1.Macronutrients content of Red Seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii and Kappaphycus striatum
Farah Diyana Ariffin ; Aminah Abdullah ; Shahrul Hisham Zainal Ariffin ; Chan Kok Meng
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2017;15(2):19-27
Seaweed contains various nutrients that has the potential to be a source of nutritious food, but only a few studies done on
the red seaweeds in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the macronutrients content, amino acid
profile and fatty acid component in Kappaphycus alvarezii and Kappaphycus striatum. The study found that the range
of moisture, fat, ash, protein, fiber and carbohydrates content for both red seaweeds were 6.9% - 7.3%, 0.5% - 2.6%,
29.4% - 30.9%, 2.5% - 5.7% , 5.3% - 5.5% and 50.1% - 53.3% respectively. A total of 16 amino acids were identified
in which the essential amino acid for K. alvarezii and K. striatum were 41.11% and 36.15% respectively. A total of 34
fatty acids were identified in which the content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) was the highest (42.7% - 72.8%), followed
by mono-unsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) (13.8% - 36.2%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was the lowest (13.5%
- 21.2%). In conclusion, this study suggest that K. alvarezii and K. striatum are potentially be used as raw materials or
food ingredients to improve the nutritional value of the human diet.
2.Bacterial contamination from selected catfish pond farm and its susceptibility to antimicrobial agents
Siti Shahara Zulfakar ; Kamarul Zaman Zarkasi ; Siti Aida Abd Azman ; Shazlin Aida Mohamad Shapie ; Farah Diyana Ariffin ; Nur Faizah Abu Bakar
Malaysian Journal of Microbiology 2023;19(no.6):705-717
Aims:
The aquaculture industry has been identified as one of the sources for the emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. This study aimed to determine the level of bacterial contamination from selected catfish pond farming at Jasin, Melaka and its susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. The correlation between the sampling points’ Water Quality Index and the level of bacterial contamination was also determined.
Methodology and results :
Sampling was carried out at six sampling points of the river as well as selected catfish pond farming. Microbial counts were assessed using the membrane filtration and isolates were further identified by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were carried out using the disk diffusion method. Results showed that the total bacterial count obtained was not significantly different (P>0.05) between sampling points with an average of 4.47 ± 0.41 log CFU/mL. A total of 27 different bacterial species were identified where 63% were identified as Gram-negative bacteria. A medium negative correlation (r=-6.16, P<0.01) was found between the sampling points’ Water Quality Index and the level of bacterial contamination. Among bacterial species identified, 18 species are pathogenic strains.
Conclusion, significance and impact of study
Antibiotic susceptibility test indicated that only 4 isolates showed resistance to antimicrobials tested and the study shows the potential cross contamination between fishponds and Kesang River, Melaka. Thus, public health concerns are tangible, and prevention of the cross contamination is crucial for the farm.