Search results

This paper aims to study the anti-diabetes activity of the Kombucha prepared from different snake fruit cultivars.

The juices of snake fruits of Suwaru, Madura, Pondoh and Bali cultivars were fermented for 14 days. Anti-diabetes activity of the products was analyzed. Twenty-four male albino Wistar rats were used and randomly divided into six experimental groups, i.e. four groups of the diabetic rats treated with the Kombucha, plus the normal group and diabetic control group. The Kombucha were orally administered to the streptozotocin induced-diabetic rats at 5 mL/kg body weight per day during the 28-day experiment. The fasting plasma glucose (FPG), oxidative stress indices (superoxide dismutase [SOD] activity and Malondialdehyde [MDA] level) and lipid profile of the blood plasma were measured. The pancreas was used for immunohistochemical study and β-cells quantification. Data were analysed by ANOVA followed by Fisher test using Minitab version 16.0.

FPG of the diabetic rats treated with the Kombucha (110.3-189.3 mg/dL) was significantly lower (p = 0.000) than the diabetic control group (413.3 mg/dL). Those were in line with the number of pancreatic β-cells of 42.1 in diabetic rats that lower (p = 006) than those in treated the diabetic rats (61.2-73.5). The treated diabetic rats had lower oxidative stress (SOD activity: 20.9-44.6 unit/100 µL with p = 0.000; MDA level: 0.37-0.48 ng/100 µL with p = 0.000) than those in the diabetic rats (SOD activity: 18.7 unit/100µL; MDA level: 0.84 ng/100 µL). The treated diabetic rats also showed better lipid profile than those in the diabetic control rats. There were cultivar differences, and the Suwaru and Madura snake fruit Kombucha demonstrated the most potential for diabetes management.

This is the first study on in vivo anti-diabetes activity of snake fruit Kombucha prepared from different snake fruit cultivars.

Salak (Salacca zalacca) is a species of palm tree native to Malaysia and Indonesia. The fruit is also known as “snake fruit” due to its reddish‐brown scaly skin. Four different varieties of the fruits (i.e. SS1, SS2, SS3 and SS4) have been established by Sabah State Agriculture Department, Malaysia. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the antioxidant properties and phytochemicals content in the edible portion of the fruits.

Four different varieties of the fruits were collected and analysed for the antioxidant properties (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay), total phenolic and total flavonoid contents using spectrophotometry analysis. Ascorbic acid was determined using titration method.

The results showed the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the samples were in the range of 12.6‐15.0 mg gallic acid equivalent/g and 4.9‐7.1 mg catechin equivalent/g of dry sample, respectively. The antioxidant activities of the extracts (using DPPH assay) were highly correlated with total phenolic and moderately correlated with flavonoid content. The reducing capabilities of the extracts using FRAP assay were moderately correlated with all phytochemicals tested. The results suggested that the phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of salak is mildly affected by variety. The high phytochemicals and antioxidant properties of S. zalacca indicated that the fruit possessed potential health benefits properties.

Salak fruit is now being developed into fruit juice, pickle and other food products. The commercialization of the fruit may be enhanced if more knowledge on its potential health benefits is studied and discovered. The economic and nutraceutical values might increase and will contribute greatly to the local people.

The results of obstacle avoidance path planning for the manipulator using artificial potential field (APF) method contain a large number of path nodes, which reduce the efficiency of manipulators. This paper aims to propose a new intelligent obstacle avoidance path planning method for picking robot to improve the efficiency of manipulators.

To improve the efficiency of the robot, this paper proposes a new intelligent obstacle avoidance path planning method for picking robot. In this method, we present a snake-tongue algorithm based on slope-type potential field and combine the snake-tongue algorithm with genetic algorithm (GA) and reinforcement learning (RL) to reduce the path length and the number of path nodes in the path planning results.

Simulation experiments were conducted with tomato string picking manipulator. The results showed that the path length is reduced from 4.1 to 2.979 m, the number of nodes is reduced from 31 to 3 and the working time of the robot is reduced from 87.35 to 37.12 s, after APF method combined with GA and RL.

This paper proposes a new improved method of APF, and combines it with GA and RL. The experimental results show that the new intelligent obstacle avoidance path planning method proposed in this paper is beneficial to improve the efficiency of the robotic arm.

Figure 1 According to principles of bionics, we propose a new path search method, snake-tongue algorithm, based on a slope-type potential field. At the same time, we use genetic algorithm to strengthen the ability of the artificial potential field method for path searching, so that it can complete the path searching in a variety of complex obstacle distribution situations with shorter path searching results. Reinforcement learning is used to reduce the number of path nodes, which is good for improving the efficiency of robot work. The use of genetic algorithm and reinforcement learning lays the foundation for intelligent control.

Salak (Salacca zalacca) is an underutilised fruit. The bioactivities of this fruit have rarely been studied scientifically. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity of extracts derived from the peel, fruit and kernel of the Salak fruit, as well as the hypoglycemic and anti-hypertensive properties of Salak peel extracts.

The peel, fruit and kernel of the Salak were extracted using distilled water, methanol and ethanol. Antioxidant activities, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and alpha-amylase inhibition properties of the extracts were estimated via in vitro standard methods. Besides, the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of the extracts were also determined in the present study. The antioxidant activities of different parts of Salak extracts were determined by ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) methods. Percent of radical scavenging properties were calculated via DPPH assay. The hypoglycemic and anti-hypertensive properties of Salak peel were evaluated using alpha-amylase inhibition and ACE assays, respectively.

Fruit extracts of Salak in methanol were found to exhibit the highest TPC (10.27 ± 0.12 mg GAE/g), TFC (11.04 ± 0.89 mg CE/g) and antioxidant properties amongst all samples whereby the TPC and TFC were strongly correlated with antioxidant activities. On the other hand, distilled water extracted Salak kernel showed to have the lowest TPC (0.53 ± 0.05 mg GAE/g), TFC (0.37 ± 0.01 mg CE/g) and antioxidant properties amongst all the Salak extracts. Peel extracts exhibit comparable antioxidant activities with fruit extracts in the current findings. In addition, peel extracts indicated some extend of ACE and alpha-amylase inhibition activities regardless of the solvents used. Methanol and ethanol peel extracts indicated no significant difference (p < 0.05) ACE (98%) and alpha-amylase (90%) inhibition activities. However, distilled water extracted Salak peel showed significantly lower ACE and alpha-amylase inhibition in comparison to methanol and ethanol peel extracts.

The present findings suggested that the fruit of Salak exhibits the highest antioxidant properties, followed by the peel and lastly, the kernel, which shows the lowest antioxidant properties amongst all the samples. The results also indicated that the peel extracts have ACE and alpha-amylase inhibition activities.

The purpose of this study was to characterise the physiochemical properties of selected exotic seasonal tropical fruits available in Singapore.

A total of 11 seasonal tropical fruits including cempedak, chiku, custard apple, jackfruit, longkong, mangosteen, red jambu, pearl jambu, rambutan, salak and starfruit were analyzed for their sugars, organic acids and free phenolic acids composition using liquid chromatographic methods. Total phenolic content (free and bound), total soluble solids and pH were determined using Folin‐Ciocalteu method, refractometer and pH meter, respectively.

Fructose, glucose and sucrose were the main sugars in all the fruits. Cempedak had the highest sucrose concentration, while custard apple had the highest content of fructose and glucose. Malic and citric acids were the major organic acids in most of the fruits, except for pearl jambu and red jambu where succinic acid was the dominant acid. The total phenolic content varied from 122.94 to 712.20 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/kg fresh weight (FW). Ferulic (0.631 mg/kg) and sinapic acids (1.506 mg/kg) were the predominant free phenolic acids in custard apple, while caffeic acid was the main free phenolic acid in jackfruit, salak and starfruit.

The paper demonstrates that the physiochemical characteristics of the 11 tropical fruits varied markedly, which is responsible for the differential flavour and stability. The findings are useful for epidemiological research and predicting the degree of ripeness, stability and post‐harvest processing required for these fruits.

This chapter compares two protected natural parks as specific experiential contexts providing two different experiences for visitors: extraordinary and memorable versus ordinary and mundane (Carù & Cova, 2006, 2007). Each experiential context enables the distinction of actual visitors’ experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 1999) inside each park. A qualitative study collected information to differentiate each protected natural park based on three dimensions: the geophysical environment, the recreational practices, and product and service offer management. A quantitative study analyzed the effect of a specific experiential context through a comparison of actual visitors’ experiences on four dimensions (esthetics, escapism, education, and entertainment) in both countries (500 in each country). Results of the qualitative study show that the Taiwanese park provides an experiential context with more extraordinary and memorable experiences while the French park provides an experiential context with more ordinary and mundane experiences. The results of the quantitative study show the distinction of actual visitors’ experiences inside each park: more immersion through esthetics and escapism in Taiwan and more absorption through education and entertainment in France. Each park manager has to build one’s own positioning and should offer a unique experiential context based on the three dimensions to provide more extraordinary and memorable or more ordinary and mundane experiences. this study highlights the interest of an analysis framework of experiences adapted from Carù and Cova (2006, 2007) and Pine and Gilmore (1999) underlining the link between experiential context and actual experiences.

This paper aims to study different possibilities for implementing easy-to-use and cost-effective micro-systems to detect and trace expelled gases from rotten food. The paper covers various radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies and gas sensors as the two promoting feasibilities for the tracing of packaged food. Monitoring and maintaining quality and safety of food in transport and storage from producer to consumer are the most important concerns in food industry. Many toxin gases, even in parts per billion ranges, are produced from corrupted and rotten food and can endanger the consumers’ health. To overcome the issues, intelligent traceability of food products, specifically the packaged ones, in terms of temperature, humidity, atmospheric conditions, etc., has been paid attention to by many researchers.

Food poisoning is a serious problem that affects thousands of people every year. Poisoning food must be recognized early to prevent a serious health problem.

Contaminated food is usually detectable by odor. A small gas sensors and low-cost tailored to the type of food packaging and a communication device for transmitting alarm output to the consumer are key factors in achieving intelligent packaging.

Conducting polymer composite, intrinsically conducting polymer and metal oxide conductivity gas sensors, metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) gas sensors offer excellent discrimination and lead the way for a new generation of “smart sensors” which will mould the future commercial markets for gas sensors.

Small size, low power consumption, short response time, wide operating temperature, high efficiency and small area are most important features of introduced system for using in package food.

The 2010 eruption of Mt. Merapi volcano in Indonesia was a major regional disaster. A community-based ecotourism was implemented in one village as a new alternative to recover from the event. The Participatory Innovative Learning and Action Research method was employed, with Pancoh Ecotourism Village as its focus. The researchers and villagers collected data using a variety of methods. After four years, growth emerged, and revenues increased. This success was partly due to the widespread training offered by universities, the use of the venue as an education site for sustainability, plus strong presentation of the nature and culture of the village lifestyle, which is attractive for urban citizens.

The purpose of the paper was to assess the functional properties vegetable gourds & the validated health claims so as to help the future researchers to locate the gaps. However, emphasizing on the scientifically available reports was required to make information available in a nutshell to the health-conscious consumers, as well as the researcher from the area of functional foods and nutrition.

The paper is a mini-review of scientific findings in different studies on gourd vegetables. The approach to information collection was finding the research gaps and potential areas for future work with a nutritional perspective.

Ash gourd, bitter gourd and bottle gourd have been extensively studied, and several health benefits and functional components have been reported, while ridge gourd, snake gourd and pointed gourd have been sparsely studied for their therapeutic benefits and the validation thereof; hence, there lies a scope for researchers.

The scarcity of scientific reports compared to the traditional usage and folkloric beliefs was a limitation.

Understanding the nutritional potential of gourd vegetables from scientific reports may influence both the work areas and consumers in the appropriate direction.