Food waste with high carbohydrate content is considered as a suitable substrate for fermentation of methane gas. In this study, co-digestion of poultry manure (PM) and food waste (FW) was used. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were applied to optimize parameters of co-digestion of PM and FW at different ratios, initial pH values and temperatures. A comparative analysis was done using RSM and ANN in a predictive model of the experimental data obtained in accordance with the central composite design. The combined effects of the independent variables (ratio, pH and temperature) as the most significant parameters of methane fermentation of PM and FW were investigated. Optimization using RSM and ANN showed a good fit between the experimental and the predicted data as elucidated by the coefficient of determination with R 2 values of 0.991 and 0.998, respectively. Quadratic RSM predicted the maximum methane yield to be 537 mL CH 4 /g VS at the optimal conditions; ratio 80:20 (PM : FW); temperature 35 °C; and initial pH 7.11. The maximum predicted methane yield by the ANN model was 535.82 mL CH 4 /g VS at the following conditions; ratio of poultry manure to food waste 80:20; temperature 35 °C; and pH 7.00. The verification experiments successfully produced 538 mL CH 4 /g VS within 14 days of incubation. These experiments indicated that the developed model was successfully used to predict the fermentable methane production.

Purpose: To present an overview of the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and pharmacological effects of the ‘wonder’ plant, Uncaria gambir (W. Hunter) Roxb.Methods: The literature search for information on phytochemical composition and pharmacological importance of U. gambir was undertaken using diverse electronic search engines, including Google, Scopus, Web of Science, scientific literature, and databases (Pubmed, Springer and Science Direct). Other relevant literature sources include books, book chapters, conference papers, theses, and other scientific publications.Results: Uncaria gambir Roxb possesses significant medicinal potentials as an antioxidant, anthelmintic, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, and for the management of osteoarthritis. Interest has increased among researchers for the utilization of this plant in complementary medicine, for example, to relieve sore throat, spongy gum, and dysentery, to treat atherosclerosis and obesity, and to prolong sexual intercourse.Conclusion: Uncaria gambir demonstrates significant pharmacological properties. This review will be useful for prospective research and development of this ethnomedicinal plant into potentially valuable health products. Keywords: Anthelmintic, Antibacterial,Anti-Diabetic, Osteoarthritis, Uncaria gambir

Recently, the rapid expansions of agricultural waste, including chicken manure and food waste, has increased the amount of organic waste produced. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the possibility of using the co-digestion of food waste and chicken manure for the production of biogas, hydrogen and methane. An anaerobic co-digestion of chicken manure (CM) and food waste (FW) was carried out using a 150 mL serum vial at different ratios: 0:1,1:9, 2:8, 3:7, 4:6, 5:5 and 1:0 of CM to FW, and incubated at 35ºC. The highest hydrogen and methane yields were 239.2 and 60.8 mL/gVS, respectively, for the experiment conducted at a selected ratio of 3:7 of CM:FW by using a 500 mL reactor. Tagged 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing analysis for selected ratio 3:7 of CM:FW showed that the seed culture was comprised largely of uncultured bacteria from phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. During mesophilic hydrogen fermentation, phylum of Firmicutes (40%) was dominant at day 1, while phylum of Firmicutes (15%) dominated at day 13. Clostridium sp. was the main species detected in the acidogenic phase, while Methanosaeta consilii and Methanosaeta hungatei were detected during the methanogenic phase.