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Charl Tsen Koh, Fai-Chu Wong, Tsun-Thai Chai

Abstract

Protein hydrolysate (PH) is a material that contains numerous amino acids which serve as liquid fertilizer for vegetative crops. Growing with sustainability has become a main aspect of agriculture. Therefore, the unused fish viscera were attempted for PH preparation to grow the crops. Fish PH has been shown to improve the growth of plants like broccoli, spinach and lettuce. However, there is no extensive investigation on the amount of PH utilized on plants to achieve the optimal effect. In this study, Brassica rapa subsp. Chinensis (Bok Choy) were treated in five different groups (n=5) with viscera of Clarias batrachus (Keli Fish) PH concentration from 0 to 8000 ppm to find the optimal concentration for Bok Choy’s growth. The weight, length, total chlorophyll content (TCC), phytochemical contents (total phenolic and flavonoid content), and antioxidative potential were measured to study the effect of PH. The heavy metal contents (Pb and Cd) were determined to comply with food safety. Results showed that Bok Choy with 6000 ppm PH treatment had the highest weight, length, TCC, phytochemicals and antioxidative potential. In addition, all treatment groups showed a dose-dependent relationship. However, the trend started to decline at 8000 ppm treatment. In conclusion, this study found that treatment of PH made from Keli fish viscera significantly enhances the growth of Bok Choy, where the optimum growth was observed with 6000 ppm PH.

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