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The earliest application of nano-engineering in the food industry was the food packaging materials. Nowadays, the exploration of nano-engineering to encapsulate a natural bioactive compound or so-called functional ingredients has increasingly emerged. Nanoencapsulation technologies play a unique role in the engineering nanostructure of new functional food and beverage ingredients such as flavors and antioxidants with greatly enhanced physical and chemical stability through processing and storage. Nanostructures could deliver higher nutrient density to a specific target cell within the body as well as to improve controlled-release behavior and bioavailability. This chapter discusses the development of the improved delivery systems and bioavailability of beverages through nanoencapsulation. The topics of interest include specific definition and types, methods, and purposes of nanostructures such as association of colloids, nanoemulsions, and biopolymeric nanoparticles incorporated into beverages as well as positive impacts and potential safety issues and hazards on human health. An overview to analyze their controlled-release behavior and bioavailability is provided. The nanostructure of functional ingredients used in new and commercial beverages are described. The current investigation on the delivery systems with nano-functional ingredient that possesses potential in enhancing the nutrient of beverages are also highlighted.

In the current research, based on the investigation of the drug-loaded hydrogels, the maximum content of acyclovir loading in polymer consequently relates to the pH at which the nanoprecipitation is performed: 24.32% at pH 7.5. The efficiency of loading that corresponds to the percentage of acyclovir encapsulated into the vehicle for a given amount of acyclovir used is 79.97%. The drug-loaded hydrogels with 6.4% w/w, had the highest hardness with 4.1 ± 0.6 N/m2 prior and 5.6 ± 0.3 N/m2 after immersion in the SVF. Based on the FESEM images, the permeability of nano-composite hydrogels is increased. In PZC characterization, pHPZC of the acrylamide-based hydrogel in water is 4.5 that for drug-loaded hydrogel is increased to 4.7. Increasing wt% of acrylamide in the hydrogel results in yield% and gel% increasing. Increasing cross-linker concentration results in yield% or gel% increasing. Above 0.25 wt% initiator, increasing the concentration of initiator results in yield% or gel% decrease. From the MTT assay method, Acrylamide-based hydrogel demonstrated a cytotoxic effect at 12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/mL concentrations under the condition of this study. To reduce the cytotoxic effect of these polymers, the amount of acrylamide can be decreased from 1 g to 0.5 g.

The current study was employed to investigate the effect of solvent type, extraction time and bran ratio on the rice bran oil (RBO) properties from three varieties of rice bran namely Bario, lowland and upland rice. RBO was extracted by using soxtherm extraction method using methanol solvent at different extraction time (3, 4 and 5 h) and bran ratio (10, 20 and 30 g). Free fatty acid (FFA), total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant properties were assessed. Solvent that has low polarity exhibited the attraction of polar component of oil with the highest yield by ethanol (16.16%), followed by methanol (15.38%). FFA contents occurred higher in lowland types of rice bran in all types of solvents at $$P

The encapsulation of vitamin E using combined solution of maltodextrin and sodium caseinate by spray-drying technique was investigated. Spray drying is the most commonly used method in the food industry. The physical characterizations of the encapsulated vitamin E gave valuable information on the surface morphology, size, shape, solubility, and moisture content. The micrograph of the vitamin E microcapsules indicated that the feed composition affects the morphology of the product. The particle sizes measured were ranging from 13 to $$29~\upmu \hbox {m}$$ with moderate moisture contents (4.5–4.98%) and were not affected by the amount of oil and type of wall material used. The solubility test indicated that there is a relationship between the amount of maltodextrin in formulations and the solubility. The microcapsule was considered soluble since the solubility time was obtained from 178 to 251 s.

Lately, concerted efforts are being investigated to invigorate intelligent polymers as they hold immense potential in various fields like polymer chemistry, materials science, pharmaceutics, bioengineering, medicine and chemical engineering. Use of stimuli-responsive in situ gelling systems such as, temperature, pH, solvent, magnetic, electric, ultra-sound and photo-polymerization has been employed for administration of drug delivery, tissue engineering, theranostic imaging and cancer therapy. With the advent of nanotechnology, the diagnosis and treatment of several complex disorders could be standardized by utilizing the enhanced permeability and retention effect and tumor-specific targeting. Nanocarriers have provided the versatile platform for the delivery of various therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Uses of nanocarrier has resolved the undesirable characteristic of anticancer drugs low solubility and poor permeability in cells. However, each system has been associated with some problems that can be minimized by using the hybrid nanocarrier systems that combine the benefits of different structural components to synergize the outcome of the therapy

Tea is commonly served in Malaysian dining culture. Most of commercialized tea is made of Camellia sinensis that produces sweet aromatic smell. However, there are plenty of herb species in Malaysia that remain unknown to be used as tea while possess therapeutic effects. Acalypha indica is one of the herb species with sweet aromatic smell that has been traditionally consumed as healthy drink. In this study, the antioxidant activities of all plant parts of Acalypha indica was determined in terms of total phenolic, tannin and flavonoid contents, 1,1-Diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, ferric reducing power (FRAP) and total cyanogenic glycoside content by comparing the measurements with two commercialized tea made of Camellia sinensis (P1 and P2). The phenolic content, tannin content and the FRAP values of Acalypha indica was lower than the P1 and P2. While, higher flavonoid content (24.33±2.96 mgQE/g) and DPPH value (0.089±0.003 mg/mL, IC50) were recorded on the Acalypha indica. The high antioxidant activity of Acalypha indica was attributed by the high flavonoid content in the plant that might be useful for therapeutic purpose. Besides, it is also safe to be consumed as tea as there was no detection of cyanogenic. However, further study is necessary to clarify the cyanogenic content and to confirm the volatile compound in the plant.

A search for an alternative to cocoa butter (CB) has increased due to premium price, uncertainty in supply and variability in quality problems. The study to find cocoa butter equivalent (CBE) as an alternative to CB from available and high nutritional oils or fats was carried out using enzymatic interesterification method. The objective of this study was to characterize the CBE obtained from hard palm oil mid-fraction (PMF) and canola oil blend using immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei. The experiment was performed at hard PMF concentration of 50%, lipase load of 7.2% (based on weight of substrate) and reaction time of 2 hours. The characteristics observed were fatty acid profiles, triacylglycerol (TAG) composition, slip melting point (SMP) and solid fat content (SFC). CBE obtained exhibit higher percentage of linoleic acid (omega 6, 7.98%) and linolenic acid (omega 3, 2.47%) than CB (3.40% of linoleic acid) due to the addition of canola oil. TAG composition was 28.65% of palmitic-oleic-palmitic (POP), 19.52% of palmitic-oleic-stearic (POS), and 3.57% of stearic-oleic-stearic (SOS). SMP value of CBE (46.25°C) was higher than CB (32 – 35°C). The SFC value of CBE was different to CB. It was due to high amount of POP TAG, free fatty acid (FFA) or saturated saturated saturated (StStSt) TAGs in CBE produced and also lack amount of TAGs which has oleic acid at sn 2 position.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Acalypha indica is an herbal plant that grows in wet, temperate and tropical region, primarily along the earth’s equator line. This plant is considered by most people as a weed and can easily be found in these regions. Although this plant is a weed, Acalypha indica has been acknowledged by local people as a useful source of medicine for several therapeutic treatments. They consume parts of the plant for many therapeutics purposes such as anthelmintic, anti-ulcer, bronchitis, asthma, wound healing, anti-bacterial and other applications. As this review was being conducted, most of the reports related to ethnomedicinal practices were from Asian and African regions. The aim of the review The aim of this review is to summarize the current studies on ethnomedicinal practices, phytochemistry, pharmacological studies and a potential study of Acalypha indica in different locations around the world. This review updates related information regarding the potential therapeutic treatments and also discusses the toxicity issue of Acalypha indica. Materials and methods This review was performed through a systematic search related to Acalypha indica including the ethnomedicinal practices, phytochemistry and pharmacological studies around the world. The data was collected from online journals, magazines, and books, all of which were published in English, Malay and Indonesian. Search engine websites such as Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Researchgate and other online collections were utilized in this review to obtain information. Results The links between ethnomedicinal practices and scientific studies have been discussed with a fair justification. Several pharmacological properties exhibited certain potentials based on the obtained results that came from different related studies. Based on literature studies, Acalypha indica has the capability to serve as anthelmintic, anti-inflammation, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-obesity, anti-venom, hepatoprotective, hypoxia, and wound healing medicine. For the traditional practices, the authors also mentioned several benefits of consuming the raw plant and decoction. Conclusion This review summarizes the current studies of Acalypha indica collected from many regions. This review hopefully will provide a useful and basic knowledge platform for anyone interested in gaining information regarding Acalypha indica.

To find out the best structure of acrylamide-based hydrogels, three different composites are synthesized and characterized. Polyacrylamide-based hydrogels were obtained by chemical crosslinking of MBA using acrylamide, sodium carboxymethylecellulose (NaCMC), N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) and ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiators. The interest in MgO nanoparticles is not only due to their stability under harsh process conditions but also for human health, where they are known to be necessary minerals. It is expected that the structure of the hydrogels can be affected positively by using MgO as a nanoparticle in their composite. To control the initial burst release through modification of the structure of the matrix, the MgO nanoparticles are applied. These nanoparticles can affect the release mechanism. In the current research, FESEM, NMR, DTA/TGA and DSC are studied for the structure of polymers. In the FESEM, existing MgO inside the hydrogel system brings about a shift in the porosity of hydrogels. The 1H NMR spectrum of polymers showed characteristic proton peaks at 4.6 and 4.7, 6.1 and 6.2 ppm. An endothermic peak indicating loss of weakly bound water molecules from the hydrogel network is shown in DTA curves of hydrogels at around 80 °C. An exothermic peak at around 270 °C for Aam and Aam/NaCMC hydrogels and also a peak at 360 °C in Aam and Aam/NaCMC hydrogels and 320 °C for Aam/NaCMC/MgO is shown. The DSC profiles of the hydrogels show that water has a higher evaporation temperature in the polyacrylamide hydrogel (84 °C).The largest depression of the temperature was observed on the Aam/NaCMC/MgO hydrogel (∆T = 94 °C), which confirmed the higher hydrophilicity of Aam/NaCMC/MgO as compared to pure Aam hydrogel and Aam/NaCMC hydrogel.

The α-tocopherol (α-toc) degrades faster than both γ- and δ-toc; its degradation rate is 10 times faster than δ-toc. The foremost factors that could affect the stability of vitamins upon storage are light, oxygen, and heat. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the thermal, storage, and physical stability of the α-tocopherol/β-cyclodextrin (α-toc/β-CD) powder obtained via microwave heating and encapsulation process. DSC, TG, and DTG were performed for thermal stability characterizations, while storage study was performed to investigate the stability of the encapsulated and non-encapsulated α-toc stored at 5, 28, and 50 °C for 42 days. The results obtained were then fitted with first-order degradation kinetic model to obtain the half-life for each sample. The physical stability in terms of flowability and compressibility was also studied during the storage. Encapsulation of α-toc into β-CD has successfully increased the thermal stability of α-toc to a higher decomposition temperature from 280 to 300 °C. The storage study showed that the encapsulation of α-toc by β-CD using the microwave technique has successfully improved the shelf life of α-toc with the half-life of 990, 523 and 126 days for samples stored at 5, 28, and 50 °C, respectively, with a good flow powder characteristics except for powder stored at 50 °C which showed passable flow powder characteristics after 42 days of storage.

Poly-hydroxyalkanoate was introduced as a bio-based polymer in many countries many years ago, owing to its biocompatibility and degradation value in the nature. The importance of PHA production of plants and microorganisms is due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility of its structure and materials, which because of this property they will return to the nature and will be replaced with petrochemical plastics. These products were identified as environmentally friendly products in the 21-century. The great potential of PHA as a renewable product, to be produced from industrial waste oils. However, by producing PHA, the environment will be clear of pollutants by using the waste products of factories at first and secondly by circulating the biopolymers to the nature. In the current review, we have focused on PHA production from dairy residues, soybean oil and saponified waste palm oil and some microorganisms such as Pseudomonas, Delftia, Halomonas and E. coli. Amongst different varieties of bacteria Pseudomonas has the highest ability to produce PHA. The global shares of PHA generation in various market segments in 2013 and 2020 shows that capacity production will increase until 2020 and the most production of PHA will be in Asia due to their superior accessibility to feedstock and promising political frame.

Polyacrylamide-based hydrogels were obtained by chemical crosslinking of MBA using acrylamide, sodium carboxymethylecellulose (NaCMC), N, N, N’, N’-tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) and ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiators. The interest on MgO nanoparticle is not only due to their stability under harsh process conditions but also for human health, where they are known to be necessary minerals. The systems were characterized with regard to the rheology behavior of hydrogel, degree of crosslinking the polymers, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The dispersion of the nanoparticles (MgO) and drug (Acyclovir) inside the hydrogel was shown by TEM. Acyclovir, that is one of the famous drugs to treat the vaginal infections, was loaded in the polymer through the soaking method in an aqueous solution including the drug for drug delivery and release in the vaginal. The physical and chemical characterizations of the fortified hydrogels provided an assessed report on the morphological structure of the polymer, swelling behavior, bonding formation of gels and physical properties. To study the drug release in two different mediums, PBS and SVF aqueous solutions were utilized. To determine the amount of released drug from the hydrogels, HPLC was used. The pH sensitivity and the in vitro drug release of hydrogels in three different pH (pH 4,6,8) was studied. The objectives of this present study are to characterize the MgO nanocomposite hydrogel and to study the effect of different buffers on the release of Acyclovir from hydrogels.

In addition to offering a host of health benefits, antimicrobial (AM) wheat-based packaging is a promising form of active food packaging with great economic and environmental potential. The main objective of this study is to develop a formulation of AM wheat-based film in which the active compound, lysozyme, is incorporated into the polymeric material. A solution casting method was used in the film preparation, and lysozyme was incorporated prior to casting. The resultant film is slightly less opaque, more translucent and whitish in appearance, implying that the AM film could retain similar property with the initial opacity value of the wheat-based film. The water uptake of wheat-film is reduced with the incorporation of lysozyme. The reduction in moisture content of AM film indicates a relationship between lysozyme and water molecules in the diffusion mechanism throughout the film matrices. This film helps to reduce the growth of E. coli and B. subtilis to 1.74 and 3.48 log CFU/mL, respectively, for an incubation of 48 h. FTIR analysis implies the consistency of the chemical composition and structure of the AM film compared to the control film, which indicates that the addition of lysozyme into the wheat-based film did not affect or alter the carbonyl function groups of the wheat-based film. The study will help the researcher to discover and understand wheat-based films for incorporating antimicrobial properties and to explore new matrices for further development.

Currently, the ratio of rural electrification by state electricity company (PT. PLN) in Riau is approximately 58.79% which resulted in the slow growth of the rural economy. A total of 277 unit of the electricity generator owned by PT PLN with total installed capacity of 220 thousand KW is only able to meet 19% of electricity in Riau, and 81% of the rest is purchased and acquired from other units. As the region that consists of 61% forestry, Riau has the potency to utilize the biomass energy to meet the electricity in the rural area. Moreover, 43% of forestry area is the industrial production forest that supplied the wood material for two international pulp and paper industry in Riau. Majority planted vegetation to this forest types is Accacia spp and Eucalyptus spp. The leaves litter generated from Accacia and Eucalyptus vegetation reaches 4.4 and 13 tons ha-1 yr-1, respectively. The current utilization of leaves and other litter fall are just left in the area of plantation or burned after harvested. The calorific value of Accacia and Eucalyptus leaves litter are 13.33 MJ/kg and 17.26 MJ/kg, respectively. Utilization of leaves litter from the industrial forestry has a potential to meet the energy needs in Riau by 0.167 EJ/yr.

Biopolymers are naturally occurring materials formed in nature during the life cycles of organisms. Biopolymers include the polysaccharides, carbohydrates and protein such as cellulose, starch, wool, silk, gelatine and collagen. In recent years, biopolymer-based hydrogels become important area of research in pharmaceutical aspects because of their promising properties in drug delivery system. These properties include low toxicity, biodegradability, stability and renewable nature. Numerous studies have been carried out in order to develop carrier from biopolymers with better controlled release properties. This is important to ensure precisely desired concentration of drug or essential nutrient absorption into the blood or tissue could be achieved. Among other different approaches, floating system is one of the most convenient, economical, and effective drug delivery system. Floating delivery system could potentially achieve longer retention time of carrier with capsulated bioactive drug or functional nutrients in the gastrointestinal tract. The floating behaviour of carrier could be induced by effervescent reactions. Effervescent reaction occurs between acidic gastric content and pore forming agent such as carbonates or bicarbonates salts incorporated into the carrier. This chapter discusses some of the use of biopolymers in drug delivery systems for effervescent reaction in gastrointestinal tract.

Vaginal drug delivery is regarded as a promising route against women-related health issues such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. However, only a very few studies have been reported on the use of hydrogel rings with low cytotoxicity for vaginal drug delivery applications. Moreover, the effect of nanoparticles on hydrogel vaginal rings has not been clearly evaluated. To overcome these challenges, we hereby developed nanocomposite hydrogel rings based on polyacrylamide-sodium carboxymethyl cellulose-montmorillonite nanoparticles in the ring-shaped aluminum mold for controlled drug delivery. The hydrogel rings were synthesized by using N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl ethylene diamine, and ammonium persulfate, as a crosslinker, accelerator, and initiator, respectively. The obtained rings were 5.5 cm in diameters and 0.5 cm in rims. Chemical structures of the nanocomposite rings were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopies. Additionally, the swelling ratio of hydrogels was appeared to be adjusted by the introduction of nanoparticles. In vitro release experiment of methylene blue, as a hydrophilic model drug, revealed that the nanocomposite rings could not only reduce burst effect (almost more than twice), but also achieve prolonged release for 15 days in the vaginal fluid simulant which mimic the vaginal conditions at pH of almost 4.2, and a temperature of 37 °C. Importantly, the resultant hydrogel rings with or without various concentrations of montmorillonite showed low cytotoxicity toward human skin fibroblasts. Furthermore, different antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli were observed for various concentrations of montmorillonite in hydrogels. These results suggest the great potential of montmorillonite-based hydrogel rings for vaginal drug delivery.

Background: In recent decades, there has been an increased interest in the utilization of polysaccharides showing biological activity for various novel applications owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and some specific therapeutic activities. Increasing studies have started in the past few years to develop algal polysaccharides-based biomaterials for various applications. Methods: Saccharide mapping or enzymatic profiling plays a role in quality control of polysaccharides. Whereby, in vitro and in vivo tests as well as toxicity level discriminating polysaccharides biological activities. Extraction and purification methods are performed in obtaining algal derived polysaccharides followed by chromatographic profiles of their active compounds, structural features, physicochemical properties, and reported biological activities. Results: Marine algae are capable of synthesizing Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and non-GAGs or GAG mimetics such as sulfated glycans. The cell walls of algae are rich in sulfated polysaccharides, including alginate, carrageenan, ulvan and fucoidan. These biopolymers are widely used algal-derived polysaccharides for biological and biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and availability. They constitute biochemical compounds that have multi-functionalization, therapeutic potential and immunomodulatory abilities, making them promising bioactive products and biomaterials with a wide range of biomedical applications. Conclusion: Algal-derived polysaccharides with clearly elucidated compositions/structures, identified cellular activities, as well as desirable physical properties have shown the potential that may create new opportunities. They could be maximally exploited to serve as therapeutic tools such as immunoregulatory agents or drug delivery vehicles. Hence, novel strategies could be applied to tailor multi-functionalization of the polysaccharides from algal species with vast biomedical application potentials.

The abundance of empty fruit bunches (EFB) is a result of many palm oil industries increasing their crude palm oil production. Composting is a good, environmentally friendly alternative to overcome EFB. Two different ratios of EFB with biosludge of pulp and paper of 1 : 1 and 3 : 2, respectively, were used in this composting. The particle size of EFB was set into three different sizes of 0.5; 1.5 and 2.5 cm. The best treatment that was obtained from this study was SR4 where the EFB particle size was 1.5 cm, and the ratio between EFB and biosludge of pulp and paper was 3 : 2, respectively. The nitrogen value of SR4 increased from 1.41% to 2.71%, and C/N ratio decreased from 36.74 to 12.17 in 90 days. The population peak of bacteria of SR4 in the thermopilic phase achieved about 33.67 x 1010 cfu/g. These two treatment combinations had shown an increase in EFB composting efficiency.

Rice bran is a byproduct of the milling process of paddy rice to produce refined rice. Rice bran oil (RBO) is a valuable domestic oil resource in many countries, its acceptability as an edible oil has been hampered because of its commonly high free fatty acid (FFA) content resulting from the high lipase activity of the bran. Depletion in nonrenewable sources, especially for petroleum diesel and fossil fuel, has alarmed the global community into looking for an alternative way to overcome this situation. One of the alternatives is using RBO as the source to produce biodiesel. This chapter highlights the properties of RBO, extraction of RBO, different processes in the production of biodiesel using RBO, and the characteristics of this oil that are suitable for biodiesel production. The future and challenges of biodiesel are also discussed at the end of the chapter.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biopolymer with high purity of cellulose and excellent mechanical properties. Increased interest in the use of natural polymer makes BC as an excellent alternative for plant cellulose. Although both celluloses consist of unbranched pellicle with chemically equivalent structure, bacterial cellulose exhibits greater properties and potential in wider applications. The structure of bacterial cellulose that consists only glucose monomer and nanosized cellulose fibres secreted by the bacteria induces it to have high water-holding capacity, high crystallinity, high degree of polymerization and high mechanical strength. Furthermore, the characterization of BC can be certainly altered by incorporation with materials that are not essential for the bacterial growth into the fermentation medium. This unique property of BC opens a new gate for the development of new cellulose nanocomposites with desired properties by the incorporation of selective suitable materials. The BC nanocomposites produced opens new opportunity for various usages of BC in different fields of application in the pharmaceutical, chemical, medical and wastewater treatment plants.

Polysaccharide-based composites that are derived from natural sources have been extensively used especially in drug delivery systems and biomedical applications due to their multifunctional properties. These materials have been well recognized and are highly in demand due to their biochemical properties that have similarity to animal cell as well as human body. By all means, natural polysaccharide-based nanomaterials may offer a lot of biological recognitions, safe biocompatibility, bioavailability, as well as sustainability. In this chapter, the authors attempt to review recent works in developing polysaccharide-based composites with nanomaterials. Brief discussion on types of polysaccharide, methods to prepare polysaccharide nanocomposites, and their applications for drug delivery and biomedicine are also included.

This chapter reviews literature concerning reports on the failure mechanisms that are commonly experienced in the techniques that have been developed to predict life expectancy of polymeric composite materials. It summarizes the main degradation mechanisms in polymeric composite materials, techniques used for estimating the life expectancy of polymers, standards for life prediction, and the properties of cellulose-based polymeric composites. The case study demonstrated the effects of incorporating cellulose derived from several resources to the properties of sand-cement block. The compressive strength of sand-cement block incorporated with bacterial cellulose was evaluated for three different periods. Results showed that bacterial cellulose nanofibers enhance the durability of bricks by increasing their compressive strength up to 27% and reducing the permeability and density of the sand-cement block. In conclusion, accelerated methodology is useful as a potential tool or vehicle for shelf life prediction of composite polymeric materials.

The performance of activated carbon (AC) produced from papaya peel (PP) as a locally available bioderived adsorbent in the removal of Pb(II) from metal-contaminated water is reported. Utilization of natural biowastes, such as papaya peel, in this way could assist with waste minimization at the same time as providing a new source of activated carbon for wastewater treatment. Lead pollution in water bodies is critical in countries such as Malaysia, yet removal via this locally sourced waste material has not been considered before. Using papaya peel activated carbon (PP–AC) in batch mode, the effects of initial pH (3–7), adsorbent dosage (10–200 mg), initial Pb(II) concentration (10–200 mg/L), contact time (10–180 min) and temperature (25, 35 and 50 °C) were studied separately. The best result was obtained at pH 5, with an adsorbent dosage of 100 mg, Pb(II) ion concentration of 200 mg/L and a contact time of 2 h, with over 93% of the Pb(II) being adsorbed. It was observed that the time required to reach equilibrium decreased with increasing initial concentration of Pb(II) in the solution. The experimental data were consistent with both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The data also fitted very well (R2 = 0.99) to a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, suggesting that the bioadsorption is a chemisorption process. In addition, thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS° were calculated. The adsorption of Pb(II) on PP–AC was found to be spontaneous and exothermic under standard conditions. Desorption studies confirmed the applicability of hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a desorbing agent with great efficiency (>97%) and a regeneration of approximately 96%. Overall, the efficiency of the Pb(II) uptake process using PP–AC was more than 40% higher than values reported for most crop-based adsorbents, confirming its potential for use in wastewater treatment processes.

This paper reports for the first time a simple yet effective method for fabricating a conductive and highly porous scaffold material made up of polylactic acid (PLA) and conducting polyaniline (PANI). The electrical percolation state was successfully obtained at 3 wt% of PANI inclusions and reached a conductivity level of useable tissue engineering applications at 4 wt%. In addition, preliminary bioactivity test results indicated that the protonating agent could form a chelate at the scaffold surface leading to good in-vitro apatite forming ability during biomimetic immersion. This new conductive scaffold has potential as a suitable biomedical material that requires electrical conductivity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the preparation of formulated water– in–soybean oil–in–water emulsions by repeated premix membrane emulsification method using a cellulose acetate membrane. The effect of selective membrane emulsification process parameters (concentration of the emulsifiers, number of passes of the emulsions through the membrane and storage temperature) on the properties and stability of the developed emulsions were also investigated. 1, 3, 6, 8-pyrenetetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt (PTSA) was used as a hydrophilic model ingredient for the encapsulation of bioactive substances. W/O emulsions with 7 wt% (weight percentage) PGPR displays homogeneous and very fine dispersions, with the median diameter at 0.640 μm. Meanwhile, emulsions prepared by membrane emulsification (fine W/O/W) showed the highest stability at Tween 80 concentrations of 0.5 wt.% (weight percentage). It concluded that at 7 wt.% (weight percentage) PGPR concentration and 0.5 wt.% (weight percentage) Tween 80 concentrations, the most uniform particles with minimum mean size of oil drops (9.926 μm) were obtained after four passes through the membrane. Thus, cellulose acetate membrane can be used for preparing a stable W/O/W emulsions by repeated premix ME due to low cost and relatively easy to handle.

Genipin, a natural and non-toxic cross linker, was used to prepare cross linked floating kappa carrageenan/sodium carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels and the effect of genipin on hydrogels characterization was investigated. Calcium carbonates were employed as gas forming agents. Ranitidine hydrochloride was used as drug. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were carried out to study the changes in the characteristics of hydrogels. Furthermore, scanning electron microscope (SEM) was performed to study microstructure of hydrogels. The result showed that all formulated hydrogels had excellent floating behavior. It was discovered that the cross linking reaction showed significant effect on gel strength, porosity and swelling ratio compared to non-cross linked hydrogels. It was found that the drug release was slower and lesser after being cross linked. Microstructure study shows that cross linked hydrogels exhibited hard and rough surface. Therefore, genipin can be an interesting cross linking agent for controlled drug delivery in gastrointestinal tract.

Interest in eco-friendly polymeric materials is growing due to concerns over increasing carbon emission and the limited nature of petroleum and natural gas resources. These eco-friendly polymers, either natural or synthetic, can be biodegradable and nontoxic. However, they possess some inherent limitations such as poor mechanical properties, low melt viscosity, high gas and vapor permeability and low heat distortion temperature, which restrict their use for a wide range of applications. Therefore, modifications are needed to make them suitable for targeted applications. One of the interesting strategies is by the incorporation of second phase nanoscale component into the biopolymers to produce a new eco-friendly nanocomposite material with new and improved properties. Nanocomposites are novel materials with drastically improved properties due to the incorporation of small amounts (< 5 wt%) of nano-sized fillers, such as clays, carbon nanostructures and metals, into a polymer matrix. Currently eco-friendly polymer-based nanocomposites are widely used in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications due to their unique properties, such as specific physical strength and large surface area to volume ratio and physiochemical properties, which modify the normal biological activity. This chapter will focus on eco-friendly polymers and eco-friendly polymer nanocomposites in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications such as drug delivery system, tissue engineering and biosensor. In addition, this chapter also focuses on carrageenan-based nanocomposite in drug delivery system.

Currently, the role of the nanoparticles in the structure of the composites and their benefits for the health of the body is valuable. In this study, the effects of the doping on the structural and morphological properties of the hydrogels using a Mg co-doped ZnO hydrogel, which has been fabricated by the sol&ndash, gel process, have been investigated. Then, a hydrogel containing nanoparticle and a hydrogel without any nanoparticles was produced as a control. The hydrogels were loaded with catechin and the related characterization was evolved based on the new structure of the matrices. The Mg0.99Zn0.01O nanoparticles were synthesized using a green synthesis method. To investigate the properties of the nanoparticles, zeta potential and XRD were studied. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), FTIR, TGA, swelling Ratio, and compression tests were investigated for the hydrogels. Based on the results, FESEM showed a more compressed structure for hydrogels including nanoparticles rather than the hydrogels without a nanoparticle. The TGA showed a higher decomposition temperature in the hydrogels including nanoparticles. The swelling ratio of hydrogels containing a nanoparticle was higher than the control hydrogel. &kappa, Carrageenan/ Mg0.99Zn0.01O/NaCMC/Catechin had the highest swelling ratio (44.15%) rather than the &kappa, Carrageenan/NaCMC (33.22%). Mg0.99Zn0.01O nanoparticles presented a stronger structure of hydrogels in the compression test. It is concluded that the role of the synthesized nanoparticle is critical in the structure of the hydrogel.

Encapsulation of probiotics in the biopolymeric system is an excellent technique to enhance the protective effect, prolong the shelf life and deliver the probiotics in the human gastrointestinal tract at a specific time. Probiotics are usually loaded in a biopolymeric system or the food itself as a natural carrier for food applications. Probiotics are well-known for a healthy intestinal tract and digestibility of nutrients. The fate and viability of these bacteria in the digestion system are explored through in vitro evaluations. Probiotics encapsulated with natural biopolymers such as alginate, chitosan, gelatine, whey protein are found to improve their release properties in either emulsion or hydrogel system. This review emphasized on the release properties of encapsulated probiotics loaded with biopolymers using different dispersion methods including emulsification, suspension, extrusion, and drying. Biodegradable polymers or the food itself could be a potential protective agent and promote the controlled-release properties of probiotics.

Dielectric properties study is important in understanding the interaction between materials within electromagnetic field. By knowing and understanding the dielectric properties of materials, an efficient and effective microwave heating process and products can be designed. In this study, the dielectric properties of several encapsulation wall materials were measured using open-ended coaxial probe method. This method was selected due to its simplicity and high accuracy. All materials exhibited similar behavior. The result inferred that β-cyclodextrin (BC), starch (S), Arabic (GA) and maltodextrin (M) with various dextrose equivalent exhibited effective encapsulation wall materials in microwave encapsulation-drying technique owing to loss tangent values which were higher than 0.1 at general application frequency of 2.45 GHz. Thus, these were found to be suitable as wall material to encapsulate the selected core material in this microwave encapsulation-drying method. On contrary, sodium caseinate showed an ineffective wall material to be used in microwave encapsulation-drying. The differences in the values of dielectric constant, loss factor and loss tangent were found to be contributed by frequency, composition and bulk density. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13197-018-3327-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The development of advanced and modern instrumentation techniques make the identification and quantification of food contaminants analysis easier. This chapter discusses several instrumentation techniques widely used for halal adulteration in food/beverages such as Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gas chromatography (GC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), proton transfer reactions-mass spectroscopy (PTR-MS), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, and electronic nose. Major advances in the field of chemometrics combined with the use of some instrumentation such as FTIR, DSC provide better quantification process of food contaminants. The basic principles of each technique are also summarized to facilitate better understanding of identification and quantification of halal adulteration in food and beverages.

Color is one of the major attributes in consumers’ perception toward food quality. Synthetic food colorants are alleged to have links to behavioral and health problems. Due to consumers’ high awareness over the health issues, natural food colorants are the perfect alternative or substitute for the synthetic food colorants. Anthocyanin, a natural pigment, can be found abundantly in fruits and vegetables and its color ranges from bright red to blue. Anthocyanin plant pigments have raised interest due to their ability to be used as natural food colorants with outstanding novel health-promoting properties. Despite its great health potential, anthocyanin has limited application simply due to its instability during processing and storage and also to its unsuitability in various food products. The food industry is continuously looking forward to utilizing the encapsulation technology to improve the natural pigment stability in food products, protect the natural colorant from harsh environmental conditions, promote controlled release, and also to prolong the shelf life of products. The objective of this chapter is to provide a brief overview on encapsulation methods that have been used for anthocyanins, including spray-drying, freeze-drying, and most recently, the microwave-assisted encapsulation. The source, stability, color variation, and application of anthocyanins in food products are also briefly discussed.

Palm vitamin E containing mixture of tocopherol and tocotrienol was encapsulated using combined solution of maltodextrin and sodium caseinate by spray drying technique. The best formulation that fulfilled the requirement of high core retention with moderate antioxidant activity was found to be 24.5%(w/w) of vitamin E concentrate, 18.5% (w/w) of maltodextrin and 7%(w/w) of sodium caseinate. The corresponding core retention and antioxidant activity value were found to be 71.5% and 43%, respectively. More than 80% of encapsulated α‒tocopherol was stable over the whole range of temperature compared to non‒encapsulated α‒tocopherol. A first‒order kinetics model was determined in term of degradation of α‒tocopherol in non‒encapsulated vitamin E at temperature of 50oC and 28oC within 42days of storage. Degradation rate constants (k) were 2.8x10‒2 day‒1 and 3x10‒2 day‒1 for 28oC and 50oC, respectively. The half‒life determined were 25days at 28oC and 23days at 50oC of storage condition.

This chapter is aimed to review the literature concerning the filler and additive effect on polymer gel for various advanced applications including food, agriculture, pharmaceutical, and others. To date, polymer gel utilization is important due to its superior properties. Moreover, polymer gel is very responsiveness toward small environmental changes and significantly altered the gel behavior. Currently, incorporation of filler into polymer gel matrices is beneficial to enhance the characteristics of the gel such as mechanical, chemical, physical, and biological properties. Metallic compound, cellulosic material, and crosslinker are the various categories of filler that broadly used based on application and processing. Therefore, filler-loaded polymer gel could be a potential tool or vehicle for different advanced applications.

Cocoa butter (CB) is an important major constituent of chocolate and other confectionary products. Several factors such as premium price, uncertainty in supply and variability in quality, have led the search for an alternative such as cocoa butter equivalent (CBE) from available and cheap commercial oils or fats. The aim of this research was to produce CBEs which contain omega-3 and omega-6 by blending hard palm oil mid-fraction (PMF) with canola oil. The reaction was performed by using Lipozyme RM IM as the biocatalyst. It aims to retain omega-3 and omega-6 content in CBE after interesterification. The effect of lipase load (LL), time reaction (TR) and stearic acid (ST) on CBE properties were studied to produce nearly similar CBE properties to CB. The best reaction conditions for maximizing POS (palmitic-oleic-stearic), SOS (stearic-oleic-stearic), and SMP (slip melting point) value while minimizing POP (palmitic-oleic-palmitic) and the levels of diacylglycerol (DAG) formation were; LL, 7.5% (w/w); TR, 8 hours; ST, with 44% stearic acid addition. Omega-3 (5.35%) and omega-6 (1.97%) content in CBE (after interesterification) were not significantly different (p > 0.05) to omega-3 (5.71%) and omega-6 (2.16%) content in initial mixture (before interesterification). The properties of CBE which include POP, POS, SOS, DAG and SMP values were 30.33%, 17.53%, 3.26%, 6.75%, and 46.45°C, respectively under these conditions.

This study focuses on the impact of different wall materials on the physicochemical properties of microwave-assisted encapsulated anthocyanins from Ipomoea batatas. Using the powder characterization technique, purple sweet potato anthocyanin (PSPAs) powders were analysed for moisture content, water activity, dissolution time, hygroscopicity, color and morphology. PSPAs were produced using different wall materials: maltodextrin (MD), gum arabic (GA) and a combination of gum arabic and maltodextrin (GA + MD) at a 1:1 ratio. Each of the wall materials was homogenized to the core material at a core/wall material ratio of 5 and were microencapsulated by microwave-assisted drying at 1100 W. Results indicated that encapsulated powder with the GA and MD combination presented better quality of powder with the lowest value of moisture content and water activity. With respect to morphology, the microcapsule encapsulated with GA + MD showed several dents in coating surrounding its core material, whereas other encapsulated powders showed small or slight dents entrapped onto the bioactive compound. Colorimetric analysis showed changes in values of L, a*, b*, hue and chroma in the reconstituted powder compared to the initial powder.

In general, starch-based biopolymer has low mechanical properties. Hence, various methods have been applied to enhance its properties as well as the incorporation of fibrous nanocellulose. The aim of this study is to enhance the mechanical properties of starch-based polymer by incorporating nanocellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch. The cellulose nanofibre was obtained by hydrolysing oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre with 64% sulphuric acid at 45°C for 90 minutes. It has diameter between 50 and 90 nm as shown by transmission electron microscopy image. In nanoreinforced starch-based packaging, the amount of nanocellulose loading was varied between 2 and 10% per weight of starch. The tensile strength of 2% cellulose nanofibre incorporated film was increased to 4·68 MPa, which is 28% higher than the tensile strength exhibited by the native starch-based film, 3·66 MPa. However, the tensile strength was reduced when cellulose nanofibre incorporation goes beyond 2%. The Young's modulus demo...

In this study, performance of polyacrylamide grafted cellulose flocculant derived from Pandan leaves to treat reactive black 5 (RB5) dye from aqueous solution were investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) and Box-Behnken design (BBD) of experiment were employed to identify the optimum condition for chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction in RB5 dye. The optimization was based on three operating variables; initial dye concentration, flocculant dosage and pH. The optimum condition for COD reduction was achieved at initial dye concentration of 0.03 g/l with flocculant dosage of 0.06 g, at pH 11.72. Under this condition, the reduction of COD was achieved up to 54.24%. Linear and quadratic effects of flocculant dosage and pH are the most significant in affecting the degree of flocculation efficiency. The coefficient of determination (R2) of 81.77% for percentage reduction of COD level confirms that the models used in predicting the degree of flocculation efficiency has a very good agreement with the experimental results.

Diverse ingredients and bioactive compounds are present in different plant materials, such as leaves, stem, roots, flower, fruits, and seeds. The development of advance and modern instrumentation techniques make the identification and characterization of ingredients and bioactive compounds analysis easier. Phytocompounds is beneficial ingredients (phenolic, vitamin, amino acids, minerals) in the various plant materials, which show the potential therapeutic for various biological activities, such as treatment and prevention of cancer, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases. This chapter aims to review the several physicochemical extraction techniques, including conventional and advanced techniques, such as solvent extraction, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), aqueous extraction, enzymatic extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). Different solvent system could give different chemical compounds. Polar solvents (water, ethanol, and methanol) are commonly solvent for phenolic compounds extraction, while nonpolar solvent (hexane, chloroform, petroleum ether) are used for oil and fats extraction. Additionally, the impacts of the extraction operations parameters and different polarity of solvent are highlighted. The comparisons of each technique and solvents are also summarized to facilitate better understanding of phytocompounds from plant material extracts. Physical analysis of plant extract includes pH, color, moisture, flavor, and appearance from which was determined using pH meter, colorimeter, and moisture analyzer, respectively. While chemical analysis of plant extract includes fatty acids, heavy metals, amino acids, phytochemical compounds, such as volatile compounds (VOCs) and non-VOCs are determined using the chromatographic methods, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The nutritional value (carbohydrate, fat, protein, fiber, moisture) was assessed using proximate analysis. These physicochemical characterizations of ingredients and bioactive compounds using various instrumentations could provide informative and scientific reference for diverse potential uses of plant extracts especially for nutraceuticals and functional food applications.

This paper reports the properties of newly developed electrically conductive natural fiber made up of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) and conducting polyaniline (PANI). The results revealed that the in situ coating of PANI (1 wt.%) showed minimal reduction on the PALF tensile strength. Percolation concentration of the PANI was observed at 5 wt.% and its corresponding electron micrograph showed good polymer deposition with the characteristic globular PANI formation plus no fiber damages. This fiber material has potentials for many applications such as composites, electroactive fillers and conductive sheets.