Antimicrobial activities of the essential oils of five Salvia species from

      Essential oils are volatile, natural, complex compounds formed by aromatic plants as secondary metabolites. In nature, essential oils play an important role in protecting plants in form of antibacterials, antivirals, antifungals, insecticides properties and also against herbivores. They also may attract some insects to use them in dispersion of pollens and seeds, or repel undesirable others. Present study describes the results of our study on the chemical composition, and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from aerial parts of aromatic plants which collected from province of Tehran. The aerial parts of plants were collected at full flowering stage. The essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by combination of capillary GC and GC-MS. Also their antimicrobial activities were considered according to the disc diffusion method and MIC values. Finally, five plant species (Salvia sclarea, salvia multicaulis, salvia verticillata, salvia limbata, Salvia choloroleuca) which showed good significant antibacterial were presented. These five plants belong to labiates’ family. Among these proposed plants salvia multicaulis and  Salvia sclarea showed good antibacterial activity

Assessment of anticancer potential of selected Holothuria species

272-280All pharmaceutical fields are concerned about increase in cancer incidence throughout the world. Therefore, the discovery of new substances from natural origin to produce the cytotoxic drugs is required. For this purpose, we evaluated the anticancer activity of three Holothuria sea cucumbers species (Holothuria scabra, H. parva and H. leucospilota) from the Persian Gulf, Iran, of their extract from different organs, such as gonads (G), body wall (BW), intestine tract (IT), respiratory tree (RT), coelomic fluid (CF) and cuvierian tubules (CT) using organic solvents of n-Hexane (n-Hex), ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and Methanol (MeOH). Then cytotoxicity potential of each fraction was estimated using MTT assay to comparison of cell viability of human cancer (Caco-2) vs normal cell lines (HeLa). The data illustrated that toxicity toward cell lines (Caco-2) was only noticed for EtOAc extracts of BW organs of H. parva (up to 92% at 250 µg/mL, IC50=16.78 μg/mL), followed by EtOAc extracts of CF organs of H. scabra (up to 88% at 250 µg/mL, IC50=24.36 μg/mL). While, the more effective extracts was noticed against HeLa cells was detected for EtOAc extracts of IT organs of H. Parva (up to 80% at 250 µg/mL, IC50=46.25 μg/mL). Significant cytotox potential were found in this study, which may be linked to the presence of possible anticancer compounds in chosen fractions and selective toxicity toward different cell lines

Silver Nanoparticles Supported on Chitosan as a Green and Robust Heterogeneous Catalyst for Direct Synthesis of Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds under Green Conditions

The catalytic efficiency of silver nanoparticles supported on chitosan as a green, robust, and efficient nanocatalyst for the direct synthesis of biologically active compounds, such as: imidazole derivatives as well as pyrazine scaffolds through multi-component reactions strategy, have been demonstrated. In this work, imidazole derivatives were achieved via pseudo four-component reactions by utilization of benzaldehydes, benzils, anilines, and ammonium acetate under solvent-free conditions. Moreover, pyrazine scaffolds were synthesized through a three-component reaction of phenylenediamine derivatives, isocyanides and various ketones in water. The main advantages of this protocol are the  reusability of the catalyst, operational simplicity, mild reaction conditions, and high-yielding. Copyright © 2019 BCREC Group. All rights reserve

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Ligularia persica Boiss. (Asteraceae)

The objective of this study was to investigate chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Ligularia persica growing wild in Iran. The essential oil was obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. Sixty-one components representing 99.0% of the total oil were characterized. The major identified components were (Z)-β-ocimene (12.5%), cis-meta-mentha-2,8-diene (8.8%), α-eudesmol (8.7%), valencene (5.9%) and 14-hydroxy-δ-cadinene (5.7%). Oxygenated sesquiterpenes (39.5%) was the main group of the plant essential oil. The essential oil exhibited moderate activity against three bacteria and a yeast, Candida albicans, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 1.87 to 7.50 mg/ml. The best inhibitory effects were against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus

Phycosynthesis of Antimicrobial Ulva prolifera-Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles

Background and Aims: The growing concern about bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics reveals the urgent need to discover and develop new types of bactericidal agents. Materials and Methods: In the present study, in a pioneering step to phycosynthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 MNPs) with antimicrobial potency, the process was initially exploited using an aqueous extract of green marine algae Ulva prolifera, and further evaluated the antimicrobial activity of biosynthetic magnetite nanoparticles against eight bacterial strains and three strains of fungi. Results: In the present study, the U. prolifera/Fe3O4-MNPs showed a strong inhibitory effect on gram-positive bacteria and relatively modest antifungal activity than fungal pathogenic agents. The highest antibacterial activity compared to strain Staphylococcus epidermidis (19 ± 0.6 mm) and consequently in Bacillus subtilis (18 ± 0.03 mm) and Bacillus pumulis (18 ± 0.2 mm) were observed. However, the bactericidal effects of magnetite nanoparticles were more effective than gram-positive bacteria compared to gram-negative ones.  In the present study, we also observed a relatively modest antifungal activity in the anesthetized nanoparticles compared to Saccharomyces cervisiae (11 ± 0.4 mm), and this was the most sensitive fungal strain relative to the fungicidal activity of these nanoparticles. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that biosynthetic magnetite nanoparticles can be introduced as a new antibacterial to the pharmaceutical field and medicine

Antibacterial and Antioxidant Characteristics of Pigments and Coelomic Fluid of Sea Urchin, Echinodermata Mathaei Species, from the Persian Gulf

Background & Aims: Sea urchin immune responses are directly exposed to potentially pathogenic microorganisms and develop defence responses mainly based on immunocytes and humoral factors contained in the coelomic fluid. In addition, the polyhydroxylated 1, 4-naphthoquinone pigments are found to possess excellent antimicrobial, antialgal and antioxidant activities. The present research aimed to study the bioactive potentials (antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic) of coelomic fluid and pigments shells and spines of sea urchin, Echinodermata mathaei species. Methods: The coelomic fluid and pigments shell and spine of sea urchin were isolated using buffered mode and hydrogen chloride (HCl), respectively. Then, antioxidant [reducing power, DPPH radical (1, 1-diphenyl 2-picryhydrazyl) scavenging, and total antioxidant capacity), antibacterial (minimum inhibitory concentration or MIC) and cytotoxic potentials were evaluated. Results: The free cells of the coelomic fluid had the highest activity in the all antioxidant methods, and the coelomocyte lysate had the highest antibacterial activity. All the differences were significant at the level of P < 0.05. Conclusion: The result of this research indicated that coelomic fluid and pigments shell and spine of sea urchin, Echinodermata mathaei species, have potent antioxidant activity and the ability for scavenging cytotoxic effects. This suggests that sea urchin shells and spines, most of which are discarded as waste after removal of gonads, would be a new bioresource for natural antioxidants. Keywords: Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Cytotoxic, Sea urchin, Echinometra mathae

<em>In vitro</em> biological activities of holothurians edible sea cucumbers in the Persian Gulf

1518-1526The biological activities of the n-Hexane (nH), ethyl acetate (E) and methanol (M) extract of body wall, intestine tract, gonads, and respiratory tree organs of edible Holothurian sea cucumbers (Holothuria scabra, H. parva, and H. leucospilota), were evaluated by three anti-oxidative systems and bacterial indicators (Bacillus pumulis, Enterococcus faecalis, and Escherichia coli). The highest antioxidant activity was recorded in different systems as DPPH scavenging for E extracts of body wall (EBW) of H. scabra (IC50 = 278.6 μg/ml), and M extracts of intestine tract (MIT) organs of H. parva (45.8 % at 60 µg/ml, IC50 = 369.64 μg/ml), iron-chelating (FRP) for EBW of H. leucospilota (0.66±0.01) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) for EBW of H. parva (0.69±0.05). This study supports, MIT of H. parva has potential antimicrobial activity against B. pumulis (IZ =29 mm). These promising results suggest that Holothurian seacucumbers may be a source of beneficial natural compounds

Microbial deproteinization of shrimp shell penaeus merguiensis for chitin extraction

Introduction: After cellulose, Chitin is the most abundant biopolymer in nature. The most important derivative of chitin is chitosan, obtained by deacetylation of chitin. Major sources of chitin are the exoskeleton of marine crustaceans such as crab, shrimp, and krill. Chitin extraction from shrimp shells can be carried out chemically or using biological methods. Microbial fermentation as an eco-friendly procedure is a suitable alternative for the chemical and enzymatic processes. In this study, the effect of three protease-producing bacteria species (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, and Bacillus pumilus) on the efficiency of microbial demineralization (DM) and deproteinization (DP) of the shrimp shell penaeus merguiensis, was investigated. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of hydrolysate obtained during the fermentation process was measured. Materials and methods: Demineralization and deproteinization was carried out by incubating shrimp waste inoculated with bacteria at 30&deg;C and 100 rpm for 6 days. Results: Statistical analysis of data showed a significant difference between the percentage of demineralization and deproteinization in different bacteria species (p<0.05). The highest deproteinization (74.76%) and demineralization rate (78.46%) were obtained with P. aeruginosa, while the lowest was observed for S. marcescens. Antioxidant activity of hydrolysate also showed a significant difference. The highest reducing power and total antioxidant capacity were observed in volumes of 400 &micro;l hydrolysate of S.marcescens and 100 &micro;l hydrolysate of B. pumilus, respectively. Discussion and conclusion: The results indicated that P. aeruginosa in comparison with other bacterial strains, had a higher ability to remove proteins and minerals from shrimp shell waste. Therefore, the use of this bacterium is suitable for protein and minerals removal from marine crustaceans

Toxicity of Graphene Oxide-Based Nanoparticles against Chaetoceros Muelleri Microalgae

The growing demands for nanotechnology in recent years have resulted in the environmental release of nanomaterials. The aim of the present study was to synthesize graphene oxide-based nanoparticles using an aqueous extract of green macroalgae and evaluate their toxicity against Chaetoceros muelleri microalgae as an important live feed in mariculture. In a laboratory study, first, the biosynthesis process of graphene nanoparticles was performed using the aqueous extract of the green alga Ulva flexuosa and then the anti-algae activity was evaluated and the content of photosynthetic pigments and microalgae protein was determined. The results of characterization analyses of graphene oxide reduction with the aqueous extract of the green alga U. flexuosa and its conversion to graphene were confirmed. Evaluation of the anti-algae activity of the studied samples showed that the reduced graphene oxide has a higher anti-algae activity than graphene oxide. The results also showed that with increasing the concentration of synthesized nanoparticles, the content of photosynthetic pigments and proteins decreased. The toxic effects of the released nanoparticles can damage the stocks of C. muelleri as an important live feed in mariculture