

BackgroundThe present study investigated the potential of methanolic extract of Dicranopteris linearis (MEDL) leaves to attenuate liver intoxication induced by acetaminophen (APAP) in rats.MethodsA group of mice (n = 5) treated orally with a single dose (5000 mg/kg) of MEDL was first subjected to the acute toxicity study using the OECD 420 model. In the hepatoprotective study, six groups of rats (n = 6) were used and each received as follows: Group 1 (normal control; pretreated with 10% DMSO (extract’s vehicle) followed by treatment with 10% DMSO (hepatotoxin’s vehicle) (10% DMSO +10% DMSO)), Group 2 (hepatotoxic control; 10% DMSO +3 g/kg APAP (hepatotoxin)), Group 3 (positive control; 200 mg/kg silymarin +3 g/kg APAP), Group 4 (50 mg/kg MEDL +3 g/kg APAP), Group 5 (250 mg/kg MEDL +3 g/kg APAP) or Group 6 (500 mg/kg MEDL +3 g/kg APAP). The test solutions pre-treatment were made orally once daily for 7 consecutive days, and 1 h after the last test solutions administration (on Day 7th), the rats were treated with vehicle or APAP. Blood were collected from those treated rats for biochemical analyses, which were then euthanized to collect their liver for endogenous antioxidant enzymes determination and histopathological examination. The extract was also subjected to in vitro anti-inflammatory investigation and, HPLC and GCMS analyses.ResultsPre-treatment of rats (Group 2) with 10% DMSO failed to attenuate the toxic effect of APAP on the liver as seen under the microscopic examination. This observation was supported by the significant (p < 0.05) increased in the level of serum liver enzymes of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and significant (p < 0.05) decreased in the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in comparison to Group 1. Pre-treatment with MEDL, at all doses, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the level of ALT and AST while the levels of CAT and SOD was significantly (p < 0.05) restored to their normal value. Histopathological studies showed remarkable improvement in the liver cells architecture with increase in dose of the extract. MEDL also demonstrated a low to none inhibitory activity against the respective LOX- and NO-mediated inflammatory activity. The HPLC and GCMS analyses of MEDL demonstrated the presence of several non-volatile (such as rutin, gallic acid etc.) and volatile (such as methyl palmitate, shikimic acid etc.) bioactive compounds.ConclusionMEDL exerts hepatoprotective activity against APAP-induced intoxication possibly via its ability to partly activate the endogenous antioxidant system and presence of various volatile and non-volatile bioactive compounds that might act synergistically to enhance the hepatoprotective effect.