The emergence of research about the biological effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) have growing concern among researchers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects on the brain of rats periodically exposed to 0.1 mT EMF. Total 24 adult male Sprague Dawley rats were subdivided randomly to 4 groups: 2 control groups (C1 6 hours: 6 h/ day for 5 days; C2 20 hours: 20 h/day for 5 days) and 2 treatment groups which exposed to 0.1 mT EMF (T1 6 hours: 6 h/day for 5 days; T2 20 hours: 20 h/day for 5 days). A significant decrease in the pyramidal cell number was higher as the exposure duration to EMF was extended (T1, p<0.05; T2, p<0.001). The total numbers of pyramidal cells for T1 was 15.18 % lower than of the total found in C1; and in concurring to the pattern, the number of pyramidal cells in T2 was 33.54 % lower than the total in C2. Similarly, there was a significant decrease of the Purkinje cell number as the duration exposure to EMF, extended (T1, p<0.05; T2, p<0.001). The total numbers of Purkinje cells for T1 was 11.20 % lower than C1, in T2 was 16.19 % lower than in C2. There were significant differences between the thickness of granular layer and molecular layer in the control groups and treatment groups. We also report a significant difference in the levels of norepinephrine in T2, 10.71 % higher than C2. Cumulatively, these results suggested that exposure to EMF can exert negative effect on rats brains.
Electromagnetic Fields

Postprandial hyperglycemia is independently related to cardiovascular disease. Garlic, ginger, lemon, honey and applecider vinegar are known to have anti-glycemic properties. However, the effectiveness of combination of these naturalproducts on reducing postprandial glycemia is uncertain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the glucoseloweringeffect of a novel mixture consisting of apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, lemon, and honey; alone and incombination with exercise in response to a high-carbohydrate meal in non-diabetic individuals. Ten, female subjects (meanage: 25 ± 2.67 years, mean BMI: 22.6 ± 3.5 kg/m2) participated in this randomised, cross-over intervention consisting offour trials: control (CON), mixture only (MIX), exercise only (EX), and exercise + mixture (EX-MIX). All trials involvedconsumption of a high-carbohydrate breakfast, then followed by rest in CON, consumption of natural product mixturein MIX, brisk-walking exercise in EX, and combination of mixture and exercise in EX-MIX. Blood glucose was measuredat fasting, and at 30, 60, 90, 120 minutes post meal. Postprandial glucose response was calculated as area under theglucose curve. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant group and time interaction (p < 0.001). Comparedto CON, postprandial glucose responses were 8%, 13% and 15% lower in MIX (p = 0.049), EX (p = 0.001) and EX-MIX(p = 0.005) respectively. Postprandial glucose was 8% lower in EX-MIX compared to MIX (p = 0.002). In conclusion,consuming natural product mixture containing garlic, ginger, lemon, honey and apple cider vinegar reduced postprandialglycemia to a certain extent, however, combining mixture with exercise produced a greater attenuation effect comparedto consuming mixture alone. This finding is indicative of a potential benefit of the novel mixture as a complementarymanagement of hyperglycemia in high-risk individual

Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. (roselle) is a polyphenol rich fruit. This study aimed to identify the neuroprotective effect of roselle on LPS-induced cell proliferation and nitric oxide-induced free radical in microglia and neuroblastoma cells. MTT assay was used to identify the appropriate concentration of roselle and LPS for microglia and neuroblastoma cells proliferation study. Griess assay were used to determine the level of nitric oxide accumulated based on the reaction of Griess to estimate the activity of iNOS in nitric oxide production. The results showed that roselle at the concentration of 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL and LPS at concentration of 1 μg/mL does not give cytotoxic effect towards microglia C8-B4 and neuroblastoma LN18 cells. The roselle treatment at 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL showed a protective effect on LPS-induced microglia C8-B4 cells. However, in neuroblastoma LN18 cells, no protective effect was seen on both 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL of roselle treatment following induction with 1 μg/mL of LPS. On the other hand, the production of nitric oxide (NO) was reduced when LPS-induced microglia C8-B4 cells were treated with 50 μg/mL of roselle. Treatment of roselle at concentration 100 μg/mL on LPS-induced neuroblastoma LN18 cells also reduced the production of nitric oxide. As a conclusion, roselle had the ability to give neuroprotective effect by the inhibition of LPS induction activity on microglia activation for normal and cancer cells at different concentrations.
Hibiscus

Ficus deltoidea or ‘mas cotek,’ is a uterotonic herb traditionally consumed by women to improve menstrual circulation,assist labour, remove retained placenta and treat postpartum bleeding. The aim of the study was to elucidate the mechanismof F. deltoidea in uterine contraction. Crude extracts from 2 different variants of F. deltoidea were used in the study; F.deltoidea var. Deltoidea (FDD) and F. deltoidea var. Angustifolia (FDA). This study was conducted ex vivo on the strips ofisolated rats uterus treated with either FDD or FDA aqueous extract with increasing concentrations ranging from 10 µg/ml until 1280 µg/ml at time intervals of 5 minutes between doses. The frequency and intensity of the uterine contractionswere monitored via Powerlab software. Maximum contractions for both extracts were identified, recorded and the uterinestrips samples at maximum contraction were selected and homogenized in order determine the role of prostaglandinF2α (PGF2α) in the mechanism of uterine contraction. Other than that, phosphorylated 42/44 (p42/44) of mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK) expression was also detected via immunoblotting. The results showed that the maximumcontraction induced by FDD was at the concentration of 320 µg/ml, whereas for FDA was at 960 µg/ml. Both FDD andFDA increased the intensity of uterine strips contractions and there were notable trend of increased PGF2α expression aswell. Further analysis revealed that the uterine contractions involved the MAPK pathway through the phosphorylation ofp42/44 protein. In conclusion, Ficus deltoidea of both variants have the ability to stimulate uterine contraction throughthe mechanism of MAPK pathway.

Tahfiz education has been well accepted by Muslims in Malaysia. Memorizing the Quran through rote learning can assistin improving the brain ability to process, store information and build memory. In addition, dietary intakes were reportedto contribute in the process of memorizing the Quran and to increase the levels of intelligence (IQ) among huffaz students.This cross-sectional study was conducted to measure and to determine the correlation between IQ and dietary intakeas well as between IQ and the level of trace elements among students in selected tahfiz schools and non-tahfiz school inSelangor. Questionnaires were used to obtain demographic data. Dietary intake was assessed via 3 days dietary record.Levels of trace elements in the nail samples were analyzed by using ICP-MS. Test for intelligence using WASI-II wasconducted to measure the students’ IQ. The results showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between IQ andcarbohydrate (r = 0.425, p < 0.001, a weak positive correlation between IQ and energy (r = 0.260, p < 0.05), vitaminB6 (r = 0.189, p < 0.05), vitamin B12 (r = 0.207, p < 0.05) and vitamin C (r = 0.211, p < 0.05). The levels of traceelements in nail samples showed no correlation with IQ, whereas there were moderate positive correlations between IQand dietary zinc (r = 0.375, p < 0.001) as well as between IQ and dietary iron (r = 0.303, p < 0.001). There was also amoderate positive correlation between IQ and the level of memorization (r = 0.375, p < 0.001). The results of stepwisemultiple linear regression showed that al-Quran memorization influence the level of IQ by 20 %. As a conclusion, dietaryintake of certain nutrients including energy, vitamins and selected trace elements can potentially improve memorizationactivities and also IQ.

Paint contains various complex chemical mixtures, such as aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons (primarily toluene), ketones, and benzene as reported at previous studies. Toxicity from some chemicals can cause early DNA damage with various factors. A scoping review was conducted via literature review on relevant studies on the effect of paint exposure on paint workers and DNA damage. A systematic search was conducted in October 2021 via PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The key terms used were paint, solvent-based paint, organic solvent, mixed organic solvent, occupational exposure and DNA damage, oxidative stress, genotoxicity on a painter, paint worker. From 561 articles, only 13 articles were finally selected based on the inclusion, exclusion criteria, and eligibility criteria. The literature showed that biomonitoring studies on painters were consistently reporting positive and significant DNA damage due to exposure to different types of compounds mixed in a paint. However, there were fewer studies on paint manufacturing factory workers compared to painters while paint manufacturing workers exposed various chemical everyday during the paint production which potentially susceptible to occupational toxicity. In conclusion, this review suggests that exposure to paints could induce early DNA damage among paint workers and further investigations on paint exposure among paint manufacturing factory workers and the DNA damage were needed in order to improve occupational health among paint workers in the future.