Journal of Science and Technology, Ubon Ratchathani University

Utilization of Resistant Starch in Food Industry

2024-10-30T09:49:26+07:00

This review article presents basic information on resistant starch and its applications in the food industry. Resistant starch (RS) refers the starch portion that is resistant to enzymatic digestion in the human upper gastrointestinal tract and passes into the large intestine. Currently, there are five types of RS, based on their physical structures and mechanisms of resistance to enzyme hydrolysis. In addition, new definition of RS types has also been reported based on their effects on the gut microbiota. RS has several benefits, such as acting as prebiotics, which have biological effects beneficial to human health, helping to reduce blood sugar levels, helping to control weight and prevent obesity, and aiding in the absorption of certain minerals. However, each RS type has its own characteristics and physiological impacts on organisms. For the food industry, RS is a functional food ingredient that is more suitable to supplement or replace starch in food products than general dietary fiber. Moreover, RS can be used for encapsulating bioactive compounds and health beneficial microorganisms to enhance their stability and to aid their delivery through the digestive system in the body.

Factors Associated with Quality of Life among Employees in Oil and Gas Industrial Factories in Chonburi Province

2024-09-10T09:40:51+07:00

This cross-sectional analytical study aimed to study association of factors including individual factors, physical and mental health factors, work factors and work environment factors with quality of life among employees working in oil and gas industrial factories in Chonburi province. The study was conducted among 955 respondents. The research tools used in this study were as follows. Questionnaires for collecting personal information, health condition information, job information and work environment information. The subjective perceptions of workload and stress were analyzed by Subjective workload index. The musculoskeletal disorders were assessed by using Standard Nordic Questionnaire. Quality of life was assessed according to World Health Organization quality of life indicators. Depression assessment and stress assessment were performed using assessment forms of the Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. The association of the factors with the quality of life was analyzed by the Generalized linear mixed model. The research results revealed that the factors significantly associated with the quality of life (P<0.05) were stress level (adjusted OR = 1.73, 95%CI = 1.09-2.73), workload perception (adjusted OR = 1.70, 95%CI = 1.18-2.44), depression level (adjusted OR = 6.83, 95%CI = 2.01-23.21) and work experience (adjusted OR = 1.49, 95%CI = 1.04-2.15). The information obtained from this research is useful for organizations to manage factors influencing quality of life to improve the quality of life of employees.

Total Phenolic Content, Total Flavonoid Content, Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Extracts of Herbs in Trisarn Recipe

2024-09-17T15:06:00+07:00

Trisarn recipe is an herbal recipe consisting of 3 herbs including Plumbago indica L. root, Piper sarmentosum Roxb. root and Piper ribesioides Wall. Stem. It is commonly used as an adaptogen in the winter season. This research aimed to examine total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of extracts of herbs in Trisarn recipe. Trisarn recipe extract and extracts of individual herbal component of Trisarn recipe were prepared by using 95% ethanol as a solvent. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was examined using DPPH assay, ABTS assay and FRAP assay. Total phenolic content and total flavonoid content of the extracts were analyzed by Folin-Ciocalteu method and aluminium chloride colorimetric assay, respectively. Anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts was conducted by assessing the ability of the extracts to inhibit the release of nitric oxide of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. The results revealed that P. indica root extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. It IC₅₀values from DPPH assay and ABTS assay were 24.02 ± 1.72 µg/mL and 50.58 ± 5.59 µg/mL, respectively and its FRAP value was 568.43 ± 21.62 mM FeSO₄ equivalent/g extract. Furthermore, it was found that P. indica root extract had the highest total phenolic content and total flavonoid content of 586.72 ± 17.14 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract and 109.35 ± 4.54 mg quercetin equivalent/g extract, respectively. For anti-inflammatory activity examination, it was found that P. indica root extract exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect on the release of nitric acid with the IC₅₀ value of 35.78 ± 1.58 µg/mL. This study demonstrates that P. indica root extract is a promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that may be of potential use.

Effects of Heat on the Physicochemical Quality, Bioactive Compound Content and Antioxidant Activity of Wolffia (Wolffia globosa) and Application in Snack Product

2024-09-11T14:49:16+07:00

This study investigated the effects of drying temperature on the physicochemical quality, bioactive compound content and antioxidant activity of Wolffia (Wolffia globose). The results revealed that drying at 40, 50 and 60°C did not significantly affect the approximate chemical composition of Wolffia (p>0.05). The protein, fat, fiber, ash and carbohydrate contents of Wolffia were found to be 20.35-20.36%, 2.85-2.93%, 9.79-9.84%, 13.45-13.69% and 30.97-31.40%, respectively. However, the drying temperature significantly affected bioactive compound contents (p≤0.05). Wolffia dried at 40°C had the highest bioactive compound content, with total chlorophyll content of 3.35 mg/g dry weight, flavonoid content of 19.084 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry weight and phenolic content of 20.62 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight. Additionally, the antioxidant activity, measured by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays, was 15.69, 0.51 and 6.51 mg trolox equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. For physical quality, it was observed that Wolffia dried at different temperatures tended to exhibit a decrease in brightness (L*) value as the temperature increased. At 50 and 60°C, the brightness (L*) and yellowness (b*) values were not statistically different. Subsequently, a snack product was developed from jasmine rice supplemented with Wolffia dried at 40°C. The dried Wolffia was added to the snack product at 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%. From chemical quality analysis, it was found that snack product’s protein, ash and fiber contents increased depending on the amount of supplemented Wolffia.

A Survey of Airborne Fungi and Bacteria in Microbiology Laboratories, Faculty of Science, Ubon Ratchathani University

2024-10-17T15:02:18+07:00

This research was a survey study with the objective to survey the types of airborne fungi and bacteria in 5 microbiology laboratories, Faculty of Science, Ubon Ratchathani University, and compare the concentrations of microorganisms before and after classes. The concentrations of fungi and bacteria were measured using a Single Stage Impactor following the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods 0800: Bioaerosols Sampling. The identification of fungi and bacteria was performed by analyzing the nucleotide sequences of fungal ITS regions and bacterial 16S rDNA regions, respectively. The results revealed that airborne microbial concentrations of all laboratories did not exceed the monitoring value according to the Notification of the Department of Health regarding Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Standards in Public Building B.E. 2565. The results of the survey and identification of airborne fungi and bacteria in all microbiology laboratories demonstrated that the most predominant fungi were those of the genus Cladosporium, including Cladosporium tenuissimum, Cladosporium sp. and Cladosporium colombiae, as well as Aspergillus sp. and Trichoderma sp. while the most predominant bacteria were Bacillus megaterium, Paenibacillus illinoisensis and Curtobacterium luteum.

Isolation and Analysis of Mitragynine in Kratom Leaves by Chromatography Techniques

2024-10-21T14:34:13+07:00

Mitragynine is the principal active alkaloid in Kratom leaves. In the past, kratom leaves were widely used by Thai people, folk healers and traditional Thai doctors. Later, kratom was classified as a narcotic, causing its development and use to be stagnant. However, kratom has been removed from the list of controlled narcotics under the Narcotics Act in 2021, allowing it to be used more widely. At present, in the process of quality control of kratom leaves and kratom leaf products to meet international standards, it is necessary to use mitragynine as a standard substance, which is expensive and still has to be imported. Therefore, this research aimed to develop an isolation procedure of mitragynine from kratom leaves to replace the import of mitragynine. The extract of kratom leaves was prepared by extracting finely ground kratom leaves with 40% ethanol. The extract was subjected for mitragynine isolation by column chromatography using silica gel (grade 9385) as a stationary phase and chloroform and methanol (with 0.1 N sodium hydroxide) at the ratio of 95:5 as a mobile phase. The collecting fractions from column chromatography were examined for the presence of mitragynine by thin layer chromatography. The fractions containing mitragynine as the major component were combined and mitragynine was further purified by turning it into mitragynine picrate. By using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) technique, the isolated mitragynine had R_f value that matched with that of the standard mitragynine. In addition, the characterization of mitragynine picrate was also performed by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FITR) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry which provided the physical identity data of mitragynine picrate that have never been reported.

Development of Herbal Foot Soak Product from Pummelo Peels, a Waste Material in Wang Khanai Community

2024-10-28T13:33:25+07:00

Wang Khanai community, Tha Muang district, Kanchanaburi province has a hot spring for foot spa and a large amount of pummelo (Citrus maxima) peels as an agricultural waste material. Therefore, this research, which is a laboratory study, focuses on developing an herbal foot soak formula from “Khaw Yai” pummelo peels. The pummelo peels, mature phlai (Zingiber cassumunar), asiatic pennywort (Centella asiatica Urban) leaves and tamarind (Tamarindus indica) leaves were dried and ground thoroughly. The moisture content of these ingredients was 4.68%, 6.32%, 4.13% and 4.02%, respectively. Subsequently, the appropriate amount of each herb per 1 package unit (14 grams) were examined based on the overall satisfaction score. The formula with the highest overall satisfaction score consisted of dried pummelo peels, dried phlai, dried asiatic pennywort leaves, dried tamarind leaves, alum and flower of salt, weighing 4.5, 3, 1.5, 3, 1 and 1 grams, respectively. They were mixed together and packed in a tea filter bag (the inner packaging) and a zip bag (the outer packaging), respectively. The production cost was 9.64 bath/package. From the shelf-life testing by storing the herbal foot soak product at room temperature (28-30^oC) for a month, it was found that the quality of the product passed the criteria of Community Product Standard No. 666/2010 including intact packaging, normal smell and color, still in powder form, no fungal hyphae found, moisture content of 7.14%, total plate count of 1.92 cfu/100 g, and yeast and mold count of 2.23 cfu/100 g. This product can reduce the amount of fresh pummelo peel waste material by up to 1,108.37 grams per 100 packages produced.

Influence of Temperature and Time on Bacterial Disinfection of Egg Trays for Cricket Rearing Using Ultraviolet Radiation and Hot Air

2024-12-20T09:26:17+07:00

This research aimed to study the influence of temperature and time on bacterial disinfection of egg trays for cricket rearing using ultraviolet (UV) radiation and hot air. The egg trays were subjected to bacterial disinfection at 3 different temperatures including 40, 50 and 60°C for 12 different times including 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 min. From the experiments, it was found that when the temperature and time used for disinfection of egg trays increased, the capacity of the UV/hot air disinfection chamber tended to decrease, while the electric power consumption of the UV/hot air disinfection chamber tended to increase. The optimum temperature and time for disinfecting bacteria on egg trays is 60°C and 5 min, respectively. By using the above-mentioned temperature and time, the UV/hot air chamber could kill Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria contaminating the egg trays with the capacity with the capacity of 100 trays/h and the electric power consumption of 0.45 kwh.

The Improved Estimator of Population Mean with Ranks under Double Sampling

2025-02-14T13:26:59+07:00

This research presents the development of a population mean estimator using the ranked auxiliary variables under double sampling. Some properties of the proposed estimator were studied, including bias (B) and mean square error (MSE). The efficiency of the proposed estimator was also compared with the standard estimator, namely the mean method and the ratio method. For the empirical analysis, the data of small dust particles in Bangkok in January 2019 were used, with 10,000 replicate samplings. It was found that the proposed estimator was more efficient than the standard estimator with the lowest MSE values in all studied scenarios which tended to decrease as the sample size increased. Therefore, it can be concluded that using the ranked auxiliary variables can reduce the MSE value, resulting in a more accurate estimator.

Utilization of Fly Ash-Based Zeolite A as an Efficient Adsorbent for the Removal of Cationic Dyes from Aqueous Solutions

2025-02-25T11:37:42+07:00

In this study, zeolite A was synthesized using silica extracted from fly ash obtained from the Mae Moh power plant in Lampang Province. The synthesized zeolite A was characterized using XRF, XRD, SEM, and BET techniques. The zeolite A was then utilized as an adsorbent for the removal of cationic dyes, namely malachite green and brilliant green, from aqueous solutions. The optimal adsorbent dosage and contact time for dye adsorption were investigated. The adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics were also investigated. The results indicated that the optimal dosages of the adsorbent for malachite green and brilliant green removal were 10 g/L and 20 g/L, respectively, with an optimal contact time of 60 minutes. The adsorption efficiencies were 96.00% and 95.91% at an initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L, respectively. The obtained adsorption isotherms corresponded to the Langmuir isotherm model. The kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, suggesting monolayer adsorption on specific surface sites. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the enthalpy change (∆H°) was positive, indicating an endothermic adsorption process. The entropy change (∆S°) was positive, implying that the adsorption process increased the disorder of both the adsorbent and adsorbate molecules at the adsorbent surface interface. The Gibbs free energy change (∆G°) was negative, confirming that the adsorption process occurred spontaneously. Zeolite A exhibited high reusability, maintaining effective adsorption performance for up to 8 cycles. These findings demonstrate that this fly ash based-zeolite A is a highly efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly adsorbent for removing malachite green and brilliant green from aqueous solutions.