Acrylamide toxicity and its biodegradation

Acrylamide is a synthetic monomer that has been classified as toxic and carcinogenic apart from its diverse application in the industry. Its application is in the formation of polyacrylamide. Polyacrylamide usage is diverse and is found as herbicide formulation, as soil treatment agent and in water treatment plants. Deaths and sickness due to the accidental exposure to acrylamide has been reported while chronic toxicity is also a source of problem. This review highlight on the toxic effect of acrylamide to various organism like human, animal and plant. This review also discusses on the potential use of biological technologies to remediate acrylamide pollution in the environment and the degradation pathways these microorganisms utilize to assimilate acrylamide as a nitrogen, carbon or both as carbon and nitrogen sources

Near real-time biomonitoring of copper from an industrial complex effluent discharge site using a plant protease inhibitive assay

In this work, a temporal monitoring work for heavy metals from an effluent discharge point in the Juru Industrial Estate was carried out using the protease extracted from garlic (Allium sativum) as the principal bioassay system. Casein-Coomassie-dye binding assay method has utilized this purpose. The periodic sampling results for one day of a location in the Juru Industrial Estate showed temporal variation of copper concentration coinciding with garlic protease inhibition with the highest concentrations of copper occurring between 12.00 and 16.00 hours of between 3 and 3.5 mg/L copper. The crude proteases extracted from Allium sativum successfully detect temporal variation of copper form this location. In conclusion, this assay method has the potential to be a rapid, sensitive, and economic inhibitive assay for the large-scale biomonitoring works for the heavy metal copper from this area

Isolation and characterization of a metal-reducing Pseudomonas sp. strain 135 with amide-degrading capability

The presence of both heavy metals and organic xenobiotic pollutants in a contaminated site justifies the application of either a multitude of microbial degraders or microorganisms having the capacity to detoxify a number of pollutants at the same time. Molybdenum is an essential heavy metal that is toxic to ruminants at a high level. Ruminants such as cow and goats experience severe hypocuprosis leading to scouring and death at a concentration as low as several parts per million. In this study, a molybdenum-reducing bacterium with amide-degrading capacity has been isolated from contaminated soils. The bacterium, using glucose as the best electron donor reduces molybdenum in the form of sodium molybdate to molybdenum blue. The maximal pH reduction occurs between 6.0 and 6.3, and the bacterium showed an excellent reduction in temperatures between 25 and 40 oC. The reduction was maximal at molybdate concentrations of between 15 and 25 mM. Molybdenum reduction incidentally was inhibited by several toxic heavy metals. Other carbon sources including toxic xenobiotics such as amides were screened for their ability to support molybdate reduction. Of all the amides, only acrylamide can support molybdenum reduction. The other amides; such as acetamide and propionamide can support growth. Analysis using phylogenetic analysis resulted in a tentative identification of the bacterium as Pseudomonas sp. strain 135. This bacterium is essential in remediating sites contaminated with molybdenum, especially in agricultural soil co-contaminated with acrylamide, a known soil stabilizer

Influence of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and bioactive phytochemicals on the formulation of functional yogurt

The new concept of functional foods has led to the varieties in the production of foods that deliver not only basic nutrition, but can also warrant good health and longevity. Yogurt has become one of the prevalent choices and considered as a healthy food since it provides excellent sources of essential nutrients. As the popularity of yogurt continues to grow, manufacturers and scientists continuously investigate the value adding ingredients such as probiotics, prebiotics and different kinds of plant extracts to produce functional yogurt comprising extra beneficial properties than the conventional yogurt. This review summarises the current knowledge on functional yogurt, applications and roles of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic in yogurt as well as the effects of phytochemicals added in innovative yogurt products. Their important properties were focused based on significance influences on quality and sensory attributes of yogurt products and associated health aspects

Characterization of a molybdenum-reducing Bacillus sp. strain khayat with the ability to grow on SDS and diesel

Molybdenum and heavy metals are toxicants that are needed to be removed from the environment as they are non-biodegradable and pose a serious threat to the ecology. A previously isolated keratin-degrading Bacillus sp. strain khayat was shown to be able to reduce molybdenum (sodium molybdate) to molybdenum blue (Mo-blue). Reduction occurred optimally at the pHs of between 5.8 and 6.8 and temperatures of between 25 and 34 °C. Glucose was the best electron donor for supporting molybdate reduction followed by sucrose, fructose, glycogen, lactose, meso-inositol and glycerol in descending order. Other requirements include a phosphate concentration between 5.0 and 7.5 mM and a molybdate concentration of between 10 and 20 mM. The absorption spectrum of the Mo-blue produced was similar to previous Mo-reducing bacterium, and closely resembles a reduced phosphomolybdate. Molybdenum reduction was inhibited by Hg (ii), Ag (i), Cu (ii), As (v) and Pb (ii) at 84.7, 78.9, 53.5, 36.8 and 27.7 %, respectively. Analysis using phylogenetic analysis resulted in a tentative identification of the bacterium as Bacillus sp. strain khayat. The bacterium was unable utilize any of the xenobiotics as sources of electron donor for reduction but the bacterium was able to grow on diesel and SDS. The ability of this bacterium to detoxify several toxicants makes this bacterium an important tool for bioremediation of multiple toxicants

Optimization of ultrasonic-assisted extraction of phenolic compound from golden chicken fern (Cibotium barometz) rhizome via response surface methodology

There are a lot of medical potentials from Cibotium Barometz that can be exploited due to its secondary metabolites, specifically the phenolic compounds. Therefore, numerous studies have been employed to study the optimization of phenolic compounds extraction from other medical beneficial plants. However, until today there are no definite experiment has been conducted to study the optimization of phenolic compounds extraction of C. Barometz. Hence, this study was designed to systemically optimize the extraction process of phenolic compounds from C. Barometz by using response surface methodology (RSM). The variables were evaluated by using three-factor Box-Behnken experimental design. The three process variables were; ethanol concentration (20-100%), extraction time (10-60 min) and solid-to-liquid ratio (1:20 - 1:100; g: mL) while the independent variable is the total phenolic content (TPC). The optimum extraction condition obtained from RSM are 38.99% ethanol concentration, 47.51 min extraction time, and 1:59.68 (g: mL) ratio under ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE). Net antioxidant activity was determined by scavenging activity of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, where the lowest IC50 obtained was from ethanol extract via RSM approach (IC50 value 817.87±23.75 μg/mL) which values lie within the range of standard error of the standard (IC50 value 242.53±22.76 μg/mL). The results show that the extraction of C. Barometz can be systemically optimized by using the variables obtained from the RSM method

Treatment of autosomal dominant hypocalcemia Type 1 with the calcilytic NPSP795 (SHP635)

Autosomal dominant hypocalcemia type 1 (ADH1) is a rare form of hypoparathyroidism caused by heterozygous, gain‐of‐function mutations of the calcium‐sensing receptor gene (CAR). Individuals are hypocalcemic with inappropriately low parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and relative hypercalciuria. Calcilytics are negative allosteric modulators of the extracellular calcium receptor (CaR) and therefore may have therapeutic benefits in ADH1. Five adults with ADH1 due to 4 distinct CAR mutations received escalating doses of the calcilytic compound NPSP795 (SHP635) on 3 consecutive days. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, efficacy, and safety were assessed. Parallel in vitro testing with subject CaR mutations assessed the effects of NPSP795 on cytoplasmic calcium concentrations (Ca2+i), and ERK and p38MAPK phosphorylation. These effects were correlated with clinical responses to administration of NPSP795. NPSP795 increased plasma PTH levels in a concentration‐dependent manner up to 129% above baseline (p=0.013) at the highest exposure levels. Fractional excretion of calcium (FECa) trended down but not significantly so. Blood ionized calcium levels remained stable during NPSP795 infusion despite fasting, no calcitriol and little calcium supplementation. NPSP795 was generally safe and well‐tolerated. There was significant variability in response clinically across genotypes. In vitro, all mutant CaRs were half‐maximally activated (EC50) at lower concentrations of extracellular calcium (Ca2+o) compared to wild type (WT) CaR; NPSP795 exposure increased the EC50 for all CaR activity readouts. However, the in vitro responses to NPSP795 did not correlate with any clinical parameters. NPSP795 increased plasma PTH levels in subjects with ADH1 in a dose‐dependent manner, and thus, serves as proof‐of‐concept that calcilytics could be an effective treatment for ADH1. Albeit all mutations appear to be activating at the CaR, in vitro observations were not predictive of the in vivo phenotype, or the response to calcilytics, suggesting that other parameters impact the response to the drug

Isolation, production and characterization of keratinase from Bacillus sp. khayat

The increase in demand of chicken meat products for human consumption has caused the accumulation of feather waste. In this research, seven local feather degrading bacteria have been isolated from soil and feather waste samples around Selangor and Johor, Malaysia. All the bacteria that obtained from the sampling procedure were then screened by incubating them in basal media that contained feathers as a carbon and nitrogen sources. Among the isolates, isolate E3 has shown the highest keratinolytic activity and feather degradation percentage compared to the others. Isolate E3 was then identified as Bacillus sp. khayat based on its 16s rRNA sequences. This strain produced keratinase optimally at a temperature of between 30 to 370C and at pH 8. The optimal tempature and pH for the bacterial growth were also found at 30 to 370C and at pH7.5 to 9 respectively. Studies using different carbon sources on keratinase production also showed that the addition of skim milk has enhanced enzyme production. The optimum concentration of skim milk for keratinase production was found at 0.2 gL-1. The concentration of feather for optimum keratinase production was determined at 1% (w/v) while for optimum growth at 0.5 to 1.5% (w/v). The bacterium was able to degrade up to 82.43% of feather in seven days with the highest keratinase production observed at the third day of incubation period. The keratinase enzyme from the bacterium was then purified through anion exchange chromatography, using DEAE cellulose as a matrix, and gel filtration chromatography, using Zorbax® column. The molecular weight analysis using SDSPAGE gel revealed that the enzyme has a molecular weight of approximately 31.62 kDa. The optimum temperature and pH of the enzyme activity were 400C and pH 8 respectively. This enzyme can also retain over 80% of its original activity for one hour when preincubated at temperatures of between 20 to 450C and at pH 6.5 to 10. In the protease inhibitor study, the enzyme was greatly inhibited by the addition of PMSF compared to other inhibitors indicating that the enzyme is a serine type protease. The enzyme was also observed to be inhibited by the presence of all tested reducing agents such as DTNB, DTT, and 2-marcaptoethanol. All of tested metal ions such as Zn2+, Hg+, Ag+, Pb2+, Mg2+, Cu+, K+, Co2+, and Ca2+ were found to give negative effect on keratinase activity. This keratinase was active against various types of proteinous subtrates either kerationous or unkeratinous proteins. However, the highest activity was observed when casein was used as the substrates, followed bysoluble keratin, BSA, egg albumin, feather, wool, and human hair. The results of this study are very importance since they can be used to raise the potential of keratinase from Bacillus sp khayat in industrial applications

Assessment of inhibitive assay for insecticides using acetylcholinesterase from Puntius schwanenfeldii

In this study, the substrate specificity and the inhibition kinetics of various types of insecticides to the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from a local fish; Puntius schwanenfeldii were investigated. The substrate specificity determination was done using three thiocholine substrates, which were ATC, PTC and BTC. The results showed that he partially purified cholinesterase from Puntius schwanenfeldii that preferred ATC is a true AChE. The Km and Vmax values of AChE for these substrates were 16.61 mmol and 286.5 U/mg for ATC, 19.92 mmol and 245.3 U/mg for PTC, and 48.64 mmol and 219.6 U/mg for BTC, respectively. The IC50 values for the carbamates bendiocarb, carbaryl, propoxur, carbofuran and methomyl were 0.838, 7.045, 29.441, 1.411 and 8.335 mg/L, respectively, which were comparable to the IC50 values for carbamates from several AChE from fish