Join us on the 25th February at 10am GMT for an exciting talk in collaboration with Dr Khong Heng Yen, a Chemistry Professor in the Faculty of Applied Sciences, and the open access publisher company Hindawi!
Pereskia bleo, a leafy cactus is a well-known medicinal plant native to South America and is cultivated across Asia. In Malaysia, it is known as ‘Jarum Tujuh Bilah’. It has been used traditionally to treat illnesses related to hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and skin wounds. However, few studies have been carried out to investigate its phytochemical and biological activities.
The team from Universiti Teknologi MARA Sarawak branch in Malaysia have evaluated P. bleo solvent extracts in different polarities for their total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant based on the Folin–Ciocalteu test and free radical DPPH scavenging assay, respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays were carried out to screen for the antibacterial activity against the Gram-positive bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The findings revealed that the methanolic extract had the highest total phenolic content compared to the chloroform and hexane extracts. As such, it is also expected to exhibit higher antioxidant activity, which was confirmed by the DPPH assay. In the MIC and MBC assays, both the methanolic and chloroform extracts demonstrated strong activity against all four bacteria, which are all related to food spoilage and food-borne diseases. However, the hexane extract showed weak antibacterial activity. Hence, this study suggests that certain P. bleo extracts could be used as a natural preservative in food.
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Lay article available here.
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Dr Khong Heng Yen
Dr Khong Heng Yen, a Chemistry Professor in the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA Sarawak Branch in Malaysia. She has more than 27 years of teaching experience. She has a great interest in the traditional medicinal plants used by the local communities in Sarawak which leads to her active research works on natural products, particularly on Borneo, Sarawak medicinal plants used by local folks. Currently, she supervises 11 postgraduates and 3 final-year degree research projects. She has been awarded Staff Excellent Service Award several times and a few other outstanding awards. In addition, she had won more than 20 medals and prizes in innovation competitions. She is also one of the IP owners for “An Anti-inflammatory compound”.
She has recorded an excellent publication with about 100 full papers published in the refereed and indexed International journals. She is also appointed as the Founder and Chief Editor for a new UiTM journal, “Journal of Smart Science and Technology” (JSST), and a member of the Editorial Board for several indexed International Journals. Besides, she has reviewed many papers for International Journals, conferences, seminars, and colloquiums.
DOI: n2nJS2dVpTHn5ZtCvV7A_prepost_1
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