Ashwagandha Leaf Derived Withanone Protects Normal Human Cells Against the Toxicity of Methoxyacetic Acid, a Major Industrial Metabolite

The present day lifestyle heavily depends on industrial chemicals in the form of agriculture, cosmetics, textiles and medical products. Since the toxicity of the industrial chemicals has been a concern to human health, the need for alternative non-toxic natural products or adjuvants that serve as antidotes are in high demand. We have investigated the effects of Ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) leaf extract on methoxyacetic acid (MAA) induced toxicity. MAA is a major metabolite of ester phthalates that are commonly used in industry as gelling, viscosity and stabilizer reagents. We report that the MAA cause premature senescence of normal human cells by mechanisms that involve ROS generation, DNA and mitochondrial damage. Withanone protects cells from MAA-induced toxicity by suppressing the ROS levels, DNA and mitochondrial damage, and induction of cell defense signaling pathways including Nrf2 and proteasomal degradation. These findings warrant further basic and clinical studies that may promote the use of withanone as a health adjuvant in a variety of consumer products where the toxicity has been a concern because of the use of ester phthalates

Complementing compost with biochar for agriculture, soil remediation and climate mitigation

We are racing to manage a phenomenally increasing volume of organic wastes from urban, industrial and agricultural entities. Composting is one of the preferred ways to convert biodegradable wastes into nutrient-rich soil conditioners. The age-old technique of composting process is being improved with innovative scientific means. Biochar, a widely studied soil amendment, is a carbonaceous material that can hold nutrients from endogenic/exogenic sources. Biochar-compost, a biochar-complemented compost, may provide a wide range of benefits expected from both materials. Compost and biochar can improve physicochemical and microbiological attributes of soils by supplying labile and stable carbons, and nutrients. Compost may also supply beneficial microbes. This means biochar-compost is a synergic soil amendment that can improve soil quality, increase crop production, and remediate contaminated soils. Having stable carbon, large reactive surface with nutrient loads, biochar can interact widely with organic biomass and modify physicochemical and-microbial states during a composting process while making biochar-compost. Production and application methods of biochar, compost and biochar-compost are covered for agricultural and contaminated soils. Metal and organic contaminations are also discussed. A case study on making and field-testing a mineral-enhanced biochar and a biochar-compost to improve rice yield, is presented at the end

Methodological interference of biochar in the determination of extracellular enzyme activities in composting samples

Biochar application has received increasing attention as a means to trap recalcitrant carbon and enhance soil fertility. Hydrolytic enzymatic assays, such as β-glucosidase and phosphatase activities, are used for the assessment of soil quality and composting process, which are based on use of <i>p</i>-nitrophenol (PNP) derivatives as substrate. However, sorption capacity of biochar can interfere with colorimetric determination of the hydrolysed PNP, either by the sorption of the substrate or the reaction product of hydrolysis into biochar surface. The aim of the present work is to study the biochar sorption capacity for PNP in biochar-blended composting mixtures in order to assess its impact on the estimation of the colorimetric-based enzymatic assays. A retention test was conducted by adding a solution of known amounts of PNP in universal buffer solution (pH = 5, 6.5 and 11, corresponding to the β-glucosidase, acid and alkaline phosphatase activity assays, respectively), in samples taken at the initial stage and after maturation stage from four different composting piles (two manure composting piles; PM: poultry manure, CM: cow manure and two other similar piles containing 10% of additional biochar (PM + B, CM + B)). The results show that biochar-blended composts (PM + B, CM + B) generally exhibited low enzymatic activities, compared to manure compost without biochar (PM, CM). In terms of the difference between the initial and maturation stage of composting process, the PNP retention in biochar was shown higher at maturation stage, caused most probably by an enlarged proportion of biochar inside compost mixture after the selective degradation of easily decomposable organic matter. TThe retention of PNP on biochar was influenced by pH dependency of sorption capacity of biochar and/or PNP solubility, since PNP was more efficiently retained by biochar at low pH values (5 and 6.5) than at high pH values (11)

Physical and chemical characterization of biochars derived from different agricultural residues

Biochar is widely recognized as an efficient tool for carbon sequestration and soil fertility. The understanding of its chemical and physical properties, which are strongly related to the type of the initial material used and pyrolysis conditions, is crucial to identify the most suitable application of biochar in soil. A selection of organic wastes with different characteristics (e.g., rice husk (RH), rice straw (RS), wood chips of apple tree (Malus pumila) (AB), and oak tree (Quercus serrata) (OB)) were pyrolyzed at different temperatures (400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 °C) in order to optimize the physicochemical properties of biochar as a soil amendment. Low-temperature pyrolysis produced high biochar yields; in contrast, high-temperature pyrolysis led to biochars with a high C content, large surface area, and high adsorption characteristics. Biochar obtained at 600 °C leads to a high recalcitrant character, whereas that obtained at 400 °C retains volatile and easily labile compounds. The biochar obtained from rice materials (RH and RS) showed a high yield and unique chemical properties because of the incorporation of silica elements into its chemical structure. The biochar obtained from wood materials (AB and OB) showed high carbon content and a high absorption character

Impact of Compost Application during 5 Years on Crop Production, Soil Microbial Activity, Carbon Fraction, and Humification Process

Compost amendment is considered as a practical tool to increase the soil organic matter (SOM), which contributes to agricultural sustainability. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the impacts of organic soil management over 5 years on orchard prune production (Prunus salicina), microbial activity, soil carbon (C) fraction, and stabilization degrees of soil humification. Plot experiment was designed with two different soil managements: i) for minimizing anthropogenic disturbances, only mulching of orchard residues derived from prune tree plot area was applied to soil surface (S + V); and ii) the amendment of composted manure was annually practiced in addition to the utilization of orchard residues inside the plot area (S + V + C). After 5 years, the soil with the continuous compost application (S + V + C) showed higher productivity of Prunus salicina (21.4%), greater fruit diameter (7.8%), and heavier fruit weight (22.4%) than the soil without compost application (S + V). Nutrient content in foliar analysis showed no difference between the two treatments (S + V and S + V + C). By contrast, the amended soil by compost (S + V + C) increased the SOM and water-soluble C fraction in parallel with the increase of microbial parameters (microbial biomass C, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), basal respiration, and dehydrogenase). Analyzing soil humic acid character by chemical spectra techniques of Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR), gradual reformation of a more stabilized structure was shown in both soils (S + V and S + V + C), due to the selective biodegradation and humification process after the amendments over 5 years. Especially, in the soil treated with compost application (S + V + C), the increase of functional C groups (aromatic and carboxylic groups), which reinforce the recalcitrant character of soil humified fraction, was clearly observed. The continuous application of composted manure for the duration of 5 years improved the orchard soil fertility as well as productivity. Abbreviations: ATP, adenosine triphosphate; CPMAS, cross-polarization magic angle spinning; EC, electrical conductivity; FT-IR, Fourier-transform infrared; HA, humic acid; HS, humic substance; INTF, iodonitrotetrazolium formazan; K, Potassium; LSD, least significant differences, N, nitrogen; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; O, oxygen; OM, organic matter; MBC, microbial biomass C; P, phosphorous; SD, standard deviation; SE, standard error; SOM, soil organic matter; TOC, total organic carbon; WSC, water-soluble C; WS-Ch, water-soluble carbohydrat