Zulhamzan Hamzah

• University of Malaysia Kelantan

A multifunctional crop, garlic (Allium sativum L.) belongs to Amaryllidaceae family. It is of high medicinal, nutraceutical, and culinary importance. Its products, including essential oil, aged garlic extract, aged black garlic, and garlic powder, are a potential storehouse of organosulfur compounds, flavonoids, and saponins with diverse biological...

A preliminary survey on Araceae was conducted during the Wetlands Scientific Expedition in Tok Bali, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan from 5 th to 9 th May 2024. A total of four species of heat tolerance Araceae were noted during the survey, these are; Colocasia esculenta, Cryptocoryne sp., Lasia spinosa, and Pistia stratiotes. All of them are common species....

Wetlands and river riparian are very important ecosystems for life. They are home to many species of plants and animals, including aquatic life and humans. Degradation of this ecosystem will undoubtedly have a negative impact not only on the flora and fauna in the ecosystem but also on the people who depend on them. The present study is a prelimina...

A total of ten species from seven genera of Araceae were collected from the Mossy Forest, Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. Among these, eight species are common, while two species (Arisaema brinchangense and A. filiforme) are categorized as endangered. Several common genera that thrive in lowland areas such as Aglaonema Sc...

This study was conducted to identify the diversity and distribution of Family Rubiaceae in Gunung Stong State Park (GSSP), Kelantan. Rubiaceae family is one of the broad and important families of flowering plants in the botanical and has potential for human, medicinal uses and other functions. This species has been found in various places in Malays...

In Malaysia, specifically Kelantan, there is limited information on the variety of species and optimal production practices for edible Araceae. The study’s objectives are to examine the growth development and survival rates of domesticated edible Araceae species, specifically Cocoyam ( Xanthosoma sagittifolium), cultivated in Kelantan, Malaysia. Tw...

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent, incurable, and chronic neurodegenerative condition characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β protein (Aβ), disrupting various bodily systems. Despite the lack of a cure, phenolic compounds like cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of cannabis, have emerged as potential therapeutic...

Rafflesia is a flagship for ecotourism. The presence of this flower in the area has aided in the growth of the neighbourhood. This flower, however, is extremely delicate and must be well maintained. Nonetheless, there is a scarcity of information about the factors that lead to Rafflesia mortality. The 19 months of field-monitoring was conducted at...

Arisaema filiforme and A. brichangense are a perennial herbaceous plant (family Araceae) found distributed in mossy forest, Cameron Highlands, with the elevation of 1,900 meters above sea level (a.s.l). The unique inflorescence formation resembling cobra has given this plant the name Cobra lilies, and suitable to be planted as ornamental plant. In...

Arisaema filiforme and A. brichangense are a perennial herbaceous plant (family Araceae) found distributed in mossy forest, Cameron Highlands, with the elevation of 1,900 meters above sea level (a.s.l). The unique inflorescence formation resembling cobra has given this plant the name Cobra lilies, and suitable to be planted as ornamental plant. In...

A total of 92 individual trees with DBH of 5 cm and above comprising 21 families, 28 genera and 35 species were measured, identified and recorded. This study aimed to enumerate the tree species composition and estimate the diversity index of trees with DBH of 5 cm and above at Pulau Banding, Perak. An ecological plot size of 70 m x 70 m or 0.49 ha...

The distribution and diversity of the Rubiaceae species were investigated along one trail at Pulau Banding, Gerik, Perak. This study aims to identify and estimate the diversity of the Rubiaceae species. The diversity and distribution of the Rubiaceae species were calculated using Shannon-Wiener’s Diversity Index, Simpson's Diversity Index and relat...

Kelantan is renowned for its heritage and is named the cradle of the Malay culture in Malaysia. Due to its geography near Southern Thailand and Indochina, it shares many similarities in terms of social culture, including foods with people of the said places. Eating etak as a snack is common amongst Kelantanese, but not many Malaysians have known or...

Hyperuricemia has become a significant public-health concern in recent years, and the available treatments have been reported to have an adverse side effect on patients. Alocasia longiloba has been used traditionally in Malaysia for treating gout, inflammation, and wounds. However, the plant has not been investigated for its effects on hyperuricemi...

Alocasia longiloba Miq., or ‘keladi candik’ is traditionally used for wound healing in Malaysia. Preliminary studies have been performed to determine the dose range of A. longiloba for potential wound healing. Therefore, this study continues to determinethe phytochemical screening of fractions and their ability in accelerating wound healing. Ethano...

Every year, high school students response to choosing a science stream has indicated a declining pattern. It may be due to the lack of technical application of science that students cannot foresee, thus preventing them from having a clear vision of how science and technology could greatly help daily human life. The study aims to assess the knowledg...

Rafflesia kerrii is an endemic species to Peninsular Malaysia and Southern part of Thailand. The genus grows without the vegetative components such as, leaves, stems and true roots, where the only visible structure is the flower itself. It is easy to identify R. kerrii by its large dull red flowers, perigones covered by numerous small white pinkish...

Medicinal plants and their secondary metabolites have been reported to have antimicrobial activities against several microorganism. Despite A. longiloba ethnomedicinal benefits, its antimicrobial activity is not yet reported. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the phytochemical and antimicrobial activity of ethanolic fruit and petiole extracts...

Rafflesia R.Br. (Rafflesiaceae), is one of the most outstanding parasitic flowering plant genera. The genus can only be found in Southeast Asia: in Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia. To date, Malaysia has recorded 13 species, of which eight are reported from Peninsular Malaysia: R. cantleyi, R. azlanii, R. kerri, R. su-meiae...

Hyperuricemia is defined as a metabolic abnormality that occurs when serum uric acid (UA) level is abnormally high in the body. We previously reported that A. longiloba possesses various important phytochemicals and in vitro xanthine oxidase activity. Despite A. longiloba ethnomedicinal benefits, its toxicity and anti-hyperuricemic effects have not...

Sustaining heritage foods is fraught with obstacles due to the changing of consumers’ demographic landscape and modernization which have changed living styles across the globe and Malaysia is not spared from this onslaught. On the other side of the coin, as for some providers and vendors of heritage foods, they are grappling and facing inescapable...

Kelantan state has rich natural landscapes and interesting geological features, which has excellent potential to be developed. Ulu Sat Forest Reserve is one of the important forest reserves that available in Kelantan. It functions as a water catchment area make it very significant to the local community nearby. The study's aim is to explore the sig...

The study was conducted in Gua Musang, Kelantan, namely; Kuala Koh N 04° 52’ 02.2”/ E 102° 26’ 33.3” (represents pyroclastics area) and Tanah Puteh N 04° 46’ 11.9”/ E 101° 58’ 35.5” (represents limestone area). A square plot (100 x 100 m) was set-up in both locations for sampling of Araceae. The result shows diversity of Araceae in limestone (28 sp...

Rafflesia kerri Meijer belongs to genus Rafflesia, recognized as the biggest flower in the world. This species found distributed in tropical rainforest of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. The flower believed to have medicinal values and used as traditional herbs by aborigine ethnic group and locals. Herein, this study was conducted to evaluate the...

The inappropriate usage of antibiotic is one of the factors of the emergence of the antibiotic resistance bacteria that limit the effectiveness of the current antibiotic and lead to the treatment failure. The combination of plant extract with antibiotic approach may lead to the new ways in the treatment of the infectious diseases and this combinati...

Coastal forest plays a vital role in our ecosystem because of its numerous and varied human use. In Malaysia especially Kelantan, there is a lot of coastal forests that are not recognised or has been introduced as the forest that consists of much biological diversity that can be important and useful for the development and management of the forest....

The forest ecosystem offers plenty of benefits and provisions for the environment and human wellbeing. One of the forest ecosystem’s potential advantages is that it serves as a recreational forest area for tourists. However, most tourist destination faces minimal or raising public support for natural attraction maintenance and management. Hence, ma...

The changing environments are giving a rise to free radical, causing development of degenerative disease. A search for natural antioxidant is required as the synthetic antioxidant reported has carcinogenic effects on living organisms. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of Alocasia fa...

Araceae is recognized as keladi hutan or ubi keladi to the local community in Malaysia. The aim of this study is to provide an update checklist and description on ecology of Araceae in Lojing Highlands, Gua Musang, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. The survey was applied the random sampling technique. The result shows that a total of 25 species from 1...

Rafflesia is the most magnificent and largest flower in the world. In Southeast Asia, the species becoming endangered due to anthropogenic activities such as logging, conversion of forest into large-scale agricultural areas, urbanization and unsustainable ecotourism. This paper has specifically highlighted the efforts that have been taken by the Ke...

A study was conducted to determine aboveground biomass in a mixed mangrove forest in Setiu Wetland, Terengganu, Malaysia. A total of 22 plots were established, diameter breast height (DBH) and height of each of the trees were measured and recorded. A total of three species from Rhizophoraceae and eight species from the non-Rhizophoraceae family wer...

Many entrepreneurs are very interested to start Edible Bird Nest (EBN) production. However, many of them lack knowledge in suitable habitat and environmental conditions for EBN swiftlets. They suffered losses because they are not concerned about providing the management of the suitable habitat and environmental conditions before building their EBN...

Many entrepreneurs are very interested to start Edible Bird Nest (EBN) production. However, many of them lack knowledge in pest distrubance in swiftlet house. They suffered losses because they are not concerned about pest disturbance in swiftlet house. This study aimed to identify pest in swiftlet house and to establish pest distrubance in swiftlet...

Vending machines have been developed since 1880s and has been continued to be customized to suit the taste and needs of consumers. Vending machines serves automatically, with a specific currency. Vending machines has become a multipurpose machine that not only able to serve food and snacks, but also serve ready to go meal and some are also equipped...

This research examines the business profiling of Asian clam (etok) sellers in Kelantan, which has been considered as the food heritage of the state. The study was conducted in order to understand a deep insight into business activities as an initial stage for further investigation to develop a sustainable etok business model. These include etok bra...

Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott is an edible aroid from the family of Araceae. It is a tuber crop which is known for its variety of cooking preparation. This study aimed to evaluate the Total Phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activities by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH) scavenging assay. Methanol fraction showed the highes...

Araceae or aroid is familiarly known as keladi to the locals. The purpose of this study is to assess the diversity and ecology of Araceae in the Water Catchment Area of Ulu Sat, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. The random sampling method was applied. A total of 26 species from 13 genera of Araceae were recorded from the water catchment area of Ulu Sa...

Agriculture sector remains as one of the important sectors that contribute to Malaysia’s economy. The usage of Kitosanplus could represent an innovative eco-friendly strategy for managing plant diseased and replacing copper as it is consisting with an active molecule which could provide variety of application towards agriculture sector. The Kitosan...

Corbicula fluminea is one of the freshwater bivalves, which is small in size and lives in the river or at the bottom of the lake all over Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak. Corbicula fluminea comes in different outer shell colour for different sites. The differences in outer shell colour are believed to be due to substrates composition, and land...

Alocasia longiloba Miq belongs to Araceae family, believed to have the medicinal potential. However, the scientific evidences on this plant were limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity of the different extracts (methanol, ethyl acetate and hexane) of A. longiloba leaf blades. The TP...

Studies on the statistical approach to analyzing growth factors of bud’s growth in the genus Rafflesia have been lacking. This study quantified the effects of eight selected ecological factors hypothesized to be influencing bud’s growth (diameter and circumference) of Rafflesia kerrii Meijer. A non-experimental cross-sectional data collection was c...

A total of seven variations of edible Araceae species were identically consumed by locals in the Districts of Kota Bharu and Machang, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. These species are Keladi Pinang, Keladi Batang Putih, Keladi Tapak Badak, Keladi Birah, Keladi Batang Hitam, Keladi Candek and Keladi Tetawi. However, through a taxonomic identification...

Natural hot springs are a common occurrence in Malaysia. These natural hot springs occur when water seeps into the earth and is heated by magma and pressure causes the water to rise again as a heated pool or hot springs. Some locals believe that these natural hot springs have curative effects and can cure skin ailments such as rashes, pimples and f...

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has major threats to global health, especially in urban regions around the world. Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur of Bangladesh are positioned as top ranking polluted metropolitan cities in the world. This study assessed the performance of the application of hybrid models, that is, Autoregressive Integrated Moving...

Rafflesia kerri Meijer (Rafflesiaceae) is a parasitic gigantic flowering plant. Like other Rafflesia species, this species possesses highly reduced vegetative growth and only appears as a male and female flowers for sexual reproduction. Current investigation aimed to identify the potential pollinators of R. kerri that occur at Lojing Highlands, Kel...

Traditional knowledge is very synonymous with communities and tribes around the world, especially indigenous peoples or in Malaysia known as Orang Asli. This knowledge is borne out of the constraints faced by society in daily life and often passed down from generation to generation. All aspects of life in the community such as traditional medicines...

The widely used synthetic insecticide in the operation of mosquito control could result in unfavourable impacts to the environment, human health and non-target organism. Considering these issues, environmentally friendly insecticides from plant extract have been used as green alternatives by recent researchers. Unfortunately, the method of using pl...

Indigenous people are known for their lives blended with the environment. The resource for their survival was procured from their surrounding nature, including the traditional vegetables. Not much is known about the traditional vegetables species that they consumed and the ones they don’t. A simple survey was conducted among the Jahai aboriginal co...

Four different tests showed the effectiveness of Azolla pinnata plant extracts against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. In the adulticidal test, there was a significant increase in mortality as test concentration increases and A. pinnata extracts showed LC50 and LC95 values of 2572.45 and 6100.74 ppm, respectively, against Ae. aegypti...

The contamination of water by heavy metals is a worldwide environmental problem. Phytoremediation and constructed wetlands have become increasingly popular as more sustainable and environmentally friendly techniques of removing heavy metals from the wastewater. This study, therefore, investigated the phytoremediation of nickel by Alocasia puber (A....

Rafflesia kerri Meijer is a gigantic parasitic flowering species, endemic in Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand. The flower reported to emit a foul smell, mimicking rotten meat to attract pollinators from the Calliphoridae to visit the male and female flower. Beside the olfactory factor, the visual display with red brownish tinge colour and the enorm...

In this study, an efficient micropropagation protocol was developed for A. longiloba and the antioxidant properties of field-grown plant, in vitro-derived greenhouse-grown plant and in vitro-derived callus extracts were compared. The A. longiloba seeds tested using tetrazolium chloride salt exhibited 89% viability. Due to poor germination capacity...

Alocasia longiloba, locally known as ‘Keladi Candik’, has been used traditionally to treat wounds, furuncle and joint inflammations. A. longiloba can be a new source of herbal medicine against hyperuricemia by inhibiting the activity of xanthine oxidase enzyme, the enzyme which is responsible for the development of hyperuricemia in human. Existing...

Water pollution by toxic heavy metals is a global environmental problem. It has led to the development of alternative technologies for heavy metals removal from contaminated sites. Constructed wetland microcosm by using Alocasia puber is a possible treatment method for wastewater containing heavy metals. Synthetic wastewater with heavy metals Cd, C...

Objective: To investigate the wound-healing effect of Alocasia longiloba (A. longiloba) petiole extract on wounds in rats. Methods: Twenty-two male Sprague-dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive 10% solcoseryl gel, phosphate buffer saline, 50% ethanol, 95% ethanol and hexane extracts of A. longiloba at 1.5%, 3% and 6% doses, respectively. A...

A total of 14 species from 8 genera of Araceae was recorded from Pulau Pangkor. This represents about 10% out of an estimated 140 species and 28.6% of the 28 genera of Araceae reported for Peninsular Malaysia. This includes a species recently found in Peninsular Malaysia, Aglaonema pumilum Hook.f. The most noticeable species is Aglaonema nitidum (J...

Limited success for Aedes control program has impelled the necessities for new insecticide search. Hence, alternative plant compounds may be competent to overcome the pesticide resistance problem and to lead a chemical-free environment. Following go-green conceptions, larvicidal effects of the Azolla pinnata extracts using methanol and acetone solv...

Rafflesia, the biggest flowers in the world are considered as majestic and are made as ecotourism icons for several places in the South East Asia. Currently, a total of 34 species of Rafflesia were recorded in this region. 7 species of Rafflesia are found in Peninsular Malaysia alone. This study was executed in Royal Belum State Park in the state o...

Tourism is one of the important sectors in giving a good economic impact for the State ofKelantan. Gunung Stong State Park (GSSP) is one of them due to the presence of second highestwaterfall in Southeast Asia, Jelawang Waterfall. This study is to identify the benefits received bylocal communities and to determine the role of GSSP in providing inco...

Alocasia farisii Zulhazman, Norzielawati & P. C. Boyce is described and illustrated from Karst limestone in Kelantan as the first recorded Peninsular Malaysian species of the hitherto wholly Bornean Alocasia princeps complex, within which A. farisii most closely resembles the southwest Sarawak limestone-obligated Alocasia reversa N. E. Br.

In Sabah, Malaysia, illegal hunting has increased in recent years putting considerable pressure on large mammal populations. The causes for this phenomenon lie in increasing rural poverty, ineffective policies to regulate hunting, as well as a ready market for many wildlife products in the Chinese medicine markets. This paper examines how Community...

Port Dickson in Malaysia is a sea-side township of mixed activities within the area, comprising of a coal-fired power plant, a petroleum refinery, a gas-fuelled power plant, and tourism with the visit of many road vehicles, especially during weekends and public holidays. The impact of emission from these activities to the environment has becomes a...

Tetrastigma hookeri (Laws.) Planch. is reported as a new host for Rafflesia kerri Meijer in Peninsular Malaysia contrary to various earlier assumptions. An updated description on morphological characteristics, ecology and anatomy are provided.

Level of mercury (Hg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) in marine ecosystem has been intensively studied as these toxic substances could be accumulated in the marine biota. This study is focusing on the Hg and MeHg content in marine biota in Manjung coastal area. This area has high potential being affected by rapid socio-economic development of Manjung are...

Rapid industrial developments along the Langat river basin play an important role in contributing to the increases of pollution loading at Kuala Langat coastal area. The major pollutant sources in this area may be originating from human activities such as industrial discharge, domestic sewage, construction, agriculture and pig farming near the trib...

The abandoned mining area is known to contain high concentration of heavy metals and radionuclides that can be harmful to human and the ecosystem itself. Mussel families are commonly used as bio monitoring tools to monitor the environmental pollution. Therefore, Ligumia recta (Black Sandshell), locally known as ‘kijing’ was used to act as biologica...

This study is to determine naturally occurring radionuclide activity concentrations of 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K in sediment core using gamma-ray spectrometry with a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. Sediment core was taken from 14 locations in two areas in Kuala Selangor which are Pantai Remis and Pantai Jeram. Samples were taken during Northeast...

The aim of this study is to provide information on the concentration of metals in cockles (Anadara granosa) from Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Cockles in this study area were taken by local people as part of their diet, therefore necessary to determine metal concentrations in the cockles. Sample collection activity was conducted at Kuala Selangor (03°2...

Rhaphidophora corneri P.C.Boyce, a highly distinctive but hitherto poorly known species described from fragmentary material collected by E.J.H. Corner late in 1935 from Kemaman (Terengganu state in Peninsular Malaysia) has recently been refound in neighbouring Kelantan. A much-expanded species description is provided, along with new information per...

Homalomena stongensis is described from Gunung Stong, Kelantan, where it is very locally endemic to steep forested slopes. An updated key to Peninsular Malaysian species of Homalomena Supergroup Homalomena is provided, and the new species is illustrated.

The granitic region is known to have high natural radionuclides content. The natural background of the area will be elevated and the exposure rate also will be higher as compared to other region. The present study is focusing on the presence of natural uranium isotopes using its progenies in soils belong to the river basin of the granitic region of...

Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is not only being used to measure pure beta emitters, but it can be used to measure both alpha and beta emitters simultaneously. Measurement of alpha and beta emitters in aqueous solution is done using a single sample. For the sample preparation, colorless detergent or emulsifier was used to incorporate the water...

Homalomena kualakohensis is described as a new species from Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. An updated key to Peninsular Malaysian species of Homalomena Cyrtocladon group is provided, and the new species is illustrated.

A total of 32 species from 11 genera of aroids were collected from Kuala Koh, Gua Musang, Kelantan. This represents about 23% out of an estimated 140 species and 39% of the 28 genera of aroids reported for Peninsular Malaysia. These include 24 species that are new records for Kelantan, including the recently described Homalomena kualakohensis Zulha...

Employing the boat-based survey method, we surveyed the population of proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) throughout the Klias Peninsula on the western part of Sabah, Malaysia. Our results show that at least 65 groups with a total of 569 individuals of N. larvatus were present. Population density was estimated to be 0.5 groups/km2 or 4.4 individual...