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This paper aims to study the effect of different organic solvents on the extraction of pigments present in callus cultures of E. cinerascens.

Attempts have been made to extract pigments from callus cultures through tissue culture system as an alternative replacement for conventional plant cultivation as tissue culture provides unlimited supplies of plant samples. Callus of E. cinerascens was induced from stem explant cultured in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with combination of 0.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine and 0.5 mg/L α-naphthaleneacetic acid maintained under photoperiod of 16 h light and 8 h dark. Fresh samples of the callus were harvested and dissolved in various types and concentrations of solvents such as 100 per cent acetone, 80 per cent acetone, 95 per cent ethanol, 100 per cent methanol and 90 per cent methanol. Each of the mixtures was directly centrifuged to get clear supernatant containing pigments of interest. The pigments were detected and subsequently quantified via two simple techniques, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer and thin layer chromatography (TLC).

UV-Vis spectrophotometer detected two families of pigments present in the callus cultures, namely, carotenoids (carotene and xanthophyll) and tetrapyrroles (chlorophyll a and b). Pigment contents in various solvent extractions were estimated using spectroscopic quantification equations established. Through TLC, spots were seen on the plates, and Rf values of each spots were assessed to indicate the possible existence of carotenoids and tetrapyrroles.

This preliminary study offers significant finding for further advance research related on natural pigments extracted from E. cinerascens that would provide profits in the future applications, especially in food industry, medicine, agriculture, etc.

Life insurance remains an essential part of financial and social security. The insurance penetration rate is high in the developed countries but very low in developing countries such as Malaysia, with only 4.8% penetration and extremely low underwritings. Therefore, this study aims to scrutinize the underlying determinants of a household purchase behaviour of life insurance.

The data generated from the administration of survey questionnaires to 325 households were analysed, using structural equation modelling to obtain the research purposes.

The analysis reveals that the knowledge of life insurance, attitudes towards life insurance, subjective norms (SN), trust and risk perception, affect the tendency of a household to purchase life insurance. The results of this study also highlight that households’ purchase-propensity influences the purchase behaviour of life insurance. Concurrently, the intention to purchase has mediating effects on explanatory variables and purchase behaviour.

This paper established awareness, SN, perceived behavioural control, trust and risk perception as the key determinants promoting positive attitudes towards purchasing life insurance. The findings of this study can be successfully applied to different stakeholders in a similar context. This study suggests that the managers of life insurance companies should adjust their policy guidelines in accordance with the positive relationship between the constructs and consumers’ intention to purchase life insurance.