Eutrophication is an inevitable phenomenon, and it has recently become an unabated threat. As a positive, the thriving microalgal biomass in eutrophic water is conventionally perceived to be loaded with myriad valuable biochemical compounds. Therefore, a sugarcane-bagasse-based adsorbent was proposed in this study to harvest the microalgal biomass for producing biodiesel. By activating the sugarcane-bagasse-based adsorbent with 1.5 M of H2SO4, a highest adsorption capacity of 108.9 ± 0.3 mg/g was attained. This was fundamentally due to the surface potential of the 1.5 M H2SO4 acid-modified sugarcane-bagasse-based adsorbent possessing the lowest surface positivity value as calculated from its point of zero charge. The adsorption capacity was then improved to 192.9 ± 0.1 mg/g by stepwise optimizing the adsorbent size to 6.7−8.0 mm, adsorption medium pH to 2−4, and adsorbent dosage to 0.4 g per 100 mL of adsorption medium. This resulted in 91.5% microalgae removal efficiency. Excellent-qu... [more]

There is a significant interest in valorizing swine manure that is produced in enormous quantities. Therefore, considering the high moisture content in swine manure, the objective of this research was to convert manure slurry into hydrochars via hydrothermal carbonization and analyze the yields, pH, energy contents, and thermal and oxidation kinetic parameters. Experiments were performed in triplicate in 250 mL kettle reactors lined with polypropylene at 180 °C, 200 °C, 240 °C, 220 °C, and 260 °C for 24 h. Analyses of the results indicated that the process temperature affected the hydrochar yields, with yield generally decreasing with increasing temperature, but it had little effect on the composition of the hydrochar. The hydrochars were found to have higher volatile contents and H/C and O/C ratios and about 85% of the energy compared to coal. However, the presence of high fraction (35−38%) of ash in hydrochars is a serious concern and needs to be addressed before the complete utiliza... [more]

Despite that diclofenac has been embodied to the European watch list of priority substances of concern, studies on diclofenac biodegradation are limited and the diversity of diclofenac-degrading microbiota remains unknown. In this work, an immobilized cell biofilter was constructed and operated to evaluate its effectiveness to depurate high strength diclofenac wastewater and to identify the diclofenac-degrading community accommodated in activated sludge by employing high-throughput sequencing techniques. After a two-month adaptation period, biofilter removal efficiencies reached values as high as 97.63 ± 0.62%, whereas utilization of diclofenac in the immobilized cell biofilter led to a drastic pH decrease. Based on Illumina sequencing, the major bacterial taxa identified in the immobilized cell biofilter were members of the species Granulicella pectinivorans and Rhodanobacter terrae, followed by members of the species Castellaniella denitrificans, Parvibaculum lavamentivorans, Bordete... [more]

The study attempts the optimization of the total flavonoid content (TFC) and the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) antioxidant activity of the white radish (Raphanus sativus L.) root ethanolic extract (WRE) with regard to several parameters including ethanol concentration, the ratio of solvent/material, temperature and extraction time. Then antifungal analysis of WRE was performed against four fungal species including Aspergillus flavus NBRC 33021, Aspergillus niger NBRC 4066, Aspergillus clavatus NBRC 33020, and Fusarium solani NBRC 31094. At the WRE concentration of 75 mg/mL, diameters of inhibition zone were 9.11 ± 1.5, 19.55 ± 1.68, 17.72 ± 0.25, and 17.50 ± 0.73 mm respectively against the four examined species. Minimum fungal concentration (MFC) values of WRE against the four species were 30, 10, 20 and 30 mg/mL respectively. Evaluation of the sponge cake added with white radish root extract suggested that shelf-life of the sponge cake is 8 weeks in a... [more]

Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea L.) is a traditional medicinal and edible herb, whose health-promoting benefits have been attributed to its phenolic constituents. In this study, the effects of enzymatic hydrolysis on total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)) and antibacterial activities of raw and roasted (200 °C, 10−20 min) butterfly pea seeds were investigated. Roasting reduced the yield of seed aqueous extracts, but it increased the TPC and FRAP values, hence the reducing ability, of the extracts. Bromelain hydrolysis enhanced the TPC and TFC of the roasted seeds up to 2- and 18-fold higher, respectively. Trypsin hydrolysis drastically increased the TPC, but not TFC, of roasted seeds; trypsin-hydrolyzed, 20 min roasted sample had the highest TPC (54.07 μg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/mg... [more]

Improving water quality is a relevant environmental aspect, and using constructed wetlands (CWs) is a sustainable option for this; both porous material filled cells and plants that collectively remove contaminants must be readily available and inexpensive. This study evaluated CWs and their functionality by comparing two ornamental plants (Spathiphyllum wallisii and Hedychium coronarium) planted in experimental mesocosm units filled with layers of porous river rock, tepezil, and soil, or in mesocosms with layers of porous river rock, and tepezil, without the presence of soil. The findings during the experiments (180 days), showed that the removal of pollutants (chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids suspended (TSS), nitrogen as ammonium (N-NH4), as nitrate (N-NO3), and phosphate (P-PO4) was 20−50% higher in mesocosms with vegetation that in the absence of this, and those mesocosms with the soil layer between 33−45% favored removal of P-PO4. Differences regarding of vegetation remov... [more]

Artemisia species are used as folk medicines in several countries. This work was aimed to shed more light on the effect of methanol, water, ethyl acetate extracts, and essential oil (EO) of A. santonicum on selected enzymes (cholinesterase, tyrosinase α-amylase, and α-glucosidase) as well of their antioxidant and pharmacological effects. The chemical profile of the essential oil was determined using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, while the extracts were chemically characterized by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Forty-nine constituents were identified and camphor (36.6%), 1,8-cineole (10.2%), α-thujone (10.1%), borneol (4.5%), and β-thujone (3.6%) were the major components. Overall, 45, 74, and 67 components were identified from the ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts, respectively. The EO and extracts showed significant antioxidant properties, in a cell-free model; particularly, methanol and wate... [more]

Poor aqueous solubility limits the therapeutic efficacy of many marketed and investigational drugs. Synthesis of new drugs with improved solubility is challenging due to time constraint and expenses involved. Therefore, finding the solubility enhancers for existing drugs is an attractive and profitable strategy. In this study, PEGylated oleic acid (OA-mPEG5000), a conjugate of oleic acid and mPEG5000 was synthesized and evaluated as a solubilizer for furosemide. OA-mPEG5000 was evaluated as a nanocarrier for furosemide by formulating polymersomes. Solubility of furosemide in milli-Q water and aqueous OA-mPEG5000 solution was determined using shake flask method. At 37 °C, the solubility of furosemide in OA-mPEG5000 (1% w/w) and milli-Q water was 3404.7 ± 254.6 µg/mL and 1020.2 ± 40.9 µg/mL, respectively. Results showed there was a 3.34-fold increase in solubility of furosemide in OA-mPEG5000 compared to water at 37 °C. At 25 °C, there was a 3.31-fold increase in solubilization of furose... [more]

The impact of thermo−ultrasound (TU) on the quality of fresh wheat plantlets juice is described in this study. Fresh wheat plantlets juice was treated with TU using ultrasound (US) bath cleaner with different treatment variables, including power (70%, 420 W), frequency (40 kHz), processing time (20 and 40 min) and temperature (30, 45 and 60 °C) for the determination of free amino acids, minerals, microbial loads and bioactive compounds. The treatments have non-significant effects in ºBrix, pH, and titratable acidity while a significant increase in non-enzymatic browning, viscosity, and cloud value. The TU treatment at 30 °C for 20 and 40 min has achieved the highest value of total phenolics, flavonoids, total antioxidant capacity, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), carotenoids, anthocyanin contents, chlorophyll (a + b), minerals and free amino acids than other treatments as well as untreated sample. A lightly visible variation in the color was observed among all treatments. TU trea... [more]

This research aimed to optimize the total polyphenol content (TPC) extracted from soybean sprout powder under different experimental parameters, including ethanol concentration (60−100% v/v), extraction temperature (40−80 °C), extraction time (15−150 min), material:solvent ratio (1:4−1:10 g/mL), the number extraction cycles (1, 2 and 3 times), the age of sprout (0−7 days), and the used part of the sprout (cotyledon, hypocotyl, or radicle). The obtained results were used in response surface methodology, in combination with a central composite design, to model the total polyphenol content (TPC) with respect to three variables, including ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, and material:solvent ratio. The experimental conditions for optimal recovery of TPC consisted of ethanol concentration of 88% (v/v), extraction temperature of 59 °C, material:solvent ratio of 1:6.5 g/mL, extraction time of 60 min, and 2 cycles of maceration. In addition, for maximal TPC, the sprout should und... [more]

The use of an ultrasonic treatment for the extraction of pectin from Malus domestica ‘Fălticeni’ apple pomace, its effects on extraction yield and galacturonic acid content, and degree of esterification of the extracted pectin were investigated. The optimization of the extraction process showed that the highest yield of 9.183% pectin, with a 98.127 g/100 g galacturonic acid content and 83.202% degree of esterification, was obtained at 100% amplitude, pH of 1.8, SLR of 1:10 g/mL, and 30 min. The pectin obtained in optimal extraction conditions was compared to commercial citrus and apple pectin in terms of chemical composition (determined by FT-IR), thermal behaviour (analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry), rheological properties, and morphological structure (analyzed by scanning electron microscopy). By comparison to commercial citrus and apple pectin samples, the FT-IR analysis of pectin extracted by ultrasound treatment confirmed the high degree of esterification and showed si... [more]

Docynia indica (D. indica) shows various useful biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial effects, and positive benefits for human health. Such biological activities relate to the main phytochemicals of D. indica including phenolic and flavonoid. However, isolation for phenolic and flavonoid by popular methods such as hot extraction, soxhlet extraction, and ultrasonic extraction have been relatively ineffective. Therefore, in this study, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was used for the extraction of total phenolic and total flavonoid from D. indica. The optimization experiments were conducted based on response surface methodology (RMS) according to a central composite design with four independent variables: extraction time (min), ethanol concentration (%, v/v), microwave power (W), and pH of the solvent. Three dependent variables were total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and yield. The optimal conditions for the extraction... [more]

Four polysaccharides (LVP-u, LVP-m, LVP-e, and LVP-h) were extracted from the fruiting bodies of Lactarius vividus by an ultrasonic-assisted extraction method, microwave-assisted extraction method, enzyme-assisted extraction method, and hot water extraction method, respectively. Then, the effect of extraction methods on yields, preliminary structural properties, and antioxidant activities was systematically investigated using the weighing method, chemical composition analysis, high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), radical scavenging, and metal ion chelating assays. Results demonstrated that the four L. vividus polysaccharides (LVPs) were all combined with protein, and the yield of LVP-u was higher than others. Molecular weight distribution, monosaccharide and amino acid compositions, and microstructures among the four LVPs were significan... [more]

Recombinant proteins have been produced for over 30 years. Applications range from enzymes used in laundry detergents to antigen-detecting antibodies in cancer therapy. Despite similarities in manufacturing, drastic differences in retail pricing between recombinant proteins used for industrial (non-medical) versus pharmaceutical purposes exist. Industrial proteins often have a retail price in the tens of dollars per kilogram while recombinant proteins for medical use may cost billions of dollars per kilogram. This manuscript will briefly review manufacturing techniques and contrast the differences between industrial versus pharmaceutical production. Maximizing manufacturing technologies to reduce cost-of-goods (CoG) is desirable. However, the major reason for the very high pricing of pharma protein products does not reflect CoG, but the financial obligations of clinical trials, research and development, patent constraints, marketing, and return on investment.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have garnered great attention as alternative solvents in many biological reactions and applications. However, its unknown toxicity is in line with the challenges to use it for biological applications. In this study, three choline based Ionic Liquids—choline saccharinate (CS), choline dihydrogen phosphate (CDHP), and choline tryptophanate (CT) were assessed for their suitability on the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ILs were incorporated into the growth media of S. cerevisiae (defined as synthetic media) to access its potential as a substitute to conventional media. The compatibility of the synthetic media was evaluated based on the toxicity (EC50), growth curve, and glucose profile. The results showed that the incorporation of CDHP and CS did promote the growth of S. cerevisiae with a rapid glucose consumption rate. The growth of S. cerevisiae with the media composition of yeast extract, peptone, and CS showed improvement of 13%. We believe that these obser... [more]

The peels of Citrus reticulata Blanco mandarin cultivars of different Croatian varieties (Zorica rana, Chahara, Okitsu, Kuno) were extracted using 15 different choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) at 50 °C for 30 min and with 20% water addition. The extracts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) to determine the most suitable DES for the extraction of hesperidin in the samples. The screening results indicated that choline chloride: acetamide (1:2) provided the most efficient hesperidin extraction (112.14 mg/g of plant), while choline chloride:citric acid (1:1) solvent showed the lowest hesperidin yield (1.44 mg/g of plant). The Box−Behnken design was employed to optimize extraction parameters for each variety of mandarin peel, including extraction time, temperature and water content on hesperidin extraction. The results indicated that hesperidin content in mandarin peels was completely variety-dependent. Being a no... [more]

In this study, the extraction of anthocyanin colorant from karanda fruit (Carissa carandas L.) was carried out and optimized with multiple single factor assays. Selected conditions for yield maximization consisted of ripen fruits with black-purple color, material size of thin slices (1.0−1.5 mm), solvent of EtOH 50%, material/ solvent ratio of 1:3, temperature of 50 °C, extraction time of 45 min, and two extraction cycles. The anthocyanin content in the extract was 277.2 mg/L, which is equivalent to 9.33 mg anthocyanin per gram of dry material. Aqueous solutions of the extract and dried extracts from Carissa carandas fruit were evaluated for stability at two temperature conditions, namely room temperature (30 ± 2 °C) and 45 °C. The temperature exerted great impact on color change, anthocyanin content and the degree of polymerization of anthocyanin. Aqueous solutions of extract with citric acid (3.0−5.0 g/L) were generally more color stable and less anthocyanin degradable than those wit... [more]

This study shows that by-products obtained after cold-pressing oil production (flex oil cake, hemp oil cake, hull-less pumpkin oil cake) could be used as substrates for the sustainable and cost-effective production of lipase when cultivating Thermomyces lanuginosus under solid-state conditions (T = 45 °C, t = 9 days). Lipase showed optimum activity at T = 40 °C. The produced lipase extract was purified 17.03-folds with a recovery of 1% after gel chromatography. Three different batch experiments were performed in order to test the possibility of using the lipase in biodiesel production. Experiments were performed with a commercial, unpurified enzyme, and partially purified lipase with sunflower oil and methanol as substrates in a batch reactor at 40 °C. During the experiments, the operational stability of the enzyme was studied. The obtained results clearly showed that produced crude and purified lipase can be used for biodiesel production, but the process needs some additional optimiza... [more]

Anthraquinones are compounds of high medicinal value in many plants. Based on their good protein binding affinity, foam fractionation was attempted to separate them using proteins in the aqueous extract of Semen Cassiae as collectors. Firstly, the interaction between anthraquinones and Semen Cassiae proteins has been analyzed by the Stem−Volmer equation with physcion as a standard. The results show that physcion had good interaction with the proteins via hydrophobic forces. More importantly, the proteins effectively assisted the foam fractionation of several anthraquinones including aurantio-obtusifolin, aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion. On this basis, a two-stage foam fractionation technology was developed for process intensification using a foam fractionation with vertical sieve trays (VSTs). VSTs, initial feed concentration of total anthraquinones, temperature, volumetric air flow rate and pore diameter of gas distributor had significant effects on enrichment r... [more]

The present study aimed to extract seed oils and characterize the chemical composition, including fatty acid profiles, tocopherols, sterols, and total phenolics of oils and extracts from five Fabaceae seeds: Glycine soja, Vigna angularis, Phaseolus lunatus, Phaseolus vulgarisand, and Phaseolus coccineus. The composition and content of all substance layers in total lipids of the extracted seed oils from five Fabaceae species contain: polar lipid (PL), sterol (ST), diacylglycerol (DG), triacylglycerol (TG), free fatty acid (FFA), and hydrocarbon and wax (HC + W). Antioxidant activity determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method was also estimated. Among these examined samples, Phaseolus vulgarisand and Phaseolus coccineus seed oils showed high content of α-linolenic acid (59.39% and 49.38%, respectively). Linoleic acid was abundantly found in Vigna angularis (49.01%). Ferunic and caffeic acid, γ-tocopherol, and β-sistosterol were the main ingredients present in the speci... [more]

Background: Autotransplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue is currently the main option to preserve fertility for cancer patients. To avoid cancer cell reintroduction at transplantation, a multi-step culture system has been proposed to obtain fully competent oocytes for in vitro fertilization. Current in vitro systems are limited by the low number and health of secondary follicles produced during the first step culture of ovarian tissue fragments. To overcome such limitations, bioreactor designs have been proposed to enhance oxygen supply to the tissue, with inconsistent results. This retrospective study investigates, on theoretical grounds, whether the lack of a rational design of the proposed bioreactors prevented the full exploitation of follicle growth potential. Methods: Models describing oxygen transport in bioreactors and tissue were developed and used to predict oxygen availability inside ovarian tissue in the pertinent literature. Results: The proposed theoretical analysi... [more]

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food producing industries in the world. Aquaculture effluent contains high concentrations of inorganic nutrients. Reduction of these inorganic nutrients in aquaculture effluent is crucial for fulfilling the effluent standards or reuse of aquaculture effluent. This study investigated the effective use of green macroalga Caulerpa lentillifera as a bioremediatory species for nutrient removal from aquaculture effluent by conducting an on-station experiment and measurements. The effluent of a fish culture unit was circulated through a macroalgal culture unit every four days for a total of 60 days, allowing 15 circulations. Concentrations of inorganic nutrients (NO2−-N, NO3−-N, NH3-N, and PO43−) were measured in the integrated system consisting of a fish unit, settling unit, macroalgal unit and extra tank for water circulation in triplicates. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the application of the bioremediation system led to a signi... [more]

Agarwood and agarwood essential oils are commodities with great commercial value. In Vietnam, the agarwood industry has been growing, with more than 10,000 ha of forest land reserved for the cultivation of Aquilaria crassna, an agarwood-producing tree. The aim of this study was to present a hydrodistillation process to recover agarwood essential oil and to compare chemical compositions of agarwood samples harvested from various locations in Vietnam. Three agarwood samples representing products from A. crassna trees cultivated in the provinces of Bac Giang and Khanh Hoa, and on the Phu Quoc island (Kien Giang province) of Vietnam were subjected to hydrodistillation, resulting in essential oil yields of 0.32%, 0.27%, and 0.25% (w/w), respectively. Using GC−MS analysis, a total of 44 volatile compounds were identified in the obtained oils. Most of the constituents were oxygenated sesquiterpenes and had been previously found in other agarwood oil samples. Notable compounds of other chemica... [more]

Curcumin, a constituent of Curcuma longa, has shown numerous biological and pharmacological activities, including antidiabetic effects. Here, a novel series of curcumin analogues were synthesized and evaluated for in vitro inhibition of aldose reductase (AR), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the polyol pathway, which plays a key role in the onset and progression of diabetic complications. Biological activity studies showed that all the curcuminoids exhibited moderate to good AR inhibitory (ARI) activities compared with that of the quercetin standard. Importantly, compounds 8d, 8h, 9c, 9e, and 10g demonstrated promising ARI activities, with the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 5.73, 5.95, 5.11, 5.78, and 5.10 µM, respectively. Four other compounds exhibited IC50 values in the range of 6.04−6.18 µM. Methyl and methoxy derivatives showed a remarkable ARI potential compared with that of other substitutions on the aromatic ring. Molecular docking experiments demonstrated t... [more]

Background: Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) can be used for extracting a wide range of biomaterials, such as pectin. This study introduces a new generation of natural solvents for pectin extraction which could replace the conventional solvents in the food industry. Methods: In this study, NADESs were used for pectin extraction from pomelo (Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck) peels using a sonoreactor. Definitive screening design (DSD) was used to screen the influence of time, temperature, solid/liquid ratio, and NADES/water ratio on the pectin yield and degree of esterification (DE). Results: The primary screening revealed that the best choices for the extraction were choline chloride−malonic acid (ChCl-Mal) and choline chloride−glucose−water (ChCl:Glc:W). Both co-solvents yielded 94% pectin and 52% DE after optimization at 80 °C, with 60 min of sonication, pH < 3.0, and a NADES-to-water ratio of 1:4.5 (v/v). Morphological screening showed a smooth and compact surface of the pectin fro... [more]