Background: Piper sarmentosum, locally known as kaduk is belonging to the family of Piperaceae. It is our interest to evaluate their effect on human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) for the potential of anticarcinogenic activity.

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Conductive scaffolds, defined as scaffold systems capable of carrying electric current, have been extensively researched for tissue engineering applications. Conducting polymers (CPs) as components of conductive scaffolds was introduced to improve morphology or cell attachment, conductivity, tissue growth, and healing rate, all of which are beneficial for cardiac, muscle, nerve, and bone tissue management. Conductive scaffolds have become an alternative for tissue replacement, and repair, as well as to compensate for the global organ shortage for transplantation. Previous researchers have presented a wide range of fabrication methods for conductive scaffolds. This review highlights the most recent advances in developing conductive scaffolds, with the aim to trigger more theoretical and experimental work to address the challenges and prospects of these new fabrication techniques in medical sciences.

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The popularity of functional gummies has increased, which is evident from the growing line of functional gummies from almost every nutraceutical companies. Sensory evaluation serves the purpose of determining which brand of functional gummy would capture the largest market share. Texture profile analysis was used to determine the mechanical properties of functional gummies. The brands of functional gummies that came under the scope of this study were denoted as Brand A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy was utilised to detect organic material and functional groups in the functional gummies. Texture profile analysis gave valuable insights into the gummies’ mechanical properties which are cohesiveness, springiness, hardness, gumminess, and chewiness. Amongst the gummies that were studied, Brand F gummy has the highest value of cohesiveness of 0.92. Brand A gummy has a high springiness value of 1.0. Brand B gummy possesses the highest value of hardness, gumminess and chewiness of 12 532.2 g, 7617.6 N, and 6256.8 J, respectively. Qualitative sensory evaluation reveals that Brand G gummy has the best aesthetic qualities in terms of colour and appearance. Brand B gummy tastes the best while brand A gummy claims the top spot for gumminess and chewiness. Overall, the respondents in this study preferred brand A gummy over other brands.