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This study was carried out to determine the metal concentrations in several parts of spiny amaranth that grow wild at open burning areas of domestic waste at Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia. Spiny amaranth parts such as roots, stems, leaves and flowers used as samples for three replications per part. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) digestion method for metal determination was used to detect the metals content such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn). Overall, shoots contain the highest Fe, Cu, As and Pb compared to other parts. The results also showed the metals concentration slowly decreased from shoots to flowers except for Mn, Pb and Zn. This showed the accumulation of metals for each part is different. However, the contents of all metals from this study is below the maximum permitted and recommended daily serving standards set forth in the Fourteenth Schedule, Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985 except for As. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the least studied and overlooked aspects of plant conservation particularly for Araceae is the geological factor. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diversity and distribution and association of Araceae in limestone outcrops in Kelantan. The random sampling method was applied and a total of 61 sampling sites was visited including 15 sites of limestone areas. A total of 1,429 samples of Araceae species were collected covering all sites throughout the state. The results revealed a total of 41 species in 17 genera was recorded. This represents about 28.7% out of an estimated 143 species and 60.7% out of 28 genera of Araceae reported for Peninsular Malaysia. Six species of Araceae are considered as limestone specialists, these are Alocasia farisii, Anadendrum marginatum, Arisaema roxburghii, Furtadoa mixta, Homalomena scortechinii and Pothos kingii. The findings indicated that limestone is one of the hotspot for plants species endemism particularly for Araceae which need to be sustainably managed and protected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corbicula fluminea is a small-sized shellfish that is found in river or lake bottom. The species is very sensitive to habitat changes. There are numerous threats to C. fluminea habitats, including sand mining and pollution. In Kelantan, the habitat of C. fluminea is significantly disrupted by sand mining activities and the contamination of pesticides from the paddy fields into rivers. Eighty years ago it could be said that all the rivers in Kelantan were inhabited by C. fluminea, but now they have diminished. A survey was conducted throughout the state to locate the current habitats of the species. The method used was informal conversational interviews and observations, and sample collection. The coordinate of each locality where the sample was taken was recorded using Garmin model GPSmap 62. The results indicated that there are still 15 localities in 8 districts that have C. fluminea. However, the populations are so small and not economical to be harvested for sale. The breakdown of the number of localities and districts are Tanah Merah, Bachok and Pasir Mas with 3 localities each, Kota Bharu (2) and Tumpat, Jeli, Kuala Krai and Pasir Putih (1). These data are hoped to be useful to the authorities responsible for conservation and restoration methods to ensure that C. fluminea does not disappear from the state. Furthermore, it can also help to ensure that the source of income of traditional fishermen who depend on C. fluminea is not affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid industrialization along with advanced agricultural activities led to the contamination in aquatic environment with heavy metals. Heavy metals ultimately pass into human body through having aquatic animals like fish, prawn and crab. In this study, accumulation of heavy metals (zinc, copper, iron, cadmium and lead) in various organs of four commonly consumed fish (Euthynnus affinis, Pampus argenteus, Descapterus macrosoma, and Leiognathus daura), prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus) and crab (Portunus pelagicus) of Tok Bali Port, Kelantan, Malaysia were determined. Health risk was assessed using estimated daily intake and target hazard quotients. Although the concentrations of all the heavy metals in all fish, prawn and crab species were lower as per Malaysian Food Act, but the concentrations showed remarkable differences among the species and organs. The concentration of heavy metals in the gill was the highest of all fish species followed by in the liver and flesh. The total accumulation of heavy metals was maximum in Euthynnus affinis followed by Leiognathus daura, Descapterus macrosoma and Pampus argenteus of the fish species. However, the highest concentrations (µg/g) was for Zn (72.97±2.75), followed by Fe (4.309±0.68), Cd (1.189±0.78), Cu (1±0.87) and Pb (0.41±0.19) among all the heavy metal contents of fish. No significant variation (P<0.05) of the heavy metal concentration in prawn and crab species was observed. The investigation indicated that the fish, prawn and crab species of this port were safe for human consumption but the safe disposal of various wastes should be practiced to control the heavy metal accumulation in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbal plants have a variety of properties including traditional medicinal value, but the use of herbs in abundance and the mix of some herbs may be harmful to consumers. For Siamese community in Kelantan, Malaysia, they use a mixture of several herbs for the purpose of preparing herbal rice or "nasi kerabu" without knowing the level of toxicity of the herbs. Thus, this study was conducted with the objective of assessing the toxicity level of some herbal formula that was practiced. Plant materials were collected from three Siamese villages; Kampung Pasir Puteh, Kampung Kuang and Kampung Mentua, Kelantan. Three set of concoctions were used for toxicity analysis based on the ratio and amount used from each village. Brine shrimp bioassay was conducted to test toxicity level of the concoction. The results shows that, concoction of Kampung Kuang (VC2) showed the highest mortality rate of 23.33 % at 1000 µg/ml. This was followed by Kampung Pasir Puteh (VC1) with equal nauplii death rate of 16.67 % at 800 µg/ml onwards, meanwhile, Kampung Mentua, (VC3) had 13.33 % death rate at concentration 600 µg/ml onwards. The concoctions studied showed no toxicity effect so that it is safe for consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently in Malaysia there are only few sanitary landfills available for domestic waste disposal and most of them are located in Johore, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. However, to date, there is no sanitary landfill in the state of Kelantan. All the twelve (12) rubbish disposal facilities in Kelantan are open dumping without any treatment. Leachate water was created by decomposition of organic waste flow out and polluted the surface water bodies, soil, ground water and air (smell). Phytoremediation treatment can overcome the water, groundwater, soil and air pollutions from rubbish disposal by using any significant plant either using trees or grassland. The mechanisms such rhizofiltration, phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytovolatilization and phtodegradation are discussed. This study utilized Scirpus validus, a grass-like plant from Cyperaceae family to treat leachate from open dumping site. It is a fresh water plant that can be found at wetland, shallow water, lake side and wet meadows. The physicochemical parameter is used as an indicator to indicate the effectiveness of Scirpus validus in reducing the concentrations (%) of COD, BOD5 and AN. This experiment is conducted only for 15 days due to time constrains. The results showed that, 11.20% of removing efficiency for COD, 30.90% for BOD5 and 8.70% for AN. It was believed the removal rate will increase as the treatment time increases. So, it can be concluded that, Scirpus validus has quite substantial potential to be used for open dumping site leachate treatment especially at tertiary treatment or polishing level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The herbal rice or gastronomically known as "nasi kerabu" has been consumed since ancient time but often without any nutritional value and toxicological assessment. The study was carried out with the objective of identifying the nutritional values and toxicity level of the concoction of Sauropus androgynus, Morinda citrofolia, Clitoria ternatea, Curcuma zanthorrhiza and Curcuma longa. The methods used for sample analysis and extraction were simple water extraction to extract plants sample, Nitric Acid Digestion to digest extracted samples, extraction procedure which was published by Behr Labor-Technik to analyze the fat content and sample analysis using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS).Toxicity assessment was done in-vivo by means of animal model. In acute toxicity testing, the samples were tested in laboratory animal model based on Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD/OCDE) guidelines for acute oral toxicity-Fixed Dose Procedure (OECD 420). The fat, macronutrients (potassium and sodium) and minerals (calcium and magnesium) in the concoction were considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) used by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) once the concoction is cooked with white rice. The concoction constitutes none health hazard of the concentration of usual human consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study conducted to assess the effects ot gold mining on physico-chemical water quality and composition of benthic macroinvertebrate species in rivers located in gold mining area in the Permanent Forest Reserve Sokor Taku, Tanah Merah, Kelantan. The study was carried out at four sampling points started from the Ketubong River tributary of the Sokor River. The results of physico-chemical water quality shows that both rivers are fall within Class III, based on the National Water Quality Standard for Malaysia (NWQS). The description of Class III river is river which need extensive treatment to be use for drinking water. On the other hand, a total of 18 families and 229 individual taxa were recorded for benthic macroinvertebrate and of these, seven families belong to order ephermeroptera (caenidae, baetidae, emphemerellidae, leptopphlebiidae, heptageniidae, potamantjdae and polymitarcyidae) and dipteral (chironominae, dolichopodidae, ceratopogonidea and empididae), 2 families to tnchopteran (hydropsychidae and philopotamidae) and one family to coleopterafi (elmidae) and lumbnculida (lumbriculidae). There were three sensitive taxa namely ephermeroptera, plecoptera and trichoptera (EPT) present in Sokor River (Point 1) and (Point 2) to indicate an excellent river health but only one sensitive taxa present in Ketubong River(Point of Reference) and Sokor River (Point 3 ) namely plecoptera and trichoptera respectively. At the same time, Sokor River(Point 2) also recorded the highest density of benthic macroinvertebrate which is 300 individual/m2 and the lowest was recorded at Ketubong River (Point of Reference)which is 144 individual/m2. Based on the results it could be suggested that, the operational of Sokor gold mining does not give significant impact to the Sokor River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of four sites distributed in different soils of Kelantan State, Malaysia was identified for the study. Soils were collected by depth interval of 0-10cm, 10- 20cm and 20-30cm. The correlation of soil organic matter (SOM) content, total organic carbon (TOC) content, water content and soils texture for industrial area at Pengkalan Chepa, township of Kota Bharu district, agricultural area at Banggu and forested area in UMK, Jeli were investigated. These data sets were also correlated to temporal event in Kelantan State. Correlation analysis indicated that, generally, SOM and TOC concentration and soil classes had a positive correlation with temporal patterns and no significance effects with depth of the soils. The relationships between SOM content, TOC content and clay + silt content, were also studied. The results showed that, SOM concentration was lower (P < 0.05) at Pengkalan Chepa area (1.96%) compared to Kota Bharu (2.06%), Banggu (2.77%) and Jeli (7.39%). At the same time, the TOC level also showed that Banggu area recorded the lowest concentration (0.42%) followed by Kota Bharu (0.71%), Pengkalan Chepa (0.76%) and Jeli (3.73%). The temporal factor (p < 0.05) showed that TOC content higher during dry season (1.76%) and lower during pre monsoon (0.48%) and lowest in monsoon season (0.25%). Similar results were obtained for SOM content, higher during dry season (4.00%) followed by pre monsoon (2.12%) and lowest in monsoon season (1.67%). The lowest TOC and SOM content in soil during monsoon season was believed to be due heavy rain which detaches all the organic matter from soil particles into river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Batang Arau River and Kuranji River in Padang, Indonesia serve as an important source of fresh water supply for the local communities to carry out their daily activities. Agricultural activities depend on the river as the main source for crop irrigation. However, due to the rapid the industrialization and urbanization that took place especially along Batang Arau River has caused intense pollution to the river. There is a need to study on the human activities and the management of the rivers in Padang. Therefore, a field survey was conducted to identify the type of river usage by the local communities, the sources of pollution and to understand the current management of Batang Arau River and Kuranji River by the local authorities. The result showed that apart from industrial waste, improper disposal practiced of domestic waste and sewage by the local communities were the main causes of the river pollution. Batang Arau River was intensely polluted by various sources of pollution and has lower river water quality compared to the Kuranji River. River monitoring and management had been carried out by the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Badan Pengendalian Dampak Lingkungan, BAPEDALDA) and Department of Water Resources Management (Dinas Pengelolaan Sumber Air, PSDA) of West Sumatera Province. Although enforcement of laws and regulations to protect the rivers had been practised by the local authorities, constant efforts in increasing the awareness of the local communities on the importance of river conservation are necessary to ensure the sustainability of the river ecosystem health and the ecological services provided by the river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to evaluate the levels of selected heavy metals in irrigation water, soils and selected fruit vegetables which were cultivated in coastal village and industrial area (light and medium industry) in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. Results obtained showed that, water used for irrigation in both site had the highest concentration of Boron followed by Manganese, Iron and other parameters. However, in general, the quality of irrigation water complied with the Class IV, Interim National Water Quality Standard for Malaysia, INWQS, 1985 (standard for irrigation water) except Boron, Cadmium and Manganese. The irrigation water results were also compared with the Indian Standard, where in general, all the measured parameters complied with the standards except Cadmium and Manganese. Meanwhile, the concentration of heavy metals in soils for both site also complied with the Indian Standard. In addition, the concentration of Aluminium, Iron, Boron, Zinc, Manganese, Lead and Cadmium in the vegetables for both site ranged from 0.071 - 0.22 ppm, 0.65 - 2.76 ppm, 2.1 - 2.467 ppm, 0.163 - 0.32 ppm, 0.04 - 1.2 ppm, 0.0127 - 0.268 ppm and 0.0482 - 0.1123 ppm respectively. All heavy metals analyzed in vegetables also complied with the Indian Standard, World Health Organization and EU Standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Malaysia reported experiencing serious invasive species intrusion in various rivers and threatening some local species to distinct. A study was undertaken to estimate and compare their composition and species richness in two pristine and two disturbed freshwater ecosystems., Materials and Methods: Invasive and local species growth pattern was also estimated using length-weight analysis. Sampling was conducted using cast net and electric shock in each river twice in 12 months. Fish collected were identified, photo captured and measured for their weight and length. The growth pattern was also estimated using length-weight analysis., Results: A total of 188 fishes were caught, comprises of 8 families and 15 species (ten local species with 119 individuals and five alien species with 69 individuals). Sistomus binotatus was the most dominant local species, whereas Tilapia nilotica was the most dominant alien species. There is no significant difference in composition between local and invasive species occur indicates the raise of alien species in those ecosystems even local species still dominated. The growth pattern for Sistomus binotatus and Clarias batrachus is isometric in the pristine ecosystem but negative isometric in disturbed rivers. Contrary, Tilapia nilotica has isometric for both ecosystems., Conclusion: This study concluded the capability and potential of colonization of alien species in stress ecosystem especially Tilapia nilotica. Thus, there is potential colonization of alien in Malaysia freshwater systems and a threat to local species due to food competition, site preferences and survival ability.