Comparison of phytochemicals, antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase activity of unripe and ripe fruit of sonneratia caseolaris

Sonneratia caseolaris, also known as mangrove apple produces the edible fruit which can be found mainly on tidal mud in mangroves area. Since this fruit is considered as underutilized fruit as it is not fully discovered for its potential health benefits and not fully commercialized, hence this study aimed to determine the phytochemicals contents (i.e. total flavonoid, phenolic, anthocyanins and carotenoids contents), antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase activity of different parts (flesh and stem cap) of the unripe and ripe fruit extracts. Phytochemicals, antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase activities were determined using standard methods of spectrophotometric analysis. The flesh part of unripe S. caseolaris displayed the highest total phenolic, flavonoid and carotenoid contents as compared to the other parts in 80% methanol extract with the values of 67.67±0.10 mg (GAE/g), 37.06±0.30 mg (RE/g) and 5.41±0.10 mg (BC/100 g), respectively. The flesh part of unripe S. caseolaris in 80% methanol extract exhibited the best antioxidant properties in three different assays (i.e. DPPH, FRAP and ABTS) with the values of 98.32±0.28%, 67.72±0.74 mmol/g and 91.24±1.23 mg/g, respectively. The acetylcholinesterase inhibition also was found to be higher in the flesh part of unripe 80% methanol S. caseolaris extract with 47.18±0.68% at the concentration of 250 µg/mL. Therefore, utilization of this fruit as natural antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition sources may develop new pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products

Effects of culture conditions of immobilized recombinant Escherichia coli on cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) excretion and cell stability

The targeting of recombinant proteins for excretion into culture medium presents significant advan-tages over cytoplasmic expression. However, during the excretion of recombinant protein, caution must be taken in order to avoid cell lysis due to pressure build-up through overproduction of the expressed recombinant protein in the periplasmic space. In the present study, recombinant Escherichia coli express-ing cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) was immobilized by adsorption and entrapment in a porous hollow fiber membrane. The effects of culture conditions (post induction time, agitation rate and pH) on CGTase excretion, cell lysis and plasmid stability of immobilized cells were studied. The optimum post induction time, agitation rate and pH were found to be 24 h, 200 rpm and pH 9, respectively. The immo-bilized cells exhibited a 2.8–4.6-fold increase in CGTase excretion, a 16–95% reduction of cell lysis and a 323–464% increase in plasmid stability compared with free cells. Hence, immobilizing E. coli using a porous hollow fiber membrane proved to be valuable for the excretion of a recombinant protein and increased cell viability

Biofuel scale-up from waste source and strategies for cost optimization

The search for alternate fuels that demonstrate alleviated environmental impact is intensifying globally. To measurably displace fossil fuels in the near future, several aspects should be considered when promoting biofuel technology. Renewable sources, especially wastes from biomass, are feasible to be converted into biofuels of different phases (gaseous, liquid, and solid). This chapter discusses the thermochemical and biological biomass conversion routes, along with the essential processes involved to produce biofuels. The advantages and limitations of each approach are being compared. Significant operating parameters that require optimization for process scale-up are identified and reviewed. The strategies for cost optimization are also outlined in the final part of this chapter

An analysis of the impact of soft skills on Malaysian technical institutions

Many people recognize the importance of technical skills as knowledge and proficiencies required in the accomplishment of professional jobs. However, the importance and applicability of soft skills are mostly ignored despite the fact that, it is a process how individual carry himself in an organization or professional environment for the progress of that individual and the organization he found himself. The paper explored into some journals from the previous the literatures, some soft skills were identified such as communication, lifelong learning, entrepreneurship, leadership, and teamwork, problem solving and critical among TVET institutions in Malaysia. Document analysis was conducted as a methodology for this study. The impacts of these soft skills on TVET related institutions like polytechnics, training centers and universities in Malaysia. It was indicated that, the result of the impact of soft skills on these institutions was generally moderate. The paper concluded that, technical skills alone could not bring about the organizational development there must be a compliment of soft skills for any organizational sustainability. Supplementary of soft and technical skills conceptual model was formulated. The paper was concluded by saying that, the competitive nature of the present situation, soft skills are essential because they have affected all aspect of human development. Some recommendations were suggested, teachers, lecturers and instructor must teach students soft skills for complete individual proficiencies and organizational sustainability

Optimization and characterization of immobilized e. coli for engineered thermostable xylanase excretion and cell viability

There are many parameters that may have influenced the properties of cell during immobilization process. Particularly, the immobilization methods, carrier materials, and enzyme loading amount that have been proved to be important for immobilization process. The physiological responses of microorganisms are depending on the immobilization technique used. Typical alterations to the micro-environment of the immobilized cell involved the altered water activity, presence of ionic charges, cell confinement and modified surface tension. In this study, the graphene oxide was selected as a suitable carrier for immobilization process of recombinant E.coli and adsorption was chosen as an appropriate method to improve the production of engineered thermostable xylanase. High level production of thermostable xylanase by immobilized recombinant cell in the 5 L bioreactor was studied by using optimum research surface methodology (RSM) conditions was studied. The immobilization of E. coli onto nanoparticle matrix manages to improve the cell performance by improving the protein expression, reduced the occurrences of cell lysis as well as improved the plasmid stability of the host cell. Thus, immobilization contributes a physical support for both whole cells as well as enzymes to develop a better operative achievement system for industrialized fields and give rise to the biological advancement existing enzyme for instance xylanase

Delivery of bioencapsulated proteins

Proteins and peptides have been used in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food applications for their therapeutic and nutritional properties. However, administration of these molecules to the human body is challenging due to their low stability, low bioavailability, high biodegradability, immunogenicity, and inefficient permeability. These molecules require a tailored delivery system to ensure bioavailability and efficient maintenance to target location. Nanotechnology has emerged as an ideal platform in drug delivery as it provides a versatile system with excellent biocompatibility. This chapter discusses various nanomaterials that have been explored, particularly organic, inorganic, protein, and hybrid nanomaterials which are biocompatible for administration to human body. Challenges for the development of protein in nanomaterials are outlined and strategies for the nanoencapsulation in these nano-vehicles are discussed that aim for preservation of bioactivity, high protein loading, structural stability, permeability, and control release besides being easy for synthesis and cost-effective

Optimization and characterization of immobilized E. coli for engineered thermostable xylanase excretion and cell viability

There are many parameters that may have influenced the properties of cell during immobilization process. Particularly, the immobilization methods, carrier materials, and enzyme loading amount that have been proved to be important for immobilization process. The physiological responses of microorganisms are depending on the immobilization technique used. Typical alterations to the micro-environment of the immobilized cell involved the altered water activity, presence of ionic charges, cell confinement and modified surface tension. In this study, the graphene oxide was selected as a suitable carrier for immobilization process of recombinant E.coli and adsorption was chosen as an appropriate method to improve the production of engineered thermostable xylanase. High level production of thermostable xylanase by immobilized recombinant cell in the 5 L bioreactor was studied by using optimum research surface methodology (RSM) conditions was studied. The immobilization of E. coli onto nanoparticle matrix manages to improve the cell performance by improving the protein expression, reduced the occurrences of cell lysis as well as improved the plasmid stability of the host cell. Thus, immobilization contributes a physical support for both whole cells as well as enzymes to develop a better operative achievement system for industrialized fields and give rise to the biological advancement existing enzyme for instance xylanase

Adsorption of fatty acid on beta-cyclodextrin functionalized cellulose nanofiber

Fatty acids in wastewater contribute to high chemical oxygen demand. The use of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) to adsorb the fatty acids is limited by its strong internal hydrogen bonding. This study aims to functionalize CNF with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and elucidate the adsorption behaviour which is yet to be explored. β-CD functionalized CNF (CNF/β-CD) was achieved by crosslinking of β-CD and citric acid. Functionalization using 7% (w/v) β-CD and 8% (w/v) citric acid enhanced mechanical properties by increasing its thermal decomposition. CNF/β-CD was more efficient in removing palmitic acid, showcased by double adsorption capacity of CNF/β-CD (33.14% removal) compared to CNF (15.62% removal). CNF/β-CD maintained its adsorption performance after five cycles compared to CNF, which reduced significantly after two cycles. At 25 °C, the adsorption reached equilibrium after 60 min, following a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The intraparticle diffusion model suggested chemical adsorption and intraparticle interaction as the controlling steps in the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacity was 8349.23 mg g−1 and 10485.38 mg g−1 according to the Sips and Langmuir isotherm model, respectively. The adsorption was described as monolayer and endothermic, and it involved both a physisorption and chemisorption process. This is the first study to describe the adsorption behaviour of palmitic acid onto CNF/β-CD

A Portable in-situ near-infrared LEDs-based soil nitrogen sensor using artificial neural network

Monitoring soil Nitrogen content for palm oil cultivation is paramount to produce high-quality palm oil. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of a proposed portable near-infrared (NIR) light emitting diodes (LEDs)-based soil Nitrogen sensor in predicting the soil Nitrogen content using artificial neural network (ANN). First, soil samples that collected from a local oil palm plantation were scanned using the developed sensor and then followed by a conventional method, i.e. Kjeldahl analysis to measure the actual soil Nitrogen content. ANN was used for C hemometric analysis to develop a predictive model to in-situ predict the soil Nitrogen content using the near infrared light . The performance of ANN was validated using leave one out cross-validation. Results indicate that ANN with one hundred hidden neurons achieved the best accuracy with a root mean square error of cross-validation of 0.031%. This finding suggests that the proposed portable sensor coupled with ANN is promising to satisfactorily predict soil Nitrogen content

Simplified feeding strategies for the fed-batch cultivation of Kluyveromyces lactis GG799 for enhanced recombinant xylanase production

A xylanase gene (xyn2) from Trichoderma reesei ATCC 58350 was previously cloned and expressed in Kluyveromyces lactis GG799. The production of the recombinant xylanase was conducted in a developed medium with an optimised batch and with fed-batches that were processed with glucose. The glucose served as a carbon source for cell growth and as an inducer for xylanase production. In a 1-L batch system, a glucose concentration of 20 g L-1 and 80 % dissolved oxygen were found to provide the best conditions for the tested ranges. A xylanase activity of 75.53 U mL-1 was obtained. However, in the batch mode, glucose depletions reduced the synthesis of recombinant xylanase by K. lactis GG799. To maximise the production of xylanase, further optimisation was performed using exponential feeding. We investigated the effects of various nitrogen sources combined with the carbon to nitrogen (C/N) molar ratio on the production of xylanase. Of the various nitrogen sources, yeast extract was found to be the most useful for recombinant xylanase production. The highest xylanase production (110.13 U mL-1) was measured at a C/N ratio of 50.08. These conditions led to a 45.8 % increase in xylanase activity compared with the batch cultures. Interestingly, the further addition of 500 g L-1 glucose led to a 6.2-fold increase (465.07 U mL-1) in recombinant xylanase activity. These findings, together with those of the exponential feeding strategy, indicate that the composition of the C/N molar ratio has a substantial impact on recombinant protein production in K. lactis