Showing papers by "Zainul Akmar Zakaria published in 2022"
TL;DR: In this paper , concentrated acid condensate extract (CACE) obtained from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of palm kernel shells was fractionated, and the resulting fractions were pooled according to similar thin layer chromatography profiles into combined fractions (CFACs).
Abstract: Biomass valorisation is conventionally associated with the production of green biofuels. However, this could extend beyond the conventional perception of biomass application into other domains such as medical sciences. Acid condensate (AC) obtained from pyrolysis promises a good potential for biomedical applications, notably for its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, concentrated AC extract (CACE) obtained from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of palm kernel shells was fractionated, and the resulting fractions were pooled according to similar thin layer chromatography profiles into combined fractions (CFACs). CFACs were evaluated for total phenolic content, antioxidant level, cytotoxicity, and wound healing activities toward human skin fibroblast cells (HSF 1184). CFAC-3 showed the highest total phenolic content (624.98 ± 8.70 µg GAE/mg of sample) and antioxidant activities (DPPH IC50 of 29.47 ± 0.74 µg/mL, ABTS of 1247.13 ± 27.89 μg TE/mg sample, FRAP of 24.26 ± 0.71 mmol Fe(II)/mg sample, HFRS of 257.74 ± 1.74 µg/mL) compared to CACE (DPPH IC50 of 81.76 ± 2.81 µg/mL, ABTS of 816.95 ± 30.49 μg TE/mg sample, FRAP of 9.22 ± 0.66 mmol Fe(II)/mg sample, HFRS of 689.30 ± 36.00 µg/mL), no cytotoxic properties at ≤50 µg/mL, and significantly faster wound closure (at 1.25 µg/mL) compared to the control 12 h after treatment. The phosphorylation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (AKT) were upregulated, thus indicating that wound healing of CFAC-3 followed through this signalling pathway. To conclude, phenolic-rich CFAC-3 obtained from the pyrolysis of palm kernel shells demonstrated potential biomedical application as an alternative wound healing agent with high antioxidant and wound-healing activity. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to report on the wound healing activity of AC and its wound healing mechanism.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors evaluate the process's environmental impact, carbon footprint, and bioenergy yield when different pyrolysis atmospheres are used, and demonstrate microwave pyro-lysis as a negative emission, bioenergy-producing approach for waste activated sludge disposal and valorization.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , a phenomenological study investigated the environmental awareness of three batik entrepreneurs in Malaysia via interviews and found that despite some level of environmental awareness among the entrepreneurs, they still practiced poor environmental batik making and disposal methods due to the lack of affordable technology.
Abstract: One of the goals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is to conserve natural resources, such as water, soil, air, and others. Poorly treated industrial effluents discharged into nearby water streams contribute to water pollution. This problem is notably worse among small- and medium-scale industries, such as the local batik industry, which cannot afford proper and costly wastewater treatment facilities in their premises. Batik entrepreneurs should adopt environmentally friendly methods by using currently available technologies. Therefore, this phenomenological study investigated the environmental awareness of three batik entrepreneurs in Malaysia via interviews. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The batik entrepreneurs have adopted different batik making processes but employed almost similar batik waste disposal methods. Despite some level of environmental awareness among the batik entrepreneurs, they still practiced poor environmental batik making and disposal methods due to the lack of affordable technology. The lack of exposure to environmental education, open mindset, the socio-cultural practice of batik making, and production cost influences environmental awareness among batik entrepreneurs. Authorities should advocate green batik making and regulate rules for any malpractice. Future studies should explore the effective technologies used to dispose of batik waste effluents to enable batik entrepreneurs to adopt environmentally friendly batik making and waste disposal methods.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors proposed the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from the coffee pulp through the use of methodologies such as ultrasound and microwave, and different extraction conditions were evaluated, varying the mass:volume ratio and the water:ethanol ratio.
Abstract: Coffee pulp is rich in bioactive compounds. Currently, the use of “green methodologies” is being sought that promote cleaner, safer extraction protocols with lower energy consumption. The present study proposes the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from the coffee pulp through the use of methodologies such as ultrasound and microwave. Different extraction conditions were evaluated, varying the mass:volume ratio and the water:ethanol ratio. The mineral content, the amount of total and condensed polyphenols was determined as well as the characterization of the coffee pulp polyphenolic extracts by FT-IR, and HPLC-MS. The main mineral in the coffee pulp was potassium. The total content of polyphenols using ultrasound-microwave extraction was 165.2-328.9 mg GAE/g, where the best ratio was 1:16 m/v and the water/ethanol ratio showed no difference in the levels of polyphenol extraction. Likewise, for condensed polyphenols, values between 10.06-20.52 mg CE/g were obtained. The main polyphenols were 3-p-coumaroylquinic acid, 3-feruloylquinic acid, quercetin 3′,7-dimethyl ether, (+)-gallocatechin, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, (–)-epicatechin-(2a-7)(4a-8)-epicatechin 3-O-galactoside, and 1,3-dicaffeoylquinic acid. Therefore, the coffee pulp can be used to obtain bioactive compounds through green methodologies such as ultrasound and microwave.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors presented a study of the relationship between the biological and health sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (UAC) and the School of Chemical and Energy Engineering (SCE) of Malaysia's Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru.
Abstract: 1 Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Circuito Universitario S/N, Campus Universitario II, Chihuahua, Mexico, 2 Faculty of Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Biological and Health Sciences Division, Biotechnology Department, Iztapalapa Unit, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico City, Mexico, 4 Bioprocesses and Bioproducts Research Group, Food Research Department,
2 citations
1 citations
TL;DR: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request as mentioned in this paper , and they can be found in the Appendix of this paper. But they are only available for a limited period of time.
Abstract: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
TL;DR: In this paper , the potential of acid condensate (AC) produced from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of palm kernel shell (PKS) was investigated for its antifungal properties through molecular docking evaluation.
Abstract: The rise in the number of fungi that resisted antifungal action is of serious concern nowadays. In this study, the potential of acid condensate (AC) produced from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of palm kernel shell (PKS) was investigated for its antifungal properties through molecular docking evaluation. The phenolic-rich AC was determined for its chemical compositions using the GC–MS analysis where compounds with the highest phenolics content were further evaluated (using the Autodock Tools 1.5.7) for its potential enzymes/protein binding properties. From the GC–MS analysis, catechol, guaiacol and syringol were present at highest percentages. This directly correlates with results obtained from the molecular docking works where all these ligands managed to bind (indicated by H-bond, π-stacking, hydrophobic interaction) with some of the amino acid at the active sites which indicate its potential to inhibit substrate binding of this enzyme. As a conclusion, this study demonstrated the potential use of AC from agricultural biomass such as PKS as a natural-based antifungal agent that can reduce environmental and health impacts.