Zainon Mohd Noor

Meat species identification and Halal authentication analysis using mitochondrial DNA

A method utilizing PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in the mitochondrial genes was developed for beef (Bos taurus), pork (Sus scrofa), buffalo (Bubalus bubali), quail (Coturnix coturnix), chicken (Gallus gallus), goat (Capra hircus), rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) species identification and Halal authentication. PCR products of 359-bp were successfully obtained from the cyt b gene of these six meats. AluI, BsaJI, RsaI, MseI, and BstUI enzymes were identified as potential restriction endonucleases to differentiate the meats. The genetic differences within the cyt b gene among the meat were successfully confirmed by PCR-RFLP. A reliable typing scheme of species which revealed the genetic differences among the species was developed.

New Thrombolytic Agent from Endophytic Fungi and Lignosus rhinocerus

Thrombosis and cardiovascular-related diseases can be caused by fibrin aggregation. Thrombolytic agents have been used to treat thrombolytic problems and cardiovascular-related diseases. There had been searches for new thrombolytic agents from bacteria, fungi, insects and fermented foods. To name a few, recently fungi such as Aspergillus oryzae KSK-3, Fusarium sp. CPCC 480097 and Fusarium sp. BLB were found able in producing protease fibrinolytic enzymes. Potential protease fibrinolytic enzymes were observed from Lignosus rhinocerus bought from Orang Asli of Sungei Perak. Out of the six (6) sclerotia used, one of them, LR-1, produced the biggest clear zone on Skim Milk Agar with a diameter of 1.31 cm. Fibrin plate assay of LR-1 showed that it produced a clear zone of 0.97 cm when the plate was incubated for 18 hours at 37°C Leaves of Hibiscus sp. were sterilised with 70% alcohol and 70% sodium hypochlorite. The leaves were then cut into pieces of 4 cm and placed on Potato Dextrose Agar plate. Fungi grown from the leave pieces were sub cultured onto new Potato Dextrose Agar. This then showed that Lignosus rhinocerus had protease and fibrinolytic activities. Sixteen (16) endophytic fungi were isolated from Hibiscus sp. leaves from six locations in Shah Alam, Selangor. Two endophytic fungi, FH-3 and S-13 showed protease activities; clear zones of 2.89 cm and 2.42 were seen.after 4 days incubation at 27°C. FH-3 had fibrinolytic activity which was observed by the 1.98 cm diameter clear zone on fibrin plate.

Phytochemical profiles and antimicrobial activity of aromatic Malaysian herb extracts against food-borne pathogenic and food spoilage microorganisms.

Preliminary phytochemical and flavonoid compounds of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of 6 aromatic Malaysian herbs were screened and quantified using Reverse-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). The herbal extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against 10 food-borne pathogenic and food spoilage microorganisms using disk diffusion assay. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)/minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of herbal extracts were determined. In the phytochemical screening process, both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of P. hydropiper exhibited presence of all 7 tested phytochemical compounds. Among all herbal extracts, the aqueous P. hydropiper and E. elatior extracts demonstrated the highest antibacterial activity against 7 tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with diameter ranging from 7.0 to 18.5 mm and 6.5 to 19 mm, respectively. The MIC values for aqueous and ethanolic extracts ranged from 18.75 to 175 mg/mL and 0.391 to 200 mg/mL, respectively while the MBC/MFC values for aqueous and ethanolic extracts ranged from 25 to 200 mg/mL and 3.125 to 50 mg/mL, respectively. Major types of bioactive compounds in aqueous P. hydropiper and E. elatior extracts were identified using RP-HPLC instrument. Flavonoids found in these plants were epi-catechin, quercetin, and kaempferol. The ability of aqueous Persicaria hydropiper (L.) H. Gross and Etlingera elatior (Jack) R.M. Sm. extracts to inhibit the growth of bacteria is an indication of its broad spectrum antimicrobial potential. Hence these herbal extracts may be used as natural preservative to improve the safety and shelf-life of food and pharmaceutical products.

An Overview of Toyyib Aspect of Halal Food Production in Meat and Meat Products

The concept of Halal food encompasses not only the ‘Halalness’ of the food source and ingredients used according to Syariah law, but also the Toyyib aspect which involves the wholesomeness, quality and safety of the food for consumption. This overview elaborates on the microbiological aspects of fresh and processed meats that cause non-compliance of Halal certification due to Toyyib elements. Sources of contaminations and factors that contribute to microbial growth at every stage of processing and supply chain are discussed. The growth of pathogenic bacteria found in fresh meat and processed meat products such as Clostridium spp. Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were explained. This overview also presented some analytical methods for qualitative and quantitative measurements of microorganism. We hope that the assessment of Toyyib elements will be implemented together with the Halal aspect of the food in order to fully embrace the Halalan-Toyyiban concept.

A Review on Food Safety Risk in Bakery Outlet: Halalan-Toyyiban Perspective

Bakery outlet is categorized as a retail food business. Nowadays, food safety issues are being discussed in more stringent ways where consumers’ safety and health are concerned. Cakes are one of the most common bakery products consumed by people all over the world. Cakes are susceptible to physical, chemical and microbiological hazards during storage at the outlet and lack of overview about food safety risk at bakery outlet in the perspective of halalan-toyyiban. Physical hazards include contamination of the cake product with raw material, insects, debris and others during storage, chemical hazard include lipid oxidation problems, while microbiological hazard includes bacteria and mould growth. The risks may affect the quality and shelf life of the cake, thus affected the toyyiban aspect of the product. The element in Halalan-Toyyiban Control Point (HTCP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), and also good manufacturing practices (GMP) are some examples of quality control measures that should be implemented by the food industry in order to prevent any food safety issues. Storage condition such as the temperature at bakery outlet is an important control point in maintaining food safety and in complying halalan-toyyiban requirement.

Quantitative Analysis of Hydrophilic and Lipophilic Antioxidant Components in Palm Puree

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The leftover mesocarp, after which the oil is extracted out, is normally used as animal feed. Hence, the aim of this study is to develop value-added food product namely palm puree (PP) derived from mesocarp and crude palm oil (CPO). Palm puree (PP) was developed from different breeds of oil palm fruit (Elaeis Guineensis) namely PP24 and PP99. Both PPs were labelled as PP24A, PP24B, PP99A and PP99B, where A consisted of 2 % mesocarp fibre (MF) with 98 % CPO, while B consisted of 5 % MF with 95 % CPO. Analysis on antioxidant activity using total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) was conducted. Identification and quantification of individual hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants was also performed using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). TPC of all samples varied from 486.33 to 778.29 mg GAE/100 g EW. The amount of TFC ranged between 30.08 and 52.01 mg CE/100 g EW. The FRAP value varied from 585.58 to 1234.06 mM TE/g EW. While the ORAC ranged between 209.60 ± 2.0 and 214.40 ± 3.00 mmol TE/g sample. The quantitative analysis had shown the presence of seven different phenolic acids and four vitamin E derivatives where syringic acid and γ-Tocotrienol (γ-T3) were found to be the most dominant hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant in PP, respectively.

Screening and identification of bacteria producing polysaccharide-degrading enzymes from a Malaysian hot spring

A screen was conducted to search for polysaccharide-degrading enzymes from thermophilic bacteria. A total of fifty-two isolates were obtained from water and soil samples from a hot spring using enrichment culture. The production of amylase, xylanase, pullulanase and cellulase was screened using chromogenic substrates. Four isolates were found to be positive for amylase, 10 were positive for xylanase, 7 were positive for pullulanase and 2 for cellulase activities. Representative isolates were preliminarily identified using 16SRNA gene sequencing technique, and belonged to the genera of Geobacillus, Anoxybacillus, and Bacillus sp. The results indicate that hot springs in Malaysia are rich in microbial life from the Bacillaceae family, and are productive as a source of biocatalysts.