Total phenolic content, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the extract of ephedra procera fisch. et mey

Ephedra procera belonging to the family Ephedraceae is a poison and medicinal plant. The main aim of the present study was to determine total phenolic content and antioxidant and antibacterial activities of ethanolic extract from the aerial parts of E. procera collected from a natural habitat in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province, Southwestern Iran. The total phenolic content of the extract by Folin-Ciocalteu method and the antioxidant activity using DPPH assay were determined. The antibacterial activity, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extract were evaluated against five bacteria, including Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Total phenolic content in the extract of E. procera was 0.718 mg tannic acid/g dry weight extract. The results indicated that the ethanolic extract of E. procera exhibited radical scavenging activity. In addition, the results of this study confirmed that the ethanolic extract of E. procera exhibited antibacterial activity. In conclusion, the extract of E. procera could be an important source of phenolic components with antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity.Naser Vahed Dehkordi, Mehrdad Ataie Kachouie, Abdollah Ghasemi Pirbalouti, Fatemeh Malekpoor and Mohammad Rabe

Disaster relief operations: past, present and future

The aim of the preface is to introduce the scope of this special issue (SI). We explain our editorial approach and summarise our findings based on articles included in this SI. Finally, we outline future research questions which stemmed out of the discussions of this SI

Effects of Foliar of the application chitosan and reduced irrigation on essential oil yield, total phenol content and antioxidant activity of extracts from green and purple basil

Phenolic compounds are naturally occurring substances in plants. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) belongs to the family Lamiaceae, is a good source of phenolic compounds and natural antioxidants. Elicitors can activate specific genes involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Chitosan, as elicitor, is a natural biopolymer modified from chitin, which is the main structural component of squid pens, cell walls of some fungi and shrimp and crab shells. On the other hand, water deficit stress is one of the most abiotic stress, which effects on the levels of secondary metabolites. To evaluate the effect of chitosan and different irrigation regimes on essential oil yield, total phenol content and antioxidant activity of extracts from green and purple basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), an experiment was conducted at Shahrekord, southwestern Iran. Treatments comprised control, 0.0, 0.2, and 0.4 g·L–1 chitosan applied to plants under normal irrigation, slight and mild drought stress conditions. Results indicated that the different levels of chitosan and irrigation had significant effects on the essential oil yield, total phenol content, and the antioxidant activity of the extracts. Foliar-applied chitosan in particular 0.4 g·L–1 increased total phenolic content in the basil as compared to untreated plants. In conclusion, it is suggested that the foliar application of chitosan as an elicitor could be a promising material used to increase biological activity and pro-health functional value of basil plants

Knowledge management for food supply chain synergies – A maturity level analysis of SME companies

Despite the considerable number of papers addressing knowledge management (KM) aspects in supply chains, many research issues in the area are still neglected. One of the main research gaps in this field concerns the maturity level of KM practices adoption by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper addresses this research gap by developing a framework to support the analysis of the maturity level of KM adoption in an SME context. The framework is applied in a multiple case study developed to investigate the extent to which SMEs operating in the food sector are deploying KM practices to support more sustainable initiatives. By relating KM maturity levels, perspectives and processes to sustainable practices concerning food waste and by-product synergies, the paper makes an original contribution to advance theory and practice in the area. The paper also points out potential barriers that companies face to implement sustainability-related KM practices