Tempeh is an Indonesian traditional fermented soybean food that is well known for its nutritional value and health benefit. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of two commonly used packaging materials in tempeh production, namely banana leaf and polyethylene bag, on the antioxidant properties. Isoflavones, include daidzein and genistein, of tempeh fermented in banana leaf (TBL) and polyethylene bag (TP) were analysed with high-performance liquid chromatography. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activities were evaluated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, DPPH radical scavenging and β-carotene-linoleate bleaching assays, respectively. The changes of antioxidant properties of tempeh after different fermentation periods in both wrapping materials were observed, on day 0 (unfermented), day 1, day 2 and day 4. Total phenolic content, daidzein, genistein and the antioxidant activities were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in both TBL and TP as the fermentation progressed. A higher total phenolic content was found in TBL on day 1 and day 2 but TP exhibited the highest total phenolic content on day 4. Daidzein was the highest in TBL on day 2 but it was reduced on day 4 while genistein was the highest in TP on day 4. Antioxidant activities were positively (r = 0.272–0.969, p < 0.05) correlated to total phenolic content, daidzein and genistein. Although tempeh wrapped in banana leaf is a traditional way for tempeh packaging, it provided better antioxidant properties on day 1 and day 2, which is within the best period of tempeh consumption. Hence, the current findings provided useful information to manufacturer and consumer in selecting the suitable wrapping material for tempeh with optimal phytonutrients.
The present study is unique in the Malaysian context on two counts; first, it employs for the first time a functional group approach (groups based on occupational or economic activity) in the assessment of community nutritional status. Second, the study provides on a nationwide-sampling basis, information on total blood cholesterol (TC) levels in rural children (7.0-12.9 years; n = 1921) and adolescents (13.0-17.9 years; n = 753) which were hitherto unavailable. Total blood cholesterol measurements were performed on 7184 subjects ranging from 7 to 75-years-old (males = 3151; females = 4033) from households in 69 rural villages and seven estates in peninsular Malaysia, which were based on selected multistage random sampling according to the household's involvement in the following economic activities: rice farming, rubber smallholding, coconut smallholding, fishing and employment in estates. In all functional groups, TC values increased with age and there was a distinct gender effect, namely females had higher TC values than males throughout the age spectrum analyzed. Mean TC levels for children and adolescents were in the range 3.85-4.37 mmol/L, rising markedly during adulthood to an overall mean of 4.91 ± 1.13 mmol/L for men and 5.17 ± 1.11 mmol/L for women. In adults (>= 18.0 years), there was marked disparity in mean TC values among the functional groups; males and females from rice households had the lowest mean TC values (4.58 and 4.99 mmol/L, respectively). Individuals at 'high risk' (TC > 6.20 mmol/L) averaged 16.0% in women and 11.6% in men, with women from the fishing, rubber and coconut households particularly affected (17.1-21.1%). When compared to earlier rural TC data reported for closely similar rural communities in the peninsula, the present findings suggest a 'hypercholesterolemic shift' approximating 0.39 mmol/L (15 mg/dL) in the adult population; however, this was not apparent in the children and adolescents from these rural communities.
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