Evaluation of Antifungal and anti-aflatoxin B1 efficacy of some crude extracts of Chamaerops humilis L. against Aspergillus flavus isolated from peanuts (Arachis hypogea L.)

The present study strengthens the food preservative potential of Chamaerops humilis extracts viz. hexane extract, chloroform extract, ethanol extract, chloroform extract, and methanol extract based on their antifungal, antiaflatoxin, and antioxidant efficacy. The isolation of molds from peanuts were carried out by the suspension-dilution technique and inoculation on agar medium. Antifungal determinations were conducted using the agar plate and liquid dilution methods. The effect of C. humilis L. extracts on the production of AFB1 was determined in a SMKY broth. The molds isolated were of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp., and Alternaria sp. with A. flavus (BBH-6) which is identified as the highest AFB1 producer. The minimum inhibitory concentration of extracts against the toxigenic strain of A. flavus ranged between 3.00 mg/ml and 3.50 mg/ml. The extracts were found more efficacious as they inhibited the dry mycelium weight and aflatoxin production of the aflatoxigenic strain A. flavus (BBH-6) at lower concentrations. The extracts showed fungitoxic spectrum against four molds. The IC50 value of C. humilis L. ranged between 140.4 and 189.46 μg/mg, oxidation of linoleic acid was moderately inhibited by the extracts ranges between 53.54 and 69.33%, while their total phenolic content ranged between 47.80 and 115.71 μg/ml. Based on the findings of present investigation, C. humilis L. can be introduced as a proposed solution for formulating plant-based preservative food additives.Universidade de Vigo/CISUGMinistry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Algeria (MESRS

Potential of essential oils for protection of Couscous against Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin B1 contamination

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGOur study was aimed to evaluate antifungal, antiaflatoxin, and antioxidant potential of Mentha pulegium, Myrtus communis, and Mentha piperita essential oils (EOs). The EOs showed efficacy as a couscous preservative. A total of 387 fungal species were isolated from Couscous samples, with Aspergillus flavus BN (20) which is identified as the highest aflatoxin producer. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of M. pulegium and M. communis EOs against the toxigenic strain of A. flavus BN (20) determined to be 4.00 μL/mL, whereas the MIC of M. piperita was 3.50 μL/mL. The EOs inhibited the aflatoxin B1 production at lower concentrations. The EOs showed fungitoxicity against wide-ranging of fungi and high antioxidant activity. The IC50 value of the oils ranged between 3.27 and 4.31 μL/mL. EOs may be able to contribute preservation of food commodities against quantitative and qualitative losses. During fumigation assays in Algerian traditional food system (Couscous), the three EOs showed protection of Couscous from A. flavus contamination indicating their efficacy as sustainable fumigant in food system

Medication errors safety signals COVID-19-related Moroccan Pv database

On March 23, 2020, the Moroccan Ministry of Health issued a circular authorizing the off label use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine in combination with azythromycin as first-line treatment for all COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study is to detect, assess and manage safety signals from individual cardiovascular adverse events (AE) reported. Methods: During the COVID19 pandemic, pharmacovigilance surveillance was based on spontaneous targeted notification in all health facilities. Newsletters with a suitable reporting form were sent and reporting of AEs was mandatory. The AEs collected were analyzed for causality assessment using the WHO method and the Preventavility method was used to detect any preventable ADR. Safety signals were detected and analyzed using a qualitative pharmacovigilance method. Results: As of December 31, 2020, a total of 527 adverse events have been reported to the NPC related to Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine among the Covid 19 patients. We received 09 cases of preventable AEs related to medication error including one drug interaction for 3 cases, dose errors for 5 cases and one case with both errors, these cases have been validated ad managed as safety signals. Discussion and conclusion: The detected signal concerned the QT prolongation, hypokalaemia and arrythmias, due to high dose of azithromycin and to drug interactions with hypokalaemic drugs. The signal was analyzed and validated during the technical committee, and recommendations were established to avoid the occurrence of similar cases

Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of six wild Mentha species (Lamiaceae) from northeast of Algeria

Objective: To investigate the total phenolics, flavonoids and tannins content and the in vitro antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts of six wild Mentha species which are Mentha aquatica, Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita, Mentha pulegium, Mentha rotundifolia and Mentha villosa. Methods: The Folin–Ciocalteu method was used to determine the total phenols content while flavonoids were estimated according to the aluminum chloride colorimetric method. To evaluate tannins content, vanillin and HCl were added to methanolic extracts. The antioxidant potential was measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging, ferrous ion chelating and the inhibition of β-carotene bleaching assays. Results: The methanol extracts of Algerian mints were rich in phenolic compounds and exhibited powerful antioxidant activity ranging from 7.5 μg/mL to 44.66 μg/mL, which varied significantly among species. Mentha aquatica stood out with efficient antioxidant ability which was correlated to the high total phenolics content, followed by Mentha arvensis and Mentha piperita with very close values, comparing to Mentha pulegium, Mentha rotundifolia and Mentha villosa with lowest values. Conclusions: These results show that methanolic extracts of Mentha species from Algeria have a great potential of polyphenols which can be used as a natural food preservative and antioxidant source

Effects of microwave heating on the antioxidant activities of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

The aim of this study is to estimate phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activities of tomato slices treated by microwave heating. Two treatments time were applied, 30 and 300 s. Quantitative analyses of phenols, flavonoids, lycopene, followed by the evaluation of the antioxidant activity by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ion chelating methods, were conducted on ethanolic extracts. Results showed the presence of these bioactive phytonutrients in fresh tomato and that their biodisponibility increases with the duration of the selected heat treatment. The phytochemical content showed important levels of polyphenols (1.92, 1.96, 6.95 mg gallic acid equivalent/g fresh matter) and flavonoids (2.33, 2.57, 10.68 mg RE/g fresh matter), in addition to lycopene (5.772, 31.8654, 40.71 mg/kg fresh matter) of non-treated, treated tomatoes at 30 s and treated tomatoes at 300 s, respectively. Results also revealed a high level of antioxidant activity by both methods with IC50 of 1.69, 1.50, 1.33 µg/ml, for DPPH method and IC50 of 401, 360.5, 299.91 µg/ml, for ion chelating ability. Thus, in our study, we demonstrated that microwave treatments enhance the nutritional quality of tomato slices by enhancing the biodisponibility of some of its content. Higher treatment time gives better results. Keywords: Tomato, Microwaves, Polyphenols, Lycopene, Ion chelating, DPPH radical scavengin

Antifungal effects of selected menthol and eugenol in vapors on green coffee beans during long-term storage

Nowadays, coffee (Coffea Arabica L.) is among the most significant agricultural products of the world and drinking coffee has become one of the most popular habits in the world. The main contamination of stored coffee beans is related with the mycotoxin produced by the toxigenic fungi belonging the genus Aspergillus. Fungal infection followed by mycotoxin biosynthesis in coffee results in notable financial losses. subsequent mycotoxin biosynthesis in coffee leads to major economic losses. Complications ranging from mild to severe can be caused by the mycotoxins produced by this genus. The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of menthol and eugenol on Aspergillus parasiticus (CBS 100926T) growth, spore germination, and their potential use as green coffee beans preservative during long-term storage (12 months). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) values of the menthol and eugenol were recorded to completely inhibit the growth of A. parasiticus in 400 μg/ml and 300 μg/ml, respectively. Both reduced spore germination by 9.33% and 5.66% at 300 μg/ml and 200 μg/ml, respectively. They showed efficacy in fumigated green coffee beans sample during the storage for up to 12 months providing an increase in the protection level of 62.5% for menthol and 73.21% for eugenol against the A. parasiticus contamination. This suggests that menthol and eugenol could be used as good alternatives for decreasing the deteriorations due to the fungal infections in green coffee beans during long-term storage

Chemical profiling, antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory and in silico modeling of Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Artemisia herba alba Asso. essential oils from Algeria

In the current study, the chemical composition, antioxidant, alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase and cholinesterase inhibitory activities of wormwood and rosemary essential oils were investigated. In order to explain the interaction of chemical constituents with the enzymes, molecular docking tools were used. GC/MS analyses revealed that the main compounds of rosemary oil were eucalyptol (37.97%), followed by camphor (11.84%). Whereas beta-copaene (16.22%), limonene (14.56%), eucalyptol (14.49%) and camphor (13.74%) represent the main compounds of wormwood oil. Moreover, antioxidant abilities assessed by DPPH radical scavenging, beta-carotene bleaching inhibitory and ion chelating test showed that rosemary oil was more efficient than wormwood. Furthermore, rosemary oil exhibited even better results against cholinesterase inhibitory. However, wormwood oil was more effective for antidiabetic inhibitory enzymes. The theoretical verification by molecular modeling revealed that linalool, terpinen-4-ol, eugenol methyl ether and tau-cadinol have the best binding affinity with studied enzymes. In conclusion, docking verification has shown a good affinity of some chemical compounds from rosemary more than wormwood with studied enzymes explaining the assessed biological activities. Rosemary and wormwood exhibited interesting biological activities that explain the traditional uses of these plants that could be further explored for food and pharmaceutical industries

In Vitro Antibacterial, Antioxidant, Anticholinesterase, and Antidiabetic Activities and Chemical Composition of <i>Salvia balansae</i>

Context: Salvia balansae de Noé (S. balansae) (Lamiaceae) is known to be an important plant used in folk medicine as an herbal remedy in Algeria. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the phytochemical composition, antioxidant activities, enzyme inhibitory activities, and antimicrobial activities of S. balansae extracts. Materials and methods: A methanolic extract and a petroleum ether extract from the aerial parts of the plant were assessed for their chemical composition. HPLC-MS and HPLC-DAD assessed the content of phenols, GC-MS the fatty acid composition, and ICP-MS the mineral profiles of the plant. Additionally, we evaluated the bioactivities of S. balansae extracts by the DPPH, ABTS, and CUPRAC assays, including the antioxidant potential against AChE, BChE, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase for enzyme inhibition. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the methanolic extract were determined by the disc diffusion test against several strains of bacteria and yeasts. Results: Our findings revealed that the aerial parts of S. balansae were rich in phytochemical components and contained large amounts of minerals. Quantitative analysis of phenolic compounds by HPLC-DAD revealed the presence of 12 compounds in three major classes, flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acid, and phenolic acid derivatives, with 0.61, 0.45, and 0.29 mg/g of extract, respectively. Nine phenolic constituents were quantified by HPLC-MS analysis; catechin (72.5%) was the main compound, followed by myricetin (21.7%). The fatty acid composition of the S. balansae petroleum ether extract by GC-MS analysis was quantified. Seventeen compounds, including palmitic acid, were identified as the major fatty acids. The antioxidant activity of the S. balansae extracts was measured by three different methods: the methanol extract provided better results than the petroleum ether extract, and interesting values were noted for the DPPH, ABTS, and CUPRAC assays of 242.7 ± 7.44, 124.1 ± 9.70, and 222.9 ± 6.05 µg/mL, respectively. The enzyme inhibition activity of the plant could not be determined. The antimicrobial results of the methanolic extract obtained from the disc diffusion method, followed by measurements of MIC, MBC, and MFC against several bacteria and yeasts, indicated that S. balansae exhibited noticeable antimicrobial and antifungal activities. Conclusions: These results provided new data about the main phenolic compounds and biological activities of extracts of the aerial parts of S. balansae, which might be an alternative source for synthetic bioactive compounds