Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of bay laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) essential oil from the region of Khenifra (Morocco)

This research reveals the precise chemical composition of the essential oil extracted from the leaves of Laurus nobilis L. in the Khenifra region of Morocco. The comprehensive analysis conducted as part of this study identified a total of forty-three volatile compounds, which collectively constitute an impressive 89.87% of the total essential oil composition. Among these many compounds, 1,8-cineole was found to account for a significant portion of 30.41%, followed by α-terpinyl acetate at 12.61%, sabine at 6.56%. %, α-pinene at 6.53%, methyl-eugenol at 6.53%. 4.74%, and β-linalool at 3.63%. Additionally, essential oil derived from the leaves of Laurus nobilis L. has demonstrated remarkable antibacterial and antifungal activities against a wide range of microorganisms. This discovery highlights the essential oil's potential as a reliable therapeutic agent to combat bacterial and fungal infections. Additionally, the study also looked at the antioxidant properties of the essential oil through a series of in vitro experiments. The results obtained from these experiments revealed the presence of robust antioxidant activity, suggesting that the essential oil could be used as a natural antioxidant to effectively counteract oxidation in various biological applications

Effectiveness of a diet for type 2 diabetics based on vegetables and fruits of the Cucurbitaceae family

This study presents a new diet proposal for type 2 diabetics based on vegetables and fruits of the Cucurbitaceae family such as: cucumber, pickle, zucchini, squash, squash, watermelon and melon. The composition of these foods has a low carbohydrate content, this value which is considered acceptable for type 2 diabetics, also the foods used have very low lipid and protein values which characterizes the disadvantage of this diet, even if they contain acceptable levels of trace elements and vitamins. Sampling according to several criteria was carried out in order to obtain 7 patients out of 33 who participated in the proposal, and among them 3 participants who resisted following the diet for two months, after the 4 patients quit the diet following personal impediments. From a 9-week follow-up of the health status of the participants, the results show the effectiveness of the proposed diet based on the monitoring of fasting blood sugar and the percentages of glycated hemoglobin that decreased during the period of application of the model

Chemical composition of Juniperus communis L. essential oil and evaluation of its antifungal activity in vitro against Ascochyta rabiei

In the context of the search for alternatives to synthetic fungicides to limit their environmental impact, this study explores the potential of the essential oil of Juniperus communis L. The objective is to characterize this essential oil and to study its antioxidant activity. And antifungal. The essential oil was extracted from the aerial part of the plant by hydrodistillation, providing a yield of 0.41 ± 0.04%. Analysis of the chemical composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed the predominance of Sabinene (33.55%), Limonene (20.67%), α-Pinene (15.21%) and Terpinen-4 -ol (10.93%). The predominant compounds represent 80.36% of the total composition. The essential oil also showed strong antioxidant activity, largely due to the presence of Terpinen-4-ol. Finally, the antifungal activity of the essential oil was tested in vitro against Ascochyta rabiei, the causative agent of seed-borne chickpea ascochyta blight. The results showed complete inhibition of the radial growth of the pathogen at low minimum inhibitory concentrations (0.25 µL mL-1). However, the essential oil did not show phytotoxic effects at minimum inhibitory concentrations, although it may reduce the percentage of chickpea seed germination at concentrations above the MIC. These results encourage further research on the use of this essential oil and its major compounds in the formulation of natural phytosanitary products to replace synthetic fungicides

Optimization by design of experiments of the preparation of biochar from olive pomace and its physicochemical characterizations

The main objective of this research was to optimize the biochar production process using olive pomace waste through a comprehensive 3-factor design of experiments with a Full Factorial Design model. The study focused on examining the individual effects of three crucial factors: biomass size, reactor temperature, and pyrolysis reaction time on biochar yield, employing a 1st degree polynomial mathematical model. The results highlighted the significant influence of these factors on the pyrolysis process. Moreover, the elaborated biochars underwent extensive physicochemical analyses, including Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM/EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and porosity parameters were determined using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method (BET). Stressing the importance of precise factor control, the research emphasized achieving higher biochar yields and promoting sustainability in production. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into biochar production, offering valuable guidance for future research to enhance its environmental applications

Essential oils rich in pulegone for insecticide purpose against legume bruchus species: Case of <i>Ziziphora hispanica</i> L. and <i>Mentha pulegium</i> L.

Ziziphora hispanica L. and Mentha pulegium L. are aromatic shrubs known to produce essential oils demanded by food industries. This study reports on the insecticidal activity of these two oils harvested in Khenifra (Morocco) and of its major compound (Pulegone) against the main legume bruchids. Chromatographic analysis revealed the presence of 33 compounds in the essential oil of Ziziphora hispanica (EOZH) and 24 compounds in the essential oil of Mentha pulegium (EOMP), with pulegone being the most dominant in both with percentages respectively of 79.1% and 63.8%. According to the insecticidal activities exerted, the two essential oils, as well as the pulegone, showed significant results against all the bruchids tested of legumes. Pulegone has shown good insecticidal activity, thus the lethal doses of 50% are between 61.6mg/g and 74.4mg/g, which explains the remarkable activity of the two essential oils which are rich in this molecule. moreover, the addition of essential oils in the storage of legumes does not have a significant effect on the legumes and does not diminish their nutritional qualities. This study indicates that essential oils and their main constituent have the potential to be developed into botanical insecticides

Impact of composts prepared from olive waste on the growth and production parameters of some fruit trees

In agriculture, the use of organic amendments allows a better sustainability and productivity of the crop by improving the quality and structure of the soil, due to their richness in organic matter and nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, etc. This study aims to evaluate the effect of two composts of different compositions on the growth and yield of three types of trees: peach, pear and orange. The experimental design used is a randomized block with three replications. The treatment of trees was carried out by four types of amendments which were composts with olive waste (OW), olive mill wastewater (OMW), manure (M) and NPK fertilizer (F) of type 10-15-12. Their fertilizing power was evaluated by monitoring the morphological parameters of plant growth: height, trunk diameter, number of branches, and those of production including size, weight of fruit and yield. The obtained outcomes reveal that the two composts have a very highly significant effect on the investigated parameters. The production was recorded only in peach trees with a total yield of 31.5 t/ha; 25.5 t/ha; 22.5 t/ha; 18.5 t/ha, respectively for OW, OMW, F and M

Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from Djibouti

Traditional beers are often assumed to be safe. This study investigated the conservation and quality of this beer using essential oils extracted from four plants. Twenty five samples of local beers were collected from traditional producers.  The chemical composition of the essential oils from the barks of Boswellia sacra, the flowers of Jasminum sambac, leaves of Pandanus odoratissimus and Matricaria chamomilla obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed using gas chromatography. The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from Boswellia sacra was composed of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (57.60 %) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (20.02 %). The essential oil obtained from Matricaria chamomilla contained 95.21 % of oxygenated monoterpenes and 89.98 % of piperitone. Ten components, representing 94.93 % of the total essential oil from the leaves of Pandanus odoratissimus, were found. The ability of the essential oils to preserve and stabilize beer samples was revealed by µmax of bacteria strains tested. Among the plants tested B. sacra presented the more capacity of inhibition on the strains with µmax value as 0.00410 ± 0.00038, 0.00610 ± 0.00011, 0.00990 ± 0.00073, 0.0176 ± 0.0011, 0.0160 ± 0.0010 respectively on E. coli, S. typhi, S. Nigeria, Y. enterocolitica, L. monocytogenes. The low values of µmax showed the potential of essential oils to inhibit the microorganisms found in the local beer and to preserve drink, keeping it safe

Eco-Friendly Adsorbent from Waste of Mint: Application for the Removal of Hexavalent Chromium

A serious environmental disaster is looming on the horizon due to the indiscriminate release of heavy metals into the soil and wastewater from human industrial practices. In this study, waste mint (WM) was used to remove chromium(VI) from aqueous solution using batch experiments. The adsorbent material (WM) was characterized using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive analysis of X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The adsorption parameters optimized were as follows: pH solution (2–11), initial concentration of Cr(VI) (10–50 mg/L), adsorbent dose (0.1–10 g/L), and temperature conditions (298 K, 308 K, and 318 K). The experimental data fitted well to the fractional power kinetic model (0.97≤R2≤ 0.99) and Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0.984) with a maximum adsorption capacity Qmax = 172.41 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters for Cr(VI) sorption were also calculated, confirming that the adsorption process was spontaneous and accompanied by an exothermic adsorption (−4.83 ≤ ΔG ≤ −3.22 kJ/mol and ΔH = −28.93 kJ/mol). The Cr(VI) removal percentage was within the range of 41–98%, and the highest removal was noted at pH = 2. The results of the present study suggest that WM is a potential low-cost adsorbent for the removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions

Evaluation of biological activities of two essential oils as a safe environmental bioinsecticides: case of Eucalyptus globulus and Rosmarinus officinalis

All works of this article were conducted to investigate chemical composition and insecticidal and antimicrobial properties of Eucalyptus globulus and Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils isolated by hydro-distillation of its aerial parts. Analysis of the essential oils on the basis of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/FID and GC/MS) revealed the presence of 82 organic volatiles representing 98.63% of the total constituents of Eucalyptus globulus and the presence of 45 organic volatiles representing 98.53% of the total constituents of Rosmarinus officinalis. The major compounds for Eucalyptus globulus were estragole (28.14%), terpinolene (7.12%), 1,4-hexadiene-5-methyl-3-(1-methylethylidene) (7.01%), linalool (5.54%) and furfural (4.66%) and for Rosmarinus officinalis were (-)-camphor (31.16%) and ß-caryophyllene (18.55%), 3,4-dimethyl-(Z,Z)-2,4-Hexadiene (9.08%), ?-fenchene (4.67%), cis-verbenone (4.33%) and Bornyl acetate (3.4%). The efficacy of the two essential oils was evaluated on the insect pests Sitophilus granarius of wheat and was remarkable with lethal doses of 50% tending towards 1 µL·cm–3. The broth microdilution method as a complementary test was conducted to test the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil against: Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans, further for the two oils of shows promising activity against all strains