No abstract

The present study demonstrated High Resolution Melting (HRM) analysis combined with DNA barcode (Bar-HRM) as a fast and highly sensitive technique for detecting adulterants in Eurycoma longifolia commercial herbal products. Targeting the DNA barcoding of the chloroplastic region-ribulose biphosphate carboxylase large chain (rbcL) and the nuclear ribosomal region- internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), PCR amplification and HRM analysis using saturated Eva green dye as the source of fluorescence signals, was accomplished by employing a real-time cycler. The results were further validated by sequencing to identify unknown sequence from Genbank database and to generate phylogenetic tree using neighbour joint (NJ) analysis. Both of the DNA markers exhibited a distinguishable melting temperature and shape of the normalised curve between the reference and the adulterants. In the case of species identification, ITS2 was more successful in differentiating between species. Additionally, detection of admixture sample containing small traces of targeted E. longifolia DNA (w/v) can be detected as low as 5% for rbcL and less than 1% for ITS2, proving the sensitivity and versatility of the HRM analysis. In conclusion, the Bar-HRM analysis is a fast and reliable technique that can effectively detect adulterants in herbal products. Therefore, this will be beneficial for regulatory agencies in order to regulate food safety issues.

Ethnobotanical studies has documented the consumption of goji by Chinese tribes since ancient times. Goji or scientifically known as Lycium barbarum L. belongs to Solanaceae family and native to some areas of China. The present study was conducted to determine the best explant and corresponding hormonal compositions for Goji in vitro regeneration. In addition, the age and organ of in vitro seedlings with the optimum level of antioxidant activity were also identified. For in vitro regeneration, leaves and nodes were used as explants and cultured on in vitro regeneration media with varying hormonal concentration, combinations of α-napthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP). The optimum combination for in vitro regeneration was found in leaf explants treated with equal concentration of 0.5 mg/L NAA and BAP each. DPPH assay for antioxidant activity screening done on methanolic extracts of samples from two through five month-old in vitro seedlings.shows the highest antioxidant activity in two-month old leaf and stem samples with the EC50 value of 0.08 mg/ml. Indeed, the results revealed that L. barbarum has the potency to be excellently micropropagated that possesses an outstanding antioxidant activity that is essential in phytomedicines.

Rice is arguably the most crucial food crops supplying quarter of calories intake. Fungal pathogen, Magnaphorthe oryzae promotes blast disease unconditionally to gramineous host including rice species. This disease spurred an outbreaks and constant threat to cereal production. Global rice yield declining almost 10-30% including Malaysia. As Magnaphorthe oryzae and its host is model in disease plant study, the rice blast pathosystem has been the subject of intense interest to overcome the importance of the disease to world agriculture. Therefore, in this study, our prime objective was to isolate samples of Magnaphorthe oryzae from diseased leaf obtained from MARDI Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. Molecular identification was performed by sequences analysis from internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal RNA genes. Phylogenetic affiliation of the isolated samples were analyzed by comparing the ITS sequences with those deposited in the GenBank database. The sequence of the isolate demonstrated at least 99% nucleotide identity with the corresponding sequence in GenBank for Magnaphorthe oryzae. Morphological observed under microscope demonstrated that the structure of conidia followed similar characteristic as M. oryzae. Finding in this study provide useful information for breeding programs, epidemiology studies and improved disease management.

No abstract