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Seaweed contains various nutrients that has the potential to be a source of nutritious food, but only a few studies done on the red seaweeds in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the macronutrients content, amino acid profile and fatty acid component in Kappaphycus alvarezii and Kappaphycus striatum. The study found that the range of moisture, fat, ash, protein, fiber and carbohydrates content for both red seaweeds were 6.9% - 7.3%, 0.5% - 2.6%, 29.4% - 30.9%, 2.5% - 5.7% , 5.3% - 5.5% and 50.1% - 53.3% respectively. A total of 16 amino acids were identified in which the essential amino acid for K. alvarezii and K. striatum were 41.11% and 36.15% respectively. A total of 34 fatty acids were identified in which the content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) was the highest (42.7% - 72.8%), followed by mono-unsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) (13.8% - 36.2%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was the lowest (13.5% - 21.2%). In conclusion, this study suggest that K. alvarezii and K. striatum are potentially be used as raw materials or food ingredients to improve the nutritional value of the human diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:Shellfish is likely to be contaminated with heavy metals brought about by various environmental factors such as climate change, bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants and imbalanced natural ecosystem. Methods: Shellfish were selected for heavy metal detection as they are mainly consumed by the locals in Kudat. Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, and Plumbum (As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb) content in clam (Meretrix spp.), scallop (Amusium pleuronectes) and conch (Strombus canabrium) were determined by the US EPA 200.3 acid digestion method and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICP-MS). Risk assessment was calculated to assess the total exposure of heavy metals among the population of Kudat. Results: Among all the heavy metals, studied, As was found to have the highest concentration and this was found in scallop with the concentration level being 18.93±5.30 µg/g compared to clam and conch. Estimated daily intake of the heavy metals by the population ranged from 0.60-6.82 g/day/ kg for As, 0.02-1.58µg/day/kg for Cd, 0.37-0.94µg/day/kg for Cr, 0.16-0.61 g/day/ kg for Ni and 0.10-0.25µg/day/kg for Pb based on previous calculation to exposure. The hazard quotient of As and Cd in scallop was greater than 1.0. No acceptable exposure level for these shellfish has been previously reported. The rate of consumption of these metals did not exceed the standards prescribed in the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985. Conclusion: Based on this study, it is concluded that the exposure to heavy metals risk from the consumption of these shellfish among the population in Kudat, Sabah is at an acceptable level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organotin complexes are recognized as the biologically active compounds in inducing cancerous cells death at very low doses. To date, organotin compounds currently appear among the most potent candidates in research related to the new anticancer drugs. In this study, new organotin(IV) N-butyl-N-phenyldithiocarbamate compounds have been successfully synthesized between the reaction of N-butylaniline amine with organotin(IV) chloride in 1:2/1:1 molar ratio. All compounds were characterized using the elemental analysis, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy. The single crystal structure was determined by X-ray single crystal analysis. The elemental analysis showed good agreement with the suggested formula (C4H9)2Sn[S2CN(C4H9)(C6H5)]2 (Compound 1 and 2), (C6H5)2Sn[S2CN(C4H9)(C6H5)]2 (Compound 3) and (C6H5)3Sn[S2CN(C4H9)(C6H5)] (Compound 4). The important infrared absorbance peaks, v (C = N) and v(C = S) were detected in range between 1457-1489 cm(-1) and 951-996 cm(-1), respectively. The chemical shift of carbon in NCS2 group obtained from 13C NMR was found in range 198.86-203.53 ppm. The crystal structure of compound 4 showed that the dithiocarbamate ligand coordinates in a monodentate fashion. It crystallized in monoclinic P2(1)/n space group with the crystal cell parameter: a = 10.0488(1) angstroms, b = 18.0008(2) angstroms, c = 15.2054(2) angstroms, beta = 102.442(1) degrees and R = 0.044. The cytotoxicity (IC50) of these compounds against Jurkat E6.1 and K-562 leukemia cells were in the range between 0.4-0.8 and 1.8-5.3 microM, respectively as assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazholium bromide (MTT) assay. In conclusion, our study demonstrate that all compounds showed potent cytotoxicity towards both cell lines tested with the triphenyltin(IV) compound displayed the greatest effect.