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Kernels of A. odoratissimus and L. garciae fruits collected from different areas in Sarawak were extracted and the fatty acid profiles in their kernel oils were studied. Proximate analysis of the kernels such as moisture content, ash content, crude fat and crude fiber were determined. The kernels were extracted using Soxhlet extraction apparatus and the Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) composition in the kernel oils were analysed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The number of FAME components found in A. odoratissimus kernel oil was higher in comparison to L.garciae kernel oil. The major compound in kernel oil of each fruit sample also differs from each other; C12:0 (lauric acid) (28.75±0.09-34.12±1.02%) was the main FAME in L.garciae while C18:2n6c (linoleic acid) (37.30±4.62-40.74±6.19%) was the dominant compound in A. odoratissimus. This study is significant as it has revealed that the kernel oils of these underexploited indigenous fruits have a great potential to be developed for the applications in nutrition, industrial and cosmetics.

The study compared the antibacterial activity of synthesized ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) from fresh leaf and fresh stem bark aqueous extracts of Carica papaya against five selected microbes: Staphylococcus aureus, (Gram positive (+ve)), Escherichia coli (Gram negative (–ve)), Acinetobacter baumanni (Gram–ve), Exiguobacterium aquaticum (Gram+ve), and Klebsielia pneumonia (Gram +ve). The morphological features of the biosynthesized ZnO NPs were analyzed using transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM); the Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) technique was used to observe the surface functional groups. The experimental results indicated that ZnO NPs were successfully synthesized using modified hydrothermal technique, which showed agglomerated flake-like or petal-like shapes with the organic extract surrounding the formed particles. The average particle size of the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles determined by SEM ranged between 54-97 nm with the width and length of the petal-like structures been 30 nm and 62 nm respectively. The average ZnO NPs from fresh stem bark extract of Carica papaya with higher concentrations (100-1000 ppm) demonstrated a higher antibacterial activity than the fresh leaf extracts. On the other hand, ZnO NPs from fresh leaf extracts of lower concentrations (25-50 ppm) rather showed a suitable result than the fresh stem bark. In general, ZnO NPs showed a positive antibacterial result towards the selected microbes. This shows that, the synthesized ZnO NP can be a substitute to chemical methods.