Malaysia’s popular beverage has always been tea; however, current trends show an increase in coffee consumption among its population. The introduction of international coffee chains and the adoption of the coffee culture among the overseas educated has led to an increase in coffee consumption in Malaysia.  Hence, the objective of this research was to determine the status of coffee consumption in Malaysia; to investigate the demographics and reasons for coffee consumption and to study the efforts carried out to sustain the Malaysian coffee industry. The study was conducted via an online self-administered questionnaire uploaded in Google Form. Results, obtained from 174 respondents, showed that 77.6% of participants consumed coffee. The main reasons for coffee consumption are the taste (69.6%); “to boost energy” (60.0%) and “to start up the day” (58.8%). 92.5% make their coffee at home or in the office. A low disposable income and restrictions imposed by the current pandemic has led to 62.7% of the respondents purchasing coffee less than once a week. 55.5% buy their coffee from branded outlets (Starbucks, Coffee bean and tea leaf, McCafé) compared to 46.7% from non-branded outlets (kopitiams, office canteen). So, when people do purchase their coffee, they do not mind splurging out on the occasional cup of branded coffee. Study of the literature shows that efforts are being carried out within Malaysia to improve its coffee industry, especially with respect to coffee farming. This alternative cash crop would aid in stimulating the failing Malaysian economy.

Plant extracts have gained popularity recently, for their importance as potential antioxidative and antimicrobial agents. These properties have been attributed to their phytochemical content. The extraction solvent and the plant part are among the factors that influence the yield of these phytochemicals This study was therefore undertaken to investigate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of extracts of the leaf and stem of Ocimum sanctum (holy basil) and Cymbopogon nardus (citronella grass); two commonly occurring plants in South East Asia. The extracts were obtained by solvent extraction using water, methanol and ethanol. The percentage yield, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was investigated. The organic extracts yielded a higher percentage recovery of phytochemicals compared to the water extracts.  HPLC analysis revealed the presence of chlorogenic acid in all extracts; rutin only in the leaf extracts and the citronella grass leaf extract contained both rutin and gallic acid. Antimicrobial assays were performed using the agar well diffusion method with tetracycline as positive control. Basil extracts exerted a greater inhibitory growth on both S. aureus and E. coli. S. aureus was found to be more susceptible to the presence of plant extracts. Water extracts did not display any zones of inhibition. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay was used to study the antioxidant effect with Vitamin C (0.1mg/ml) as positive control. The results indicated that the Basil leaf extracts possessed greater antioxidant potential compared to the stem. The study concludes that organic extracts of O. sanctum and C. nardus possess pharmaceutical properties.

Detox water is a fusion of different fruits immersed in water. It has been shown to possess many health benefits including toxin removal, increased immune function, weight loss and hydration. The following research aimed to extend previous investigation into the beneficial properties of detox water by determining the antioxidant potential and phytochemical content of water infused with a combination of Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis) and Fuji apple (Malus domestica) in different ratios. The three trails studied were 25:75 (T1), 50:50 (T2) and 75:25 (T3) Apple: Orange ratios.  The antioxidant activity, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were assayed using the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl- DPPH assay, the Folin Ciocalteu assay and the aluminum chloride colorimetric assay respectively. The assays were carried out on water samples taken at 0.5, 1,2,4,6 and 8 hours after infusion, and on the fruit residue. Vitamin C concentration of the water and fruit residue were determined by titration against potassium iodide at the eight- hour of infusion. The antioxidant, TPC and TFC values of water samples increased with infusion time. At the eight-hour, the antioxidant potential of the water samples ranged from 74.45% (T1) - 68.16% (T3). The TPC, TFC and Vitamin C values for all three trails were found to be significantly different (p<0.05), with TPC values of 189.01 µg GAE/ml sample (T1), 172.10 µg GAE/ml sample (T2) and 144.82 µg GAE/ml sample (T3); TFC values were 32.11 µg QE/ml sample (T1), 25.24 µg QE/ml sample (T2) and 17.62 µg QE/ml sample (T3). Vitamin C values were 237.76 µg vitamin C/ml sample (T1), 161.44 µg vitamin C/ml sample (T2) and 114.48 µg vitamin C/ml sample (T3). The fruit residues possessed very low antioxidant potential and phytochemical content. The study has proven that detox water possesses beneficial properties due to its high phytochemical content.