Norazlanshah Hazali

Antioxidant activity and phenolic profile of various morphological parts of underutilised Baccaurea angulata fruit.

Baccaurea angulata is an underutilised tropical fruit of Borneo Island of Malaysia. The effect of solvents was examined on yield, total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoids (TFC), total carotene content (TCC), free radical scavenging activities and lipid peroxidation inhibition activities. The results indicated that the pulp (edible portion) had the highest yield, while methanol extracts were significantly (p < 0.01) found to contain higher TPC, TFC and TCC than phosphate buffered saline (PBS) extracts for all the fruits parts. The methanol extracts also showed remarkable antiradical activity and significant lipid peroxidation inhibition activities, with their IC50 results highly comparable to that of commercial blueberry. The variations in the results among the extracts suggest different interactions, such as negative or antagonistic (interference), additive and synergistic effect interactions. The study indicated that B. angulata like other underutilised tropical fruits contained remarkable primary antioxidants. Thus, the fruit has the potential to be sources of antioxidant components.

Automatic Fruits Identification System Using Hybrid Technique

In this work, a combination of artificial neural network (ANN), Fourier descriptors (FD) and spatial domain analysis (SDA) has been proposed for the development of an automatic fruits identification and sorting system. Fruits images are captured using digital camera inclined at different angles to the horizontal. Segmentation is used for the classification of the preprocessed images into two non-overlapping clusters from which shape boundary and signatures are estimated using FD and SDA technique. Furthermore, color information obtained from the extracted red-green-blue color components of the fruits images during ANN training process is used in accurately detecting the color of such a fruit. The two independent paths are then combined for fruits sorting and identification purposes. The performance of the developed hybrid system has been evaluated at three different angles of camera inclination from which an accuracy of 99:1% was obtained.

Physicochemical and antioxidant characteristics of Baccaurea angulata fruit juice extract

The purpose of this study was to explore the physicochemical and antioxidant characteristics of Baccaurea angulata fruit juice extract. Freeze-dried whole fruit (FDWF), freeze-dried berry (FDB), and freeze-dried skin (FDS) of B. angulata were analyzed for total phenolic, total flavonoid, total anthocyanin, and antioxidant activities. FDS recorded the highest moisture and ash content, protein, total fat, and water activity, compared to FDWF and FDB. FDS also contained the highest total phenolic, total flavonoid, and total anthocyanin, while FDWF recorded the highest in scavenging xanthine oxidase (35.9%) and ferric reducing activity (44.9 μM TE/g). FDS, however, showed the highest DPPH (102.66 mg AA/100 g) and TEAC (847.46 mg TE/100 g) values. DPPH, TEAC and FRAP were strongly correlated with total phenol (r = 0.979; 0.948; 0.997) and total flavonoid (r = 0.987; 0.960; 0.992). Total anthocyanin had no correlation with DPPH and TEAC, but moderately with FRAP (r = 0.734). Physicochemical and antioxidant characteristics of B. angulata may indicate that this fruit may impart health benefits when consumed and can be suggested as a good source for nutraceutical beverages. Keywords: Antioxidant properties, Baccaurea angulata , freeze-dried fruit, nutritional composition, physicochemical. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(34), pp. 5333-5338

Variable filtered photographic film as a radiation detector for environmental radiation monitoring

Environmental radiation is an ionising radiation that present in the natural environment which mostly originates from cosmic rays and radionuclide agents in the environment. This may lead the population to be exposed to the radiation. Therefore, the environmental radiation needs to be observed cautiously to minimize the impact of radiation. However, there is no specific or proper monitoring device that provides an outdoor environmental radiation monitoring. Hence, a new outdoor environmental radiation monitoring device was developed. A photographic film has been chosen as a dosimeter. The purpose of this study was to prove the covered photographic film attached with variable filter can be used to develop environmental radiation monitoring device to detect the ionising radiation. The filter used was variable thickness of plastic, aluminium (Al) and lead (Pb). The result from the study showed that the mean optical density (OD) values for medium speed film are in the range 0.41 to 0.73, and for fast speed film the OD values are in the range 0.51 to 1.35. The OD values decreased when the filter was attached. This has proven that the photographic film can be used to detect radiation and fast speed film was more sensitive compared to medium speed film.

Functional foods innovation: high calorie liquid formulations and its acceptability among IIUM Kuantan students

Nowadays, with the advancement of science and nutritional breakthrough, there are lots of methods can be applied to optimise energy and nutritional requirement. One of the approaches is through utilisation and modification of functional foods available. Some of these functional foods are high in calorie and nutrient dense. Therefore, the aim of the research was to develop simple formulations of healthy high calorie beverages derived from functional foods. Four formulations with different main ingredients were evaluated. The formulations were subjected to macronutrients analysis and sensory evaluation for measurement of the acceptability. The main sensory properties such as appearance, aroma, consistency, colour, after taste, and overall acceptance were evaluated using a nine point Hedonic scale. Nutritionist Pro™ software was used to compare the nutrient content. Based on the analysis performed, Enercal Plus® which was the control formulation shown the densest calorie for one serving (360 kcal/serving) followed by F2, F3, and F1 formulations. The results of hedonic rating proved that all formulations showed fair acceptability with the highest percentage and hedonic score goes to control formulation of Enercal Plus® followed by F3, F2, and F1 formulations. Their mean score ranged between 5- 6.6 in terms of general acceptability. From this research, it showed the development of high calorie beverage is possible through modification of functional foods. Keywords: Functional foods, formulation, high calorie, sensory evaluation, hedonic score. Abstrak Dengan kemajuan dalam bidang sains dan kejayaan dalam bidang pemakanan pada masa kini, terdapat pelbagai kaedah yang boleh digunakan untuk mengoptimumkan keperluan tenaga dan pemakanan. Salah satu pendekatannya adalah dengan pengunaan dan pengubahsuian makanan berfungsi yang tersedia. Sesetengah makanan berfungsi ini tinggi kalori dan padat dengan nutrient. Maka, tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk menghasilkan formulasi mudah minuman tinggi kalori yang dihasilkan daripada makanan berfungsi. Empat formulasi dengan bahan utama yang berbeza dinilai. Formulasi-formulasi ini menjalani analisis makronutrien dan penilaian sensori untuk menentukan penerimaannya. Ciri-ciri sensori yang utama seperti rupabentuk, aroma, konsistensi, warna, rasa kesan dan penerimaan keseluruhan dinilai menggunakan skala Hedonik 9 titik. Perisian Nutritionist Pro™ digunakan untuk membandingkan kandungan nutrient. Berdasarkan analisis yang dijalankan, Enercal Plus® yang merupakan formulasi kawalan mempunyai kandungan kalori paling padat untuk satu hidangan (360 kcal/hidangan) diikuti dengan formulasi F2, F3 dan F1. Keputusan penilaian hedonik menunjukkan kesemua formulasi mecapai tahap penerimaan yang baik dengan peratusan tertinggi dicapai oleh Enercal Plus® diikuti dengan F3, F2 dan F1. Skor min kesemua formulasi adalah antara 5-6.6 berdasarkan penerimaan keseluruhan. Kajian ini menunjukkan pembangunan minuman berkalori tinggi melalui pengubahsuian makanan berfungsi mampu tercapai. (Keywords: Fuctional food, high calorie, IIUM, Nutritionist Pro™, Enercal Plus®)

Design and Performance of 20 Watts Portable Solar Generator

A new portable solar generator has been developed to generate electricity. It has the potential to replace petrol generator, widely used by peddlers at night markets (pasar malam). Conventional generators are heavy, oily, have high maintenance and use fossil fuel to generate electricity. The solar generator can generate 20 Watts of electricity. This amount of power can supply up to 96 hours of electricity for the purpose of lighting and running small electrical appliances. The power output is (alternating current) AC current using 150 Watts inverter with 200 Watts surge, suitable for all commercial single phase electric appliances. Solar charge controller is used to maximize the charging rate and to protect the battery. The system has low maintenance whereby the batteries need to be changed every three to four years, depending on the usage. The main concepts of portable solar generator are to reduce installation cost and to introduce a compact design of an optimal energy sizing system. The materials used to develop the solar generator can be easily obtained from local markets, thus reducing the cost of developing the system and making it suitable for commercialization.