Papers by rafieh fakhlaei
Food Chemistry, Dec 31, 2023
Food Research, Dec 17, 2019
Cocoa shell is underexploited and is considered as waste. However, roasting cocoa is a fundamenta... more Cocoa shell is underexploited and is considered as waste. However, roasting cocoa is a fundamental step in producing cocoa products. Composition of the cocoa shell depends on the origin whereas cocoa processing involves fermentation, drying and roasting. However, scarce research has been conducted to analyze the composition of Malaysian cocoa shells at different roasting temperatures. Therefore, this research aims to determine the effect of different roasting temperatures (110, 120, 130, 140 and 150°C) on the proximate composition, colour and antioxidant activity of cocoa shell. Changes in antioxidant activity and polyphenol content were recorded. Fiber and moisture content were significantly (p<0.05) higher in unroasted cocoa shell. However, the protein was found to decrease significantly (p<0.05) after roasting at 150°C (10.93%). Fat content was found higher in roasted cocoa shell at 150°C (6.82%) compared to the unroasted cocoa shell (6.09%). The colour (L value) recorded significantly (p<0.05). the highest for unroasted cocoa shell (51.28) and the lowest at 150°C (47.93), DPPH radical scavenging activity of ethanolic extract of cocoa shell was significantly (p<0.05) higher in 0% ethanol concentration compared to other ethanol concentrations (20, 50, 80 and 100%). The roasted cocoa shell may be considered as a source of natural antioxidants for functional food development and intermediate food ingredient.
Food Research, 2019
Cocoa shell is underexploited and is considered as waste. However, roasting cocoa is a fundamenta... more Cocoa shell is underexploited and is considered as waste. However, roasting cocoa is a fundamental step in producing cocoa products. Composition of the cocoa shell depends on the origin whereas cocoa processing involves fermentation, drying and roasting. However, scarce research has been conducted to analyze the composition of Malaysian cocoa shells at different roasting temperatures. Therefore, this research aims to determine the effect of different roasting temperatures (110, 120, 130, 140 and 150°C) on the proximate composition, colour and antioxidant activity of cocoa shell. Changes in antioxidant activity and polyphenol content were recorded. Fiber and moisture content were significantly (p<0.05) higher in unroasted cocoa shell. However, the protein was found to decrease significantly (p<0.05) after roasting at 150°C (10.93%). Fat content was found higher in roasted cocoa shell at 150°C (6.82%) compared to the unroasted cocoa shell (6.09%). The colour (L value) recorded s...
Scientific Reports
The current COVID-19 pandemic outbreak poses a serious threat to public health, demonstrating the... more The current COVID-19 pandemic outbreak poses a serious threat to public health, demonstrating the critical need for the development of effective and reproducible detection tests. Since the RT-qPCR primers are highly specific and can only be designed based on the known sequence, mutation sensitivity is its limitation. Moreover, the mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome β-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) genome led to new highly transmissible variants such as Delta and Omicron variants. In the case of mutation, RT-qPCR primers cannot recognize and attach to the target sequence. This research presents an accurate dual-platform DNA biosensor based on the colorimetric assay of gold nanoparticles and the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique. It simultaneously targets four different regions of the viral genome for detection of SARS-CoV-2 and its new variants prior to any sequencing. Hence, in the case of mutation in one of the target sequences, the other three probes cou...
Molecules, 2021
Honey is prone to be adulterated through mixing with sugars, cheap and low-quality honey, and oth... more Honey is prone to be adulterated through mixing with sugars, cheap and low-quality honey, and other adulterants. Consumption of adulterated honey may cause several health issues such as weight gain, diabetes, and liver and kidney dysfunction. Therefore, studying the impact of consumption of adulterated honey on consumers is critical since there is a lack of study in this field. Hence, the aims of this paper were: (1) to determine the lethal concentration (LC50) of adulterated honey using zebrafish embryo, (2) to elucidate toxicology of selected adulterated honey based on lethal dose (LD50) using adult zebrafish, (3) to determine the effects of adulterated honey on histological changes of zebrafish, and (4) to screen the metabolites profile of adulterated honey by using zebrafish blood serum. The LC50 of Heterotrigona itama honey (acacia honey) and its sugar adulterants (light corn sugar, cane sugar, inverted sugar, and palm sugar in the proportion of 1–3% (w/w) from the total volume...
Foods
Honey is characterized as a natural and raw foodstuff that can be consumed not only as a sweetene... more Honey is characterized as a natural and raw foodstuff that can be consumed not only as a sweetener but also as medicine due to its therapeutic impact on human health. It is prone to adulterants caused by humans that manipulate the quality of honey. Although honey consumption has remarkably increased in the last few years all around the world, the safety of honey is not assessed and monitored regularly. Since the number of consumers of honey adulteration have increased in recent years, their trust and interest in this valuable product has decreased. Honey adulterants are any substances that are added to the pure honey. In this regard, this paper provides a comprehensive and critical review of the different types of adulteration, common sugar adulterants and detection methods, and draws a clear perspective toward the impact of honey adulteration on human health. Adulteration increases the consumer’s blood sugar, which can cause diabetes, abdominal weight gain, and obesity, raise the l...
Foods, 2020
Honey is characterized as a natural and raw foodstuff that can be consumed not only as a sweetene... more Honey is characterized as a natural and raw foodstuff that can be consumed not only as a sweetener but also as medicine due to its therapeutic impact on human health. It is prone to adulterants caused by humans that manipulate the quality of honey. Although honey consumption has remarkably increased in the last few years all around the world, the safety of honey is not assessed and monitored regularly. Since the number of consumers of honey adulteration have increased in recent years, their trust and interest in this valuable product has decreased. Honey adulterants are any substances that are added to the pure honey. In this regard, this paper provides a comprehensive and critical review of the different types of adulteration, common sugar adulterants and detection methods, and draws a clear perspective toward the impact of honey adulteration on human health. Adulteration increases the consumer's blood sugar, which can cause diabetes, abdominal weight gain, and obesity, raise the level of blood lipids and can cause high blood pressure. The most common organ affected by honey adulterants is the liver followed by the kidney, heart, and brain, as shown in several in vivo research designs.
articles by rafieh fakhlaei
Springer Nature, 2022
The current COVID-19 pandemic outbreak poses a serious threat to public health, demonstrating the... more The current COVID-19 pandemic outbreak poses a serious threat to public health, demonstrating the critical need for the development of effective and reproducible detection tests. Since the RT-qPCR primers are highly specific and can only be designed based on the known sequence, mutation sensitivity is its limitation. Moreover, the mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome β-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) genome led to new highly transmissible variants such as Delta and Omicron variants. In the case of mutation, RT-qPCR primers cannot recognize and attach to the target sequence. This research presents an accurate dual-platform DNA biosensor based on the colorimetric assay of gold nanoparticles and the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique. It simultaneously targets four different regions of the viral genome for detection of SARS-CoV-2 and its new variants prior to any sequencing. Hence, in the case of mutation in one of the target sequences, the other three probes could detect the SARS-CoV-2 genome. The method is based on visible biosensor color shift and a locally enhanced electromagnetic field and significantly amplified SERS signal due to the proximity of Sulfo-Cyanine 3 (Cy3) and AuNPs intensity peak at 1468 cm-1. The dual-platform DNA/GO/AuNP biosensor exhibits high sensitivity toward the viral genome with a LOD of 0.16 ng/µL. This is a safe point-of-care, naked-eye, equipment-free, and rapid (10 min) detection biosensor for diagnosing COVID-19 cases at home using a nasopharyngeal sample.
Molecules , 2021
Honey is prone to be adulterated through mixing with sugars, cheap and low-quality honey, and oth... more Honey is prone to be adulterated through mixing with sugars, cheap and low-quality honey, and other adulterants. Consumption of adulterated honey may cause several health issues such as weight gain, diabetes, and liver and kidney dysfunction. Therefore, studying the impact of consumption of adulterated honey on consumers is critical since there is a lack of study in this field. Hence, the aims of this paper were: (1) to determine the lethal concentration (LC50) of adulterated honey using zebrafish embryo, (2) to elucidate toxicology of selected adulterated honey based on lethal dose (LD50) using adult zebrafish, (3) to determine the effects of adulterated honey on histological changes of zebrafish, and (4) to screen the metabolites profile of adulterated honey by using zebrafish blood serum. The LC50 of Heterotrigona itama honey (acacia honey) and its sugar adulterants (light corn sugar, cane sugar, inverted sugar, and palm sugar in the proportion of 1–3% (w/w) from the total volume) was determined by the toxicological assessment of honey samples on zebrafish embryos (different exposure concentrations in 24, 48, 72, and 96 h postfertilization (hpf)). Pure H. itama honey represents the LC50 of 34.40 ± 1.84 (mg/mL) at 96 hpf, while the inverted sugar represents the lowest LC50 (5.03 ± 0.92 mg/mL) among sugar adulterants. The highest concentration (3%) of sugar adulterants were used to study the toxicology of adulterated honey using adult zebrafish in terms of acute, prolong-acute, and sub-acute tests. The results of the LD50 from the sub-acute toxicity test of pure H. itama honey was 2.33 ± 0.24 (mg/mL). The histological studies of internal organs showed a lesion in the liver, kidney, and spleen of adulterated treated-honey groups compared to the control group. Furthermore, the LC-MS/MS results revealed three endogenous metabolites in both the pure and adulterated honey treated groups, as follows: (1) S-Cysteinosuccinic acid, (2) 2,3-Diphosphoglyceric acid, and (3) Cysteinyl-Tyrosine. The results of this study demonstrated that adulterated honey caused mortality, which contributes to higher toxicity, and also suggested that the zebrafish toxicity test could be a standard method for assessing the potential toxicity of other hazardous food additives. The information gained from this research will permit an evaluation of the potential risk associated with the consumption of adulterated compared to pure honey.
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Papers by rafieh fakhlaei
articles by rafieh fakhlaei