Effect of different conditions on Saccaromyces cerevisiae immobilization onto sugar beet pulp in ethanol production

The use of yeast cells immobilized on sugar beet pulp as support for ethanol production employs a cheap and simple method of retaining high cells densities. The present work describes the effect of yeast concentration and ammount of support on immobilization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae onto sugar beet pulp (SBP). Further, the efficiency of immobilized biocatalyst for batch ethanol fermentation of sugar beet thin juice was investigated with goal to examine the optimum conditions of its potential application. The hvdratet SBP showed highes cells retention capacity of 0.117 g/g. A maximum sugar conversion of 97.69%, ethanol concentration of 75.66 g/I, ethanol yield per consumed sugar of 0.499 g/g (equal to 97.71% of its theoretical value) was achieved in the batch fermentation of thin juice substrate. This study demonstrates that the efficient ethanol fermentation from sugar beet thin juice using S. cerevisiae immobilized by natural adhesion on sugar beet pulp (SBP) is possible even without any nutrient supplementation. The novelty of the approach lies in the effectiveness of exploitation of thin juice and sugar beet pulp with purpose to obtain efficient ethanol production from and to lower high operating cost

Ethanol production from sugar beet thin juice by immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae : characterization of volatile compounds

The potential of by-products and intermediate products of sugar beet processing as rawmaterials for bioethanol production in Serbia has a big scope in view of the demand of ethanol as an alternative for fossil fuels. The production of bioethanol from sugar beet thin juice by Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized on sugar beet pulp (SBP) enables one more opportunity for achieving the zerowaste goal, through a rational use of intermediate and by-products of sugar beet processing. The effect of inoculum concentration on volatile compounds content of distillate was examined. The increase of inoculum concentration from 2.0 g/1 to 2.6 g/l (dry mass basis) increased ethanol and aldehyde content of the distillate from 9.34 % v/v to 9.60 % v/v and from 238.6 mg/l a.a. to 301.5 mg/l a.a., but decreased methanol, acetic acid and ester content from 650.0 mg/l a.a. to 232.3 mg/l a.a., from 73.4 to 51.3 mg/l a.a., and from 272.0 mg/l a.a. to 220.8 mg/l a.a., respectively. The increase in inoculum concentration of SBP-immobilized yeast indicated improvement of distillate quality

Ethanol fermentation of molasses by Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells immobilized onto sugar beet pulp

Natural adhesion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae onto sugar beet pulp (SBP) is a very simple and cheap immobilization method for retaining high cells density in the ethanol fermentation system. In the present study, yeast cells were immobilized by adhesion onto SBP suspended in the synthetic culture media under different conditions such as: glucose concentration (100, 120 and 150 g/l), inoculum concentration (5, 10 and 15 g/l dry mass) and temperature (25, 30, 35 and 40°C). In order to estimate the optimal immobilization conditions the yeast cells retention (R), after each immobilization experiment was analyzed. The highest R value of 0.486 g dry mass yeast /g dry mass SBP was obtained at 30°C, glucose concentration of 150 g/l, and inoculum concentration of 15 g/l. The yeast immobilized under these conditions was used for ethanol fermentation of sugar beet molasses containing 150.2 g/l of reducing sugar. Efficient ethanol fermentation (ethanol concentration of 70.57 g/l, fermentation efficiency 93.98%) of sugar beet molasses was achieved using S. cerevisiae immobilized by natural adhesion on SBP. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-31002

A multivariate analysis on the comparison of raw notoginseng (Sanqi) and its granule products by thin-layer chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography

Background: Granule products produced from medicinal herbs are gaining popularity. However, there have been few studies comparing the quality or efficacy of granules with those of herbal formulations. This study aims to compare commercially available notoginseng (Sanqi in Chinese) in both raw and granule forms by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (UPLC-PDA) using multivariate analysis. Methods: Aqueous extracts of the raw herb (collected from six different sources in China) and granule products (purchased in China, Taiwan and Australia) were re-extracted with methanol to remove water-soluble excipients. Five compounds (ginsenosides Rg1, Rg2, Rd and Rb1 and notoginsenoside NR1) in the methanolic extracts were quantified by TLC and UPLC-PDA. Multivariate statistical analysis using hierarchical component analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the similarities between the granule products and raw herbs. A 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay was used to measure the antioxidant capacities of the extracts. Results: HCA and PCA of the TLC analysis clustered the granule products into one group. By UPLC analysis, the raw herbs and two of the granule products (G7 and G12) were allocated into Group 1 and the rest of the granule products into Group 2. The contents of the five marker compounds in Group 1 were higher than Group 2 and also exhibited stronger ABTS activity (P = 0.005). By Pearson correlation, the contents of the five compounds in the samples were positively and significantly correlated to their antioxidant activities. Conclusions: UPLC was more efficient than TLC for the simultaneous determination of the five major compounds in Sanqi products in terms of linearity, higher sensitivity and repeatability. The statistical analysis of the samples by HCA and PCA revealed that the contents of the marker compounds were significantly higher in the raw herb group than the granule group

Biosorption of copper(II) and chromium(VI) by modified tea fungus

The tea fungus was found to have good adsorption capacities for heavy metal ions. In this work it was treated with HCl or NaOH at 20°C or 100°C, with the aim to improve its adsorption ability. The sorption of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions by raw and treated tea fungus was investigated in the batch mode. The largest quantity of adsorbed Cu(II), of about 55 mg/g, was achieved by tea fungus modified with NaOH at 100°C. For Cr(VI), the largest quantity of adsorbed anions, of about 58 mg/g, was achieved by the adsorbent modified with NaOH at 20°C. It was shown that acid modification of tea fungus biomass was not effective. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 43005 i br. TR 31002

A Retrospective Medical Record Review of Adults with Non-Cancer Diagnoses Prescribed Medicinal Cannabis

Research describing patients using medicinal cannabis and its effectiveness is lacking. We aimed to describe adults with non-cancer diagnoses who are prescribed medicinal cannabis via a retrospective medical record review and assess its effectiveness and safety. From 157 Australian records, most were female (63.7%; mean age 63.0 years). Most patients had neurological (58.0%) or musculoskeletal (24.8%) conditions. Medicinal cannabis was perceived beneficial by 53.5% of patients. Mixed-effects modelling and post hoc multiple comparisons analysis showed significant changes overtime for pain, bowel problems, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, mood, quality of life (all p < 0.0001), breathing problems (p = 0.0035), and appetite (p = 0.0465) Symptom Assessment Scale scores. For the conditions, neuropathic pain/peripheral neuropathy had the highest rate of perceived benefit (66.6%), followed by Parkinson’s disease (60.9%), multiple sclerosis (60.0%), migraine (43.8%), chronic pain syndrome (42.1%), and spondylosis (40.0%). For the indications, medicinal cannabis had the greatest perceived effect on sleep (80.0%), followed by pain (51.5%), and muscle spasm (50%). Oral oil preparations of balanced delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol (average post-titration dose of 16.9 mg and 34.8 mg per day, respectively) were mainly prescribed. Somnolence was the most frequently reported side effect (21%). This study supports medicinal cannabis’ potential to safely treat non-cancer chronic conditions and indications

The application of sheet filters in treatment of fruit brandy after cold stabilization

Considering the common use of sheet filtration for clarification of fruit brandies, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of its application on the stability and composition of volatile compounds of apricot brandy after cold stabilisation. Cold stabilisation treatment involved holding of the brandy at -1°C during 24 hours. Five depth filter sheets with the nominal retention rate of 0.3 μm, 0.5-0.7 μm, 0.7-1.0 μm, 1.0-2.0 μm and 2.5-4.0 μm, were tested in the study. It was shown that all assessed filter sheets were efficient in removing chill haze by significantly reducing the content of fatty acid esters (primarily ethyl palmitate and ethyl laurate). Other volatile and aromatic compounds were not significantly influenced by the applied treatments. However, the filter sheets with higher nominal retention rate (> 0.7 μm), had a smaller impact on the sensory characteristics of the apricot brandy. The re-exposure to lower temperatures did not lead to chill haze formation in any sample obtained after sheet filtration. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-31002

Nucleoside transport inhibition by dipyridamole prevents angiogenesis impairment by homocysteine and adenosine

© 2015, Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences. All rights reserved.Purpose. Adenosine plays an important role in the pathogenesis of homocysteine-associated vascular complications. Methods: This study examined the effects of dipyridamole, an inhibitor for nucleoside transport, on impaired angiogenic processes caused by homocysteine and adenosine in human cardiovascular endothelial cell line (EAhy926). Results: The results showed that dipyridamole restored the extracellular adenosine and intracellular S-adenosylhomocysteine concentrations disrupted by the combination of homocysteine and adenosine. Dipyridamole also ameliorated the impaired proliferation, migration and formation of capillary-like tubes of EAhy926 cells caused by the combination of homocysteine and adenosine. Mechanism analysis revealed that dipyridamole induced the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) and its effect on cell growth was attenuated by the MEK inhibitor, U0126. Conclusion: Dipyridamole protected against impaired angiogenesis caused by homocysteine and adenosine, at least in part, by activating the MEK/ERK signalling pathway, and this could be associated with its effects in suppressing intracellular S-adenosylhomocysteine accumulation. Novelty of the Work: This is the first paper showing that nucleoside transport inhibition by dipyridamole reduced impaired angiogenic process caused by homocysteine and adenosine. © 2015, Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences. All rights reserve

Polysaccharide peptide extract from Coriolus versicolor increased Tmax of tamoxifen and maintained biochemical serum parameters, with no change in the metabolism of tamoxifen in the rat

Background: Polysaccharide peptide (PSP) extract of Coriolus versicolor (L.) Quél. (1886) (Trametes; Polyporaceae) is increasingly used in cancer to support the immune system. However, its interaction with tamoxifen is unknown. Aim of the study: To investigate the effect of a PSP extract on the pharmacokinetics, biochemical parameters, and depletion of tamoxifen. Methods: The pharmacokinetic and biochemical parameters of tamoxifen (20 mg/mL oral single dose and repeated dosing for 12 days) was investigated in female Sprague Dawley rats with or without PSP (340 mg/kg orally for 7 days) (n = 5 per group). Tamoxifen (5 µM) depletion rate with PSP (10–100 μg/mL) was measured in female rat hepatic microsomes in vitro. Results: Compared to tamoxifen alone, the time to reach maximum concentration (Tmax) significantly increased by 228% (4.15 ± 1.15 versus 13.6 ± 2.71 h) in the single tamoxifen dose with PSP and 93% (6 ± 2.17 versus 11.6 ± 0.4 h) in the repeated tamoxifen dosing with PSP (p 0.05). PSP extract did not significantly alter in vitro intrinsic clearance of tamoxifen compared to tamoxifen control. Conclusion: With the increased use of PSP as an adjunct therapy, this study highlights the importance of clinician’s knowledge of its interaction with tamoxifen to avoid compromising clinical actions and enhancing clinical therapy

A comparative study of Salvia miltiorrhiza Radix & Rhizoma raw material and granule products using chromatographic analysis and antioxidant activity

Objective: Granules of herbal extracts are a popular medicinal preparation consumed in traditional Chinese medicine clinical practice. However, their quality and efficacy evaluation are lacking. This study aimed to compare the quality and anti-oxidant activity of Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza Radix & Rhizoma) granule extracts with their herbal extracts. Methods: Chromatographic method was used to determine the content of 7 marker compounds in the water extracts of the herb compared to that of 12 granule extracts. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) and principal component analysis (PCA) distinguished the herbal and granule extracts based on the content of the marker compounds. The antioxidant activities of herbal and granule extracts were evaluated by 2, 2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), organic chemical compound 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Results: The herbal extracts group showed significantly higher contents of salvianolic acid B, sodium danshensu and cryptotanshinone compared with that of the granule group. This corresponded to significantly higher ABTS, DPPH and FRAP (P < .05) activities of the herbal extracts. The AHC and PCA analysis distinguished granule extracts from most herbal extracts predominantly by the content of salvianolic acid B. Conclusion: The results confirm the need for the assessment of granule products so that healthcare practitioners and consumers are better informed of their quality and efficacy