In this work, batch adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the suitability of prepared acid activated carbons in removing heavy metal ions such as nickel(II), lead(II) and chromium(VI). Acid activated carbons were obtained from oil palm and coconut shells using phosphoric acid under similar activation process while the differences lie either in impregnation condition or in both pretreatment and impregnation conditions. Prepared activated carbons were modified by dispersing hydrated iron oxide. The adsorption equilibrium data for nickel(II) and lead(II) were obtained from adsorption by the prepared and commercial activated carbons. Langmuir and Freundlich models fit the data well. Prepared activated carbons showed higher adsorption capacity for nickel(II) and lead(II). The removal of chromium(VI) was studied by the prepared acid activated, modified and commercial activated carbons at different pH. The isotherms studies reveal that the prepared activated carbon performs better in low concentration region while the commercial ones in the high concentration region. Thus, a complete adsorption is expected in low concentration by the prepared activated carbon. The kinetics data for Ni(II), Pb(II) and Cr(VI) by the best selected activated carbon fitted very well to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

The aim of this study was to prepare a model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA) loaded double-walled microspheres using a fast degrading glucose core, hydroxyl-terminated poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (Glu-PLGA) and a moderate-degrading carboxyl-terminated PLGA polymers to reduce the initial burst release and to eliminate the lag phase from the release profile of PLGA microspheres. The double-walled microspheres were prepared using a modified water-in-oil-in-oil-in-water (w/o/o/w) method and single-polymer microspheres were prepared using a conventional water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsion solvent evaporation method. The particle size, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, thermal properties, in vitro drug release and structural integrity of BSA were evaluated in this study. Double-walled microspheres prepared with Glu-PLGA and PLGA polymers with a mass ratio of 1:1 were non-porous, smooth-surfaced, and spherical in shape. A significant reduction of initial burst release was achieved for the double-walled microspheres compared to single-polymer microspheres. In addition, microspheres prepared using Glu-PLGA and PLGA polymers in a mass ratio of 1:1 exhibited continuous BSA release after the small initial burst without any lag phase. It can be concluded that the double-walled microspheres made of Glu-PLGA and PLGA polymers in a mass ratio of 1:1 can be a potential delivery system for pharmaceutical proteins.

Marine fishes are one of the protein sources and they form a significant part of human diet around the world. In particular, tuna fisheries are considered as the largest and most specialized commercially important group of species among all commercial fishes. The preparing tuna methods such as cooking and canning might alter the level of heavy metals inside the meat. The heat that applied to the meat might be decreased the moisture content in tuna meat, thus give some effects to the heavy metal level. Other than that, the different composition and function of different parts of tuna can contribute to the various level of heavy metals analysed. The metal contamination in tuna species meat has put serious question to the safety level of fish intake to the community. It represent an abiding threat to human health as it has been linked to some adverse health effects such as mental retardation, kidney damage, and various types of cancer and even worse, death could occur.The following review articles presents the findings of the work carried out by the various researchers in the past on the heavy metal pollution in samples of Tuna species around the world.

Jacalin is a major lectin present in jackfruit seeds, obtained by crude protein recovery. Its lectin symbol is AIL and it belongs to the galactose family of N-acetylglucosamine binding lectins, which are recognized to be cancer cell inhibitor. There have been many pharmacological research studies focusing intensively on jacalin, however their scope was restricted to the application of jacalin in pharmacology. Jacalin or lectin extract from jackfruit seed were induced cell cycle arrest in human breast cancer cell, MCF7, in comparison of crude extract, purified jacalin and jacalin standard. IC50 for MCF7 was achieved at concentration 125 µg/mL, comparable to jacalin standard with only 1.60 % contradictions.

Background: The composition and bioactivity of natural plant extracts strongly depend on the extraction technique employed. Clinacanthus nutans Lindau (C. nutans) is a well-known medicinal plant in South-East Asia that has been traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases. Several conventional methods have been using for extraction of bioactive compounds from C. nutans. However, extraction of fatty acids using supercritical carbon dioxide was not reported yet from this medicinal herbs. Objective: The main objective of the study is to examine the potential of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) extraction of fatty acids from leaves and stems of C. nutans. Method: Fatty acid compositions were determined from leaves and stems of C. nutans oil extracted by scCO2 (temperature 45-65 °C, pressure 25-35 MPa), and compared to the results of Soxhlet extraction. Results: Supercritical CO2 extraction shows the highest oil recovery in both leaves (3.7%) and stems (1.6%) at pressure 35 MPa, temperature 65 °C and 2 ml/min flow rate, which was closer to the yield of Soxhlet. The scCO2 yields presented a higher percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially linoleic acid (C18:2n-6). Palmitic acid ranging from 42%- 47% in leaves and stems of C. nutans was found dominant saturated fatty acids (SFA) in both scCO2 and Soxhlet method. Conclusion: The current results indicate that leaves and stems of C. nutans could be a potential source of fatty acids especially biologically active compounds.Conclusion: The current results indicate that leaves and stems of C. nutans could be a potential source of fatty acids especially biologically active compounds.