In this study, gelatins from black-bone chicken feet and skin (BCFG and BCSG) were extracted using different NaOH concentrations, and their physicochemical properties were characterized and compared to commercial bovine gelatin (BG). It was found that the yield of BCFG was higher than BCSG, however, it contained higher amount of ash. All studied gelatins were composed of two distinct a-chains, while b-chain and c-chain were not present. The BCFG and BCSG were found to have lower pH, lower hydroxyproline content and lower thermal stability, but higher gel strength as compared with the BG. The colors of BCSG and BCSG were slightly darker than BG. The NaOH concentration did not show strong influence on physicochemical properties of the extracted gelatins, however, thermal stability and gel strength of BCSG tended to decrease with increasing of NaOH concentration. These findings suggested that black-bone chicken feet and skin could be a great source for the production of gelatin.

<abstract> <p>Quality of dried <italic>Andrographis paniculata</italic> (Burm.f.) Nees materials is important to determine its effectiveness in traditional medicine. The present study aimed to investigate an effect of harvesting age and drying condition on andrographolide content and its consequences on antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The plants were cultivated and harvested at 90,100,115, and 127 days after sowing (DAS) prior to drying under the sun or using hot air oven at 50, 65, and 80 ℃. The results indicated that drying condition significantly influenced andrographolide content, antioxidant capacities, and antibacterial activity of <italic>A. paniculata</italic>, whereas the harvesting age had no significant impact on those parameters. The andrographolide contents ranged from 0.74–4.11% (w/w) dry weight. The highest andrographolide contents were obtained at 90 DAS/65 ℃, 127 DAS/65 ℃, and 127 DAS/65 ℃. <italic>A. paniculata</italic> extracts were found to exhibit antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacterial strains (<italic>B. cereus</italic>, <italic>M. luteus</italic>, <italic>S. epidermidis</italic>, and <italic>S. aureus</italic>), which the highest antibacterial activity was observed at 90 DAS/65℃. The used of hot air oven at 65 ℃ effectively preserved andrographolide content and antibacterial activity of <italic>A. paniculata</italic>. In contrast, drying at 50 ℃ was the preferable drying condition for antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant activities of <italic>A. paniculata</italic> extracts ranged from 3.43–26.73 and 1.93–17.28 mg Trolox/g dry weight for DPPH• scavenging activity and FRAP reducing power activity, respectively. Overall, <italic>A. paniculata</italic> is suggested to dry using hot air oven at 65 ℃ to maintain high levels of andrograhpolide and antibacterial activity. Drying using hot air oven at 50 ℃ is advised, if antioxidant activity is the main focus. Even though the harvesting age is not a key parameter, <italic>A. paniculata</italic> is suggested to harvest at 50% flowering stage onward for a better total herbage and andrographolide yield.</p> </abstract>

Fish paste product is considered an important food in Cambodia. However, the status of antimicrobial susceptibility of microbes in this product are a concern. This study aimed to isolate lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from Cambodian fish paste and to investigate their resistant property of antibiotics. Fifteen LABs were isolated with cell forms of 14 as cocci and 1 as rods. Isolates of the bacteria were identified as Staphylococcus piscifermentans (14 strains) and Lactobacillus plantarum (1 strain). Using the disk diffusion method, the resistance was investigated of the 15 LAB isolate strains to eight clinically crucial antibiotics: penicillin (Pen), ampicillin (Amp), erythromycin (Ery), tetracycline (Tet), vancomycin (Van), streptomycin (Str), sulfamethoxazoletrimethoprim (Sul) and metronidazole (Met). It was found that all 15 LAB isolates were resistant to Met. One isolate strain was resistant to Pen, Amp, Tet, Str and Sul. Furthermore, 7 and 2 isolate strains were resistant to Tet and Van, respectively. All 15 isolate strains were sensitive to Str and Ery. The LAB isolate strains were sensitive to Pen, Amp, Sul (14 strains), Tet (6 strains) and Van (13 strains). These results showed that 14 of the LAB isolate strains were sensitive to 5 antibiotics (Pen, Amp, Ery, Str and Sul) and could be considered as strains for utilization as starter culture for fish fermentation. Additionally, these finding will be conduct to assess the antibiotic resistance incidences of LABs in Cambodian fermented foods.