Solid state fermentation effects on pistachio hulls antioxidant activities

Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is a small tree native to mountainous regions of Iran. The seed has a mauvish skin and light green flesh, with a distinctive flavor. The hulls contain high amount of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, which are known as source of antioxidant. Recently, the use of natural additives found in plant material as preservative in food and cosmetic products received considerable attention. On the other hand was know processing method to improve the antioxidant activity of agriculture byproducts and reduce the anti-nutritional metabolites. Therefore, this experiment was carried out to determine the effect of solid state fermentation on pistachio hulls antioxidant activities using five types of fungi namely White rot fungi (ATCC 64897), White rot fungi (ATCC 90467), Aspergillus terreus (ATCC 74135), Rhizopus oligosporus and Aspergillus oryzae. Pistachio hulls were subjected to fermentation process for the period of 10 days. Freeze-dried samples were extracted with 80% methanol. The result showed that the samples contained varied concentration of phenolic compounds from 0.721 to 2.277 mg gallic acid equivalent/g DM, and total flavonoids varied from 0.249 to 1.204 mg rutin equivalents/g DM. The highest antioxidant activity of 50.39% at a concentration of 300 μg/ml of crude extract was found in crude methanolic extract of control while the lowest antioxidant activity of 31.19% was found in crude methanolic extract of hulls fermented by white rot fungi (ATCC 90467). The result indicated a reduction in the antioxidant activities of pistachio hulls when undergoing solid state fermentation. Therefore, it is not a recommended method to improve the antioxidant activities of pistachio hulls

Heracleum persicum Essential Oil Nanoemulsion: A Nanocarrier System for the Delivery of Promising Anticancer and Antioxidant Bioactive Agents

Essential oils are important compounds for the prevention and/or treatment of various diseases in which solubility and bio-accessibility can be improved by nanoemulsion systems. Heracleum persicum oil nanoemulsion (HAE-NE) was prepared and biological properties were investigated against human breast cancer cells and normal human fibroblasts foreskin. Particle size, zeta potential and poly dispersity index were 153 nm, −47.9 mV and 0.35, respectively. (E)anethole (57.9%), terpinolene (13.8%), G-terpinene (8.1%), myrcene (6.8%), hexyl butyrate (5.2%), octyl bu-tanoate (4.5%) and octyl acetate (3.7%) was detected in nanoemulsion. Proliferation of cancer cells at IC50 = 2.32 \ub5g/mL was significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited, and cell migration occurred at 1.5 \ub5L/mL. The HAE-NE at 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 \ub5g/concentration up-regulated caspase 3 and enhanced sub-G1 peak of cell cycle with nil cytotoxic effects in the liver, kidney and jejunum of mice. Villus height, villus width, crypt depth and goblet cells in mice group fed with 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight of HAE-NE improved. Cellular redox state in the liver indicated 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight of nanoemulsion significantly up-regulated the expression of SOD, CAT and GPx genes. Heracleum persicum oil na-noemulsion could be an eco-friendly nanotherapeutic option for pharmaceutical, cosmetological and food applications

Antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents enhancement with acute gamma irradiation in Curcuma alismatifolia (Zingiberaceae) leaves

The present study was conducted in order to assess the effect of various doses of acute gamma irradiation (0, 10, 15, and 20 Gy) on the improvement of bioactive compounds and their antioxidant properties of Curcuma alismatifolia var. Sweet pink. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) analysis uncovered that various types of phenolic, flavonoid compounds, and fatty acids gradually altered in response to radiation doses. On the other hand, antioxidant activities determined by 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reduction, antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging assay showed a higher irradiation level significantly increased the antioxidant properties. This study revealed an efficient effect of varying levels of gamma radiation, based on the pharmaceutical demand to enhance the accumulation and distribution of bioactive compounds such as phenolic and flavonoid compounds, fatty acids, as well as their antioxidant activities in the leaves of C. alismatifolia var. Sweet pink

Phytochemical compounds and antibacterial activity of Jatropha curcas Linn. extracts

The present study was conducted to determine the phytochemical compounds in different solvent extracts of Jatropha curcas Linn. plant and antibacterial activity of crude extracts. Aqueous, methanolic and hexane extracts of various plant parts were analysed for phytochemical compounds by spectrophotometry, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). Antibacterial activity was studied by paper disc diffusion assay against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined by micro-broth dilution. The root bark methanolic extract contained high phenolics (11.51 mg gallic acid equivalents/g DW) and flavonoids (0.94 mg rutin equivalents/g DW). Kernel meal aqueous extract contained high saponins (0.65 mg diosgenin equivalents/g DW) and the methanolic extract contained 1.13 mg/g DW phorbol esters. Phytochemicals detected by RP-HPLC were pyrogallol, gallic acid, naringin, rutin and vanillic acid. The main compounds detected by GC-MS were oxalic acid (root bark), acetic acid and oleic acid (stem bark). Inhibition zones ranged from 8.0 to 17.7 mm. Low MIC (1.2 to 2.3 mg/ml) and MBC (0.4 to 6.3 mg/ml) values were observed in methanolic extract of all plant parts. The present study showed that stem bark, root bark and kernel meal of J. curcas contained compounds with antibacterial activities. The results indicate the potential of J. curcas as a source of antibacterial compounds

Response to dietary supplementation of glutamine in broiler chickens subjected to transportation stress

The main purpose of this study was to determine effects of glutamine supplementation on performance and blood parameters including Hsp70 and acute phase protein when chicken were subjected to transportation stress. A total of four hundred day-old-male cobb-500 chicks were obtained directly from a local hatchery. The chicks were allotted to two groups as: immediate placement (1 hour after hatching) with access to feed and water and placement after 24h transportation without access to feed and water. The experiment consisted of a factorial arrangement of 2 different diets and 2 different time of placement. Chicks from each placement group were fed either basal diet or basal diet + 1% glutamine from 1 to 21 days of age. The results indicated that dietary glutamine improved the body weight gain and feed conversion ratio significantly when chicks were subjected to delayed or immediate placement. In conclusion, supplementing chicken with glutamine in diet can reduce negative effects of delayed access to feed and water during transportation. Moreover, APP concentration and HSP70 level were positively affected when chicks supplemented with glutamine in the diet

Bioactive Compounds and Biological Activities of Jatropha curcas L. Kernel Meal Extract

Defatted Jatropha curcas L. (J. curcas) seed kernels contained a high percentage of crude protein (61.8%) and relatively little acid detergent fiber (4.8%) and neutral detergent fiber (9.7%). Spectrophotometric analysis of the methanolic extract showed the presence of phenolics, flavonoids and saponins with values of 3.9, 0.4 and 19.0 mg/g DM, respectively. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses showed the presence of gallic acid and pyrogallol (phenolics), rutin and myricetin (flavonoids) and daidzein (isoflavonoid). The amount of phorbol esters in the methanolic extract estimated by HPLC was 3.0 ± 0.1 mg/g DM. Other metabolites detected by GC-MS include: 2-(hydroxymethyl)-2 nitro-1,3-propanediol, β-sitosterol, 2-furancarboxaldehyde, 5-(hydroxymethy) and acetic acid in the methanolic extract; 2-furancarboxaldehyde, 5-(hydroxymethy), acetic acid and furfural (2-furancarboxaldehyde) in the hot water extract. Methanolic and hot water extracts of kernel meal showed antimicrobial activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative pathogenic bacteria (inhibition range: 0–1.63 cm) at the concentrations of 1 and 1.5 mg/disc. Methanolic extract exhibited antioxidant activities that are higher than hot water extract and comparable to β-carotene. The extracts tended to scavenge the free radicals in the reduction of ferric ion (Fe3+) to ferrous ion (Fe2+). Cytotoxicity assay results indicated the potential of methanolic extract as a source of anticancer therapeutic agents toward breast cancer cells

Detoxification of toxic phorbol esters from Malaysian Jatropha curcas Linn. kernel by Trichoderma spp. and endophytic fungi

The presence of phorbol esters (PEs) with toxic properties limits the use of Jatropha curcas kernel in the animal feed industry. Therefore, suitable methods to detoxify PEs have to be developed to render the material safe as a feed ingredient. In the present study, the biological treatment of the extracted PEs-rich fraction with non-pathogenic fungi (Trichoderma harzianum JQ350879.1, T. harzianum JQ517493.1, Paecilomyces sinensis JQ350881.1, Cladosporium cladosporioides JQ517491.1, Fusarium chlamydosporum JQ350882.1, F. chlamydosporum JQ517492.1 and F. chlamydosporum JQ350880.1) was conducted by fermentation in broth cultures. The PEs were detected by liquid chromatography-diode array detector-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-ESIMS) and quantitatively monitored by HPLC using phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate as the standard. At day 30 of incubation, two T. harzianum spp., P. sinensis and C. cladosporioides significantly (p < 0.05) removed PEs with percentage losses of 96.9%–99.7%, while F. chlamydosporum strains showed percentage losses of 88.9%–92.2%. All fungal strains could utilize the PEs-rich fraction for growth. In the cytotoxicity assay, cell viabilities of Chang liver and NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell lines were less than 1% with the untreated PEs-rich fraction, but 84.3%–96.5% with the fungal treated PEs-rich fraction. There was no inhibition on cell viability for normal fungal growth supernatants. To conclude, Trichoderma spp., Paecilomyces sp. and Cladosporium sp. are potential microbes for the detoxification of PEs

Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant, Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitory, Tyrosinase Inhibitory and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Selected Agro-Industrial By-products

Evaluation of abundantly available agro-industrial by-products for their bioactive compounds and biological activities is beneficial in particular for the food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, rapeseed meal, cottonseed meal and soybean meal were investigated for the presence of bioactive compounds and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, xanthine oxidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities. Methanolic extracts of rapeseed meal showed significantly (P < 0.01) higher phenolics and flavonoids contents; and significantly (P < 0.01) higher DPPH and nitric oxide free radical scavenging activities when compared to that of cottonseed meal and soybean meal extracts. Ferric thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid tests results showed rapeseed meal with the highest antioxidant activity (P < 0.01) followed by BHT, cotton seed meal and soybean meal. Rapeseed meal extract in xanthine oxidase and tyrosinase inhibitory assays showed the lowest IC50 values followed by cottonseed and soybean meals. Anti-inflammatory assay using IFN-γ/LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 cells indicated rapeseed meal is a potent source of anti-inflammatory agent. Correlation analysis showed that phenolics and flavonoids were highly correlated to both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Rapeseed meal was found to be promising as a natural source of bioactive compounds with high antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, xanthine oxidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities in contrast to cotton and soybean meals

Membrane-active antibacterial compounds in methanolic extracts of Jatropha curcas and their mode of action against Staphylococcus aureus S1434 and Escherichia coli E216

This research presents the antibacterial potential and mode of action of related active compounds of kernel meal, leaves, stem bark, root bark and root wood extracts of Jatropha curcas Linn. plant on Staphylococcus aureus S1434 and Escherichia coli E216. At double MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) value, cell viability of S. aureus S1434 was inhibited by all extracts, but only kernel meal and root wood extracts inhibited E. coli E216. At half MIC, the μ24 (decrease in cell viability after 24h) for S. aureus S1434 was 69 and 66%, while that of E. coli E216 were 44 and 42% in the presence of kernel meal and leaves extract, respectively. However at double MIC, less than 5% of viable cells of S. aureus S1434 were detected in the leaves and root bark extracts after 5h. Conversely, less than 5% of the viable cells of E. coli E216 were detected in the presence of kernel meal and root wood extract after 7.5h. Loss of 260nm absorbing compounds and proteins from bacterial cells was directly proportional to the time of exposure of cells to the extracts. All extracts caused bacterial cells to lose their ability to tolerate salt (NaCl) at double MIC value. The loss of 260nm absorbing compounds, proteins and the loss of tolerance to NaCl suggest that leaves, root bark and kernel meal damaged the bacterial cell membrane. The analysis of bioactive compounds by GC-MS confirmed the presence of acetic acid, hexadecanoic acid, citric acid, 9-octadecenoic acid as the major membrane-active antibacterial compounds