Amin Ismail

Schizophyllum commune, a tropical mushroom with health-promoting properties, has limited exploitation for high-value products. Realising the potential of fermentation to transform wheat into a value-added product, this study optimised wheat fermentation with S. commune to boost phenolic production and antioxidative activity. Results showed that 30-day fermentation produced the highest phenolic content and antioxidative properties, significantly increasing the FRAP value from 0.181 mg AAE g-1 in non-fermented wheat to 2.207 mg AAE g-1 and boosting the DPPH value from 6.28 % to 81.63 %. S. commune-fermented wheat shows potential to be explored as a sustainable health-promoting food product.

Schizophyllum commune , an underutilized mushroom known for its diverse health-promoting components, was utilized in solid-state fermentation (SSF) of wheat grains to produce myceliated products. Such products have gained remarkable interest as potential functional foods. The present study aimed to develop an S. commune- fermented wheat product and investigate the effects of SSF on its chemical profile and health-promoting properties. Wheat grains were inoculated with S. commune mycelium and incubated for 30 days. Nutritional composition, functional properties, and chemical profiles were determined using established methodologies. The results revealed that fermentation with S. commune significantly altered the protein, carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral contents of wheat. Notably, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the fermented wheat improved by up to 3.4-fold and 1.8-fold, respectively. Antioxidative potential was evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging, ferric-reducing, and β-carotene bleaching inhibition assays. The water extracts from the fermented wheat exhibited superior activity compared to the other solvent extracts. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory properties of the fermented wheat were significantly enhanced relative to its unfermented counterpart, as evidenced by its capacity to scavenge nitric oxide and inhibit protein denaturation. Untargeted LC-QTOF MS analysis of the cold-water extract, which exhibited the highest bioactivity led to the putative identification of 70 metabolites, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and organic acids. The presence of compounds such as gallic acid, astragalin, and glucuronic acid suggests a synergistic contribution to the observed health-promoting effects. These findings indicate that S. commune -fermented wheat serves as a promising functional food ingredient, offering a sustainable candidate for the development of products aimed at promoting consumer health and wellness. Graphical Abstract

Tambun White pomelo (PO52) fruit is known as the biggest citrus fruit in the world. The peels that make up 50% of the fruit are generally discarded after attaining the flesh. The research focuses on the valorization of dried pomelo peels simultaneously targeting to retain significant antioxidant compound. The drying kinetics of pomelo albedo (PA) using conventional (CD) and vacuum (VD) drying was identified, and the model that best described the kinetics was selected. Seven mathematical models were applied and the effective moisture diffusivity ( ) was determined. The effects of these drying methods on the retention of total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl or DPPH) at drying temperatures of 60 and 90 °C were observed. The diffusion approach model and two-term exponential model best explained the drying behavior of PA for CD and VD, respectively. The of VD was higher (1.30 × 10-6 m2/s) than CD (6.98 × 10-7 m2/s), indicating that higher rate of moisture transfer in VD compared to CD. Also, VD at 90 °C resulted in the highest retention of TPC and DPPH. The current study provides significant information for valorization of citrus fruits to the agricultural sectors.

Studies indicated that cocoa-based products effectively mitigate the risks associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS), however, the effect varies based on cocoa types, dosages, and study durations. This review aimed to determine the flavanol-rich cocoa consumption on MetS outcomes within the last decade (2013-2023), adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Seven randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) used cocoa-based products containing 0.3-1680 mg flavanol monomers and 3.5-1270 mg procyanidins. Cocoa-based products beneficially reduced glycemic response, blood pressure and lipid profiles. However, this review highlights little evidence pinpointing the best cocoa products type and required dosage for the observed effects. Further intervention aiming to improve MetS should justify the selection and concentration of flavanols (monomers and procyanidins). A robust study design should consider registering the trials before study commencement, consider multicenter RCT trials, and adjust for potential covariates that might “masked” the outcomes.

Lepisanthes fruticosa (Roxb) Leenh or locally known as ceri Terengganu is an underutilised fruit species from the Sapindaceae family. The species was previously identified as a potent antioxidant source, but scientific information is still lacking and limited to in vitro. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the in vivo antidiabetic and antioxidative effects of L. fruticosa fruit seed extract (LFSE) in a high-fat diet, streptozotocin (HFD/STZ)-induced Sprague Dawley rats. After 8 weeks of HFD feeding, a low-dose STZ (35 mg/kg body weight) was injected to induce type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Two dosages of LFSE (300 and 600 mg/kg body weight) were orally administered to diabetic rats for 4 weeks. High dosage LFSE (600 mg/kg body weight) showed a more pronounced effect in anti-hyperglycemic activities as indicated by both sub-chronic and acute studies. The glucose-lowering ability of LFSE was supported by its improved serum insulin level (40%) as compared to diabetic control. LFSE (600 mg/kg) also resulted in a significant (P<0.05) increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) (20%) and catalase (CAT) (43%) activities, with a significant (P<0.05) decrease in lipid peroxidation (28%) as compared to diabetic control. With regard to lipid profile, low dosage LFSE (300 mg/kg) led to a significant (P<0.05) improvement in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) (39%). Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of LFSE showed the presence of various phytochemicals with antidiabetic and antioxidant properties, with α-kojibiose, genistein-7,4'-di-O-β-D-glucoside and soyacerebroside II being the predominant ones. The findings may suggest that L. fruticosa fruit seed extract is potential in reducing hyperglycaemia and enhancing antioxidant status in HFD/STZ-induced diabetic rats. Therefore, it can be concluded that L. fruticosa fruit species may be considered as a promising candidate for a new and safe alternative remedy for the prevention and treatment of T2DM.

The benefits of gut microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) towards health and metabolism have been emerging since the past decade. Extensive studies have been carried out to understand the mechanisms responsible in initiating the functionalities of these SCFAs towards body tissues, which greatly involves the SCFA-specific receptors free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) and free fatty acid receptor 3 (FFAR3). This review intends to discuss the potential of SCFAs particularly in regulating insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells, by explaining the production of SCFAs in the gut, the fate of each SCFAs after their production, involvement of FFAR2 and FFAR3 signalling mechanisms and their impacts on insulin secretion. Increased secretion of insulin after SCFAs treatments were reported in many studies, but contradicting evidence also exist in several other studies. Hence, no clear consensus was achieved in determining the true potential of SCFA in regulating insulin secretion. In this review, we explore how such differences were possible and hopefully be able to shed some perspectives in understanding SCFAs-signalling behaviour and preferences.

BACKGROUND: Plant‐based complementary foods (CFs) supply insufficient amount of nutrients to meet recommended nutrient intakes for 6–23‐month‐old children. The present study determined the nutritional quality of CFs formulated from blends of Nigerian yellow maize (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max) and crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Three CFs were formulated; namely, maize flour (MF, 100:0% w/w), blends of maize and soybean flour (MSF, 72:28% w/w), and maize, soybean and crayfish flour (MSCF, 80:10:10% w/w). Nutritional quality was evaluated using analyses of chemical composition of CFs and of protein quality of complementary food diets. Data were compared by multivariate analysis of variance and significantly differentiated. Nine selected nutritional criteria were used to decide the CF that had best nutritional characteristics compared to MF and fortified wheat flour (FWMF).RESULTS: Total scores obtained from the selected nutritional criteria ranked MSCF, with total score of 15, as the lowest and thus it was considered to have the most desirable nutritional characteristics compared to MF, MSF and FWMF, which had respective total scores of 31, 22 and 20.CONCLUSION: Conclusively, MSCF may serve as a better alternative CF for MF, MSC and FWMF. The present study has produced a potential alternative cost‐effective and adequate CF, formulated from crayfish (P. clarkii) supplementation of locally available blend of yellow maize (Z. mays) and soybean (G. max), for the poor human population, aiming to encourage the consumption of animal‐sourced CF for alleviating the prevalence of childhood undernutrition. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Background: The Indonesian Public Health Care (PHC) of Management Nutrition Therapy (MNT) guidelines describe that individual nutrition education is aimed to improve quality of MNT services. The guidelines were originally developed for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), not specially for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) purposes. The reluctance of patients with T2DM to attend individual nutrition education is a common public health care issue in Padang (Indonesia). Methods: The presented cross-sectional study aimed to determine the individual nutrition education needs among people with T2DM. A set questionnaire was distributed to 11 PHC selected from 11 districts in Padang and 179 patients with T2DM were recruited and interviewed. Results: Among the 179 patients with T2DM, 76.5% were females and housewives (49.2%), a slight majority (57.8%) were ≤58 years old and 45.9% had graduated from primary school. The highest numbers of patients with T2DM were in PHC Andalas (20.7%). Some 74.9% (134) of the people with T2DM routinely attended individual nutrition education classes for less than 30 min (60.3%). Patients with T2DM followed individual nutrition education at a PHC every 1–2 months (59.8%), and a majority of the individual nutrition education was given by a medical doctor (57.5%). In contrast, 42.3% of patients with T2DM did not attend individual nutrition education due to a lack of recommendation from a medical doctor and their reluctance (33.3%). Although a majority of patients with T2DM (62.6%) were satisfied with their individual nutrition education, (20.4% of patients with T2DM recommended the availability of booklets during individual nutrition education that can be read at home. Patients with T2DM needed individual nutrition education (88.8%) and the majority (25.1%) requested individual nutrition education topics about diabetes food recommendation. Even though patients with T2DM followed health professionals’ advice (78.2%), however, their HbA1c (76.5%) wasnot reduced. Patients with T2DM agreed that individual nutrition education can increase their knowledge (51.9%), unfortunately, they still have difficulty to control their blood glucose (5.6%). Conclusions: According to the patients with the T2DM perspective stated above, it is crucial to develop the tool kits and educate patients with T2DM following the Diabetes Nutrition Education (DNE) curriculum to improve glycemic control.

Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) has often been used to quantify fatty acids in fish. This study validated the common method for determining omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) in the raw and cooked warm-water fish, selayang, using GC-FID for subsequent evaluation on EPA and DHA retention using the Weibull model. The EPA and DHA were separated using a high-polarity capillary GC HP-88 column (60 m length, 0.25 mm ID, 0.2 μm DF) with a total run time of 45.87 min. The method was validated in linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity and sensitivity based on ICH requirements. In addition, it was found that the method had a high recovery rate (>95%) and good precision (RSD ≤ 2%) with overall RSDs ranging below 0.001% for both omega-3 PUFA. In conclusion, this method identified and quantified fatty acids and omega-3 accurately and precisely and can be used effectively for routine FAME analysis in fish samples.

(1) Background: The interest in nutrition practices and education is slowly gaining traction among Indonesian nutritionists. However, there is a lack of local studies that evaluate nutritional practices, especially in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the nutritional practices among nutritionists and the adequacy of the current practices in the management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients at the Public Health Clinic in Padang (PHC), Indonesia. (2) Methods: An online survey form was distributed to all the nutritionists (n = 50) involved in the management of T2DM patients in their daily practices at the PHC. Socio-demographic characteristics, the current practice of T2DM, the need for DM nutrition education, and an evaluation questionnaire on the Indonesian Non-Communicable Diseases guideline and the Public Health Centre guideline were captured in the survey. (3) Result: A total of 48 completed survey forms were received, providing a response rate of 96% from the recruited nutritionists. One-third (37.5%) of the respondents counselled between one and ten patients per day. Nearly half (41.7%) conducted a monthly follow-up session for the patients at their respective PHC in the previous three months. Each nutritionist educated five to ten T2DM patients. The most common nutrition education topics delivered included appropriate menus (89.6%) as well as the etiology and symptoms of T2DM (85.5%). Almost all the nutritionists (93.8%) used leaflets and about 35.4% used poster education. Around 70.8% of counseling sessions lasted 30 min and two-thirds (66.7%) of the sessions included nutrition education. Based on the results, about half (52.1%) of them claimed that T2DM patients were reluctant to attend individual nutrition education. One-fifth of them (20.8%) claimed that it was because the T2DM patients were not interested in the tool kits and materials used. (4) Conclusions: T2DM patients are reluctant to attend individual nutrition education due to uninteresting tool kits and materials.