Composition of Crude Palm Oil Extracted Using Hot Compressed Water Extraction.

Extraction process are one of the critical units in palm oil milling process which dictates its efficiency. In this study, hot compressed water extraction (HCWE) is utilized for the crude palm oil (CPO) extraction. With regards to CPO quality, the extracted CPO using HCWE was analysed based on overall composition, triacylglycerol (TAG) composition and fatty acid profile composition. This is to evaluate the possible product degradation during the process. From the results, the CPO extracted using HCWE process contain low FFA of 0.15±0.01% and low DAG of 2.145% which reflect to higher quality of CPO. This CPO also show the equal mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid composition at 50.63% and 49.93% respectively, within the CPO composition range in the literature. No significant changing of the fatty acid composition is observed between CPO extracted using HCWE and commercial CPO indicated that no possible undesired reaction during the extraction process. HCWE is a promising method for screw press system replacement, but the economic analysis is essential to evaluate its prospective.

Effects of processing parameters in the sonic assisted water extraction (SAWE) of 6-gingerol.

The use of water in subcritical conditions for extraction has several drawbacks. These include the safety features, higher production costs and possible degradation of the bioactive compounds. To overcome these problems, sonic energy and an entrainer were used as external interventions to decrease the polarity of water at milder operating conditions. The effect of low (28kHz) and high (800kHz) frequencies of sonication in the extraction of the main ginger bioactive compound (6-gingerol) were compared. Six parameters were studied: mean particle size (MPS, mm), time of extraction, applied power, sample to solvent ratio (w/v), temperature of extraction, and the percentage of entrainer. The optimum conditions for high frequency SAWE prototype were MPS 0.89-1.77mm, 45min, 40W applied power, 1:30 (w/v), 45°C, and 15% of ethanol as entrainer. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) gave the most significant parameter, which was power with F (1, 45.07), p<2.50×10-9. Although the effect of low frequency was stronger than high frequency, at the optimum conditions of the sample to solvent ratio 1:30 (w/v) with 700mL solvent and temperature 45°C, the concentration and recovery of 6-gingerol from high frequency of SAWE prototype was 2.69 times higher than at low frequency of SAWE. It was found that although the effects of high frequency (800kHz) were negligible in other studies, it could extract suitable compounds, such as 6-gingerol, at lower temperature. Therefore, the effects of sonication, which cause an enlargement in the cell wall of the ginger plant matrix, were observed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). It was found that the applied power of sonication was the most significant parameter compared to the other parameters.

Mechanism of Chemoprevention against Colon Cancer Cells Using Combined Gelam Honey and Ginger Extract via mTOR and Wnt/ß-catenin Pathways.

The PI3K-Akt-mTOR, Wnt/ß-catenin and apoptosis signaling pathways have been shown to be involved in genesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to elucidate whether combination of Gelam honey and ginger might have chemopreventive properties in HT29 colon cancer cells by modulating the mTOR, Wnt/ß-catenin and apoptosis signaling pathways. Treatment with Gelam honey and ginger reduced the viability of the HT29 cells dose dependently with IC50 values of 88 mg/ml and 2.15 mg/ml respectively, their while the combined treatment of 2 mg/ml of ginger with 31 mg/ml of Gelam honey inhibited growth of most HT29 cells. Gelam honey, ginger and combination induced apoptosis in a dose dependent manner with the combined treatment exhibiting the highest apoptosis rate. The combined treatment downregulated the gene expressions of Akt, mTOR, Raptor, Rictor, ß-catenin, Gsk3ß, Tcf4 and cyclin D1 while cytochrome C and caspase 3 genes were shown to be upregulated. In conclusion, the combination of Gelam honey and ginger may serve as a potential therapy in the treatment of colorectal cancer through inhibiton of mTOR, Wnt/ß catenin signaling pathways and induction of apoptosis pathway.