The effect of the plant growth regulators benzyl amino purine (BAP), 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and kinetin (KIN) on in vitro shoot induction and proliferation of Plectranthus amboinicus was examined. Explants obtained from lateral shoots and apical shoots of P. amboinicus were inoculated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) culture medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP, NAA and KIN. When the effect of each growth regulator was considered singly, the highest rate of shoot induction (80% of explants producing shoots) and highest number of shoots produced (2.4 shoots per explant) were obtained from lateral shoot explants cultured on MS media supplemented with 3.0 mg/L BAP within 6-7 weeks. Better results were obtained using MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/L BAP + 5 mg/L NAA. Shoot proliferation rose to 85%, while 5.7 shoots per explants were recorded. Among the different media tested for rooting, MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L IBA was the most effective for root induction. The quality of the roots obtained was better than that obtained using MS media supplemented with NAA or IAA.

A clenbuterol immunosensor was developed with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/multi-walled carbon nanotube-modified screen-printed carbon electrode and optimized using response surface methodology.

Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) Havil. or locally known as ketum/daun sebiak/biakbiak belongs to Rubiaceae family and generally occurs in secondary forest or disturbed areas in tropical and subtropical region. This research enumerated the characterisation of Mitragyna speciosa leaf anatomy and micromorphology features which is still not well documented. This medium to large sized tree species characterised with opposite arrangement, ovate-acuminate leaf and with 12–17 pairs of veins. Transverse sections of petioles showed that this species has petiole outlines with slightly convex at the middle of the adaxial part and ‘U’-shaped on abaxial side. Results also showed that this species has paracytic and hypostomatic stomata, combination of non-glandular (majority) and glandular trichomes (minority), with observation on the secretory cells present in petiole and midrib parenchyma cells. Cuticle on the abaxial and adaxial epidermal surfaces showed the presence granule and wax films with periclinal and anticlinal walls can be differentiated clearly. The results obtained in this study can be used to providing additional systematics information of Mitragyna speciosa with the documentation of the leaf anatomy and micromorphology characters.

Elaeidobius kamerunicus is the main insect pollinator for oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) worldwide. One of the main reasons E. kamerunicus attracted to oil palm inflorescences is estragole, a volatile organic compound released by the oil palm inflorescences during anthesis stage. However, the amount of estragole released from the oil palm inflorescence is varied due to the influence of abiotic and biotic factors and is seen to have an impact on E. kamerunicus pollination activity on the oil palm. To evaluate the responses of E. kamerunicus, different types (wild and reared) and sex (male and female) of E. kamerunicus were exposed to different concentrations of commercial estragole using a four-arm olfactometer. Results showed that E. kamerunicus significantly preferred one hundred ppm of estragole compared to other concentrations. However, the response of E. kamerunicus was significantly decreased after the concentration value. The result of this study can be a good platform for future references since the estragole compound plays a significant role in oil palms flower pollination by E. kamerunicus.