Christia vespertilionis locally known as ‘rerama’ has gained much attention as herbal preparation to treat various ailments and diseases although there is no conclusive evidence of its therapeutic values. Self-medication is commonly practiced by patients, underpinned by health believes that affect their adherence to medication regimens, and impacting on treatment outcomes. Therefore, in this study the phytochemical profile and potential interaction of this plant extracts with conventional chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide were investigated. Water decoction and maceration method with 70% ethanol were used to extract the plant leaves. Phytochemical profiling of the extracts and compound identification was done using HPLC. Isoorientin was identified as the major phytochemical component of the extracts. MTT assay was used to screen cytotoxicity of the extract towards CRL2522, HaCaT, HepG2, MCF-7 and WRL68 cell lines. Combination index (CI) and isobologram were derived from combination treatment of extract and cyclophosphamide. Ethanolic extract has low cytotoxicity against all cell lines (IC50>1mg/mL). However, combination treatment of ethanolic extract and cyclophosphamide at IC15 and IC25 concentration resulted in synergism (CI<1). There is potential synergism arise with combination treatment of this plant with cyclophosphamide, which enhances cytotoxicity and the mechanism of synergism worth to be further investigated.

Background: In recent years, the potential role of probiotics has become prominent in the discoveries of neurotherapy against neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) exhibit neuroprotective properties and exert their effects via various mechanisms of actions. This review aimed to evaluate the effects of LAB on neuroprotection reported in the literature. Methods: A database search on Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct revealed a total of 467 references, of which 25 were included in this review based on inclusion criteria which comprises 7 in vitro, 16 in vivo, and 2 clinical studies. Results: From the studies, LAB treatment alone or in probiotics formulations demonstrated significant neuroprotective activities. In animals and humans, LAB probiotics supplementation has improved memory and cognitive performance mainly via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways. Conclusions: Despite promising findings, due to limited studies available in the literature, further studies still need to be explored regarding synergistic effects, efficacy, and optimum dosage of LAB oral bacteriotherapy as treatment or prevention against neurodegenerative diseases.

Energy Commission Malaysia is targeting 4100 MW of power generation capacity via competitive bidding to replace capacity from the 1 st generation Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that will be retired from 2015 to 2017 and to cater for future demand growth. Malaysia's generation mix has been long time dependence on a single fuel. This overdependency is not a good option for long-term energy sustainability and security. This has led Malaysia to find other alternative resources to generate electricity. Some possible options are: 1) coal, 2) nuclear and 3) renewable energy (RE). This paper proposes to determine optimum alternative resources of generation mix for Malaysia's additional capacity in 2015 using Evolutionary Programming (EP) at the least cost. The model takes into account characteristics associated with different technologies, such as the investment cost, the O&M cost, the fuel cost and the heat rate. This paper considers four new expansion candidates i.e. coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy as the major power generation sources. Result shows that, the optimum generation mix for Malaysia's additional capacity in 2015 will be 67.9% is from coal, 22.51% from natural gas, 8.21% from nuclear and 1.25% from RE.

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Clinacanthus nutans (Acanthaceae), locally known as Sabah snake grass, is popularly taken as prevention as well as treatment for cancer in Malaysia, despite lack of concrete clinical evidence. However, it is crucial to evaluate potential antagonistic, additive, or synergistic interactions that may result from the co-treatment of this plant in chemotherapy. In this study, we demonstrate the drug-herb interaction using combination treatment of C. nutans extracts and cyclophosphamide on the WRL 68 cell line. Materials and Methods: Aqueous and 70% ethanol extract of C. nutans leaves were prepared using decoction and maceration methods. MTT assay was used to test single treatment as well as the combination of C. nutans extract and cyclophosphamide. Phytochemical profiling and flavonoid were identified using HPLC. Results: C. nutans ethanolic extract exhibits low antiproliferative activity. A combination of ethanolic extract of C. nutans and cyclophosphamide at various concentrations resulted in antagonism with combination index values of 1.413, 1.482, and 1.525. Flavonoids identified in the phytochemical profile of both extracts were schaftoside, isoorientin, orientin, and vitexin. High flavonoids level in C. nutans ethanolic extract could potentially interact with metabolic enzymes of the cell line, which might have affected metabolism and activated the cyclophosphamide. The in vitro data suggested that there was a potential for drug-herb interactions, which could negatively affect the chemotherapeutic outcomes. Further investigation should be done in vivo and clinical research model.