Extraction, phytochemistry, nutritional, and therapeutical potentials of rice bran oil: A review

Background: Rice is the third-most-produced crop in the world after corn and sugarcane, and due to its widespread production, its byproduct, rice bran, is widely available. One option to add value to this agricultural waste is by utilizing the potential phytochemicals in rice bran oil (RBO). Rice bran oil contains vital chemicals with medicinal and nutritional benefits. This paper examines the numerous ways that rice bran oil is extracted, the various phytochemicals that are present, as well as their potential for use in nutrition and medicine. Method: A review of literatures released from 1996 to 2023 was done, with just one more item of literature from 1973. The search was performed in various online platforms such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Springer, Research4Life, Web of Science, SciFinder, Science Open etc. The more recent literatures were given more consideration, and the older literatures were only taken into account when they were absolutely essential in light of the subject at hand. Results: Literature survey has revealed that the essential phytochemical components of RBO includes phenolic acids, flavonoids, γ-oryzanol and ferulic acids and vitamin E which constitutes tocopherols and tocotrienols as well as other unique fatty acids. Numerous therapeutical potentials, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer activities have been evidenced, thanks to these significant phytochemical ingredients. Additionally, numerous nutritional potentials of RBO have been researched and reported. Conclusions: This review consolidates information on the developments in RBO extraction techniques, phytochemical components, and their nutritional and medicinal benefits. Also included are the approach towards processing of rice bran. Considering the abundance and potential of this agrowaste, the use of RBO based phytochemicals for nutritional and therapeutic purpose is worthy pursuing further

Approaches to mitigation of hydrogen sulfide during anaerobic digestion process – A review

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the primary technology for energy production from wet biomass under a limited oxygen supply. Various wastes rich in organic content have been renowned for enhancing the process of biogas production. However, several other intermediate unwanted products such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, carbon dioxide, siloxanes and halogens have been generated during the process, which tends to lower the quality and quantity of the harvested biogas. The removal of hydrogen sulfide from wastewater, a potential substrate for anaerobic digestion, using various technologies is covered in this study. It is recommended that microaeration would increase the higher removal efficiency of hydrogen sulfide based on a number of benefits for the specific method. The process is primarily accomplished by dosing smaller amounts of oxygen in the digester, which increases the system's oxidizing capacity by rendering the sulfate reducing bacteria responsible for converting sulfate ions to hydrogen sulfide inactive. This paper reviews physicochemical and biological methods that have been in place to eliminate the effects of hydrogen sulfide from wastewater treated anaerobically and future direction to remove hydrogen sulfide from biogas produced

Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological study of Ocimum americanum L.: A review

Background: Ocimum americanum L., commonly known as Hoary basil, is a wild aromatic shrub traditionally used to treat different ailments. Its leaves, flowers and aerial parts have been widely studied to evaluate its medicinal potential such as lowering blood pressure, treatment of microbial infections, malaria, cold, liver and eye problems. Purpose: This study aims to provide an in-depth review of ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of O. americanum, to evaluate its benefits, challenges and potential future prospects. Methods: All the information about O. americanum was collected from various platforms, including google scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, plants of the world online and Research4Life. The acceptance criteria of the collected information based on the PICOS model. The GRADE approach was used to analyze and evaluate the quality of the collected information. Results: This study showed that O. americanum has tremendous therapeutic potential to be integrated into mainstream medical practice to manage various medical conditions. The inconsistence of the phytoconstituents among the plant parts resulted in a significant variation of pharmacological activities. Plant originality, genetic variability and extraction techniques are among the factors contributing to the variation of phytoconstituents that are responsible for pharmacological activities. Conclusion: This study revealed that O. americanum is a potential medicinal plant for mitigating various medical conditions. However, future study should continue to focus on the bioactive compounds and their mechanisms of action. Additionally, the utilization of the O. americanum for the development of drugs as well as quality evaluation in clinical settings are highly recommended

Chemical profiling of Cannabis sativa from eleven Tanzanian regions

The aim of this research was to investigate the chemical profiles of Cannabis sativa from 11 Tanzanian regions using preliminary tests as well as instrumental analyses with GC-MS and LC-MS. Generally, all the seized samples tested positive for the presence of (Δ9-THC. The preliminary test with Duquenois method followed by chloroform addition revealed the presence of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in all the samples. GC-MS analyses of the samples revealed the presence of nine cannabinoids including Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC, cannabidivarol, cannabidiol, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (Δ9-THCV), cannabichromene, cannabinol, caryophyllene, and cannabicouramaronone, whereas LC-MS chemical profiling revealed the presence 24 chemical substances, including 4 cannabinoids, 15 different types of drugs and 5 amino acids. The Pwani region had the highest percentage composition of Δ9-THC (13.45%), the main psychoactive ingredient of Cannabis sativa, followed by Arusha (10.92%) and Singida (10.08%). The sample from Kilimanjaro had the lowest percentage of Δ9-THC (6.72%). Apart from cannabinoids, the majority of other chemical substances were found in the Dar es Salaam region sample, which could be attributed to the fact that the city is the epicenter of business rather than the cultivation area, implying that the samples were obtained from different sources and blended as a single package

Solid Solutions of Lead Metaniobate-Stabilization of the Ferroelectric Polymorph and the Effect on the Lattice Parameters, Dielectric, Ferroelectric, and Piezoelectric Properties

Ferroelectric orthorhombic lead metaniobate (PbNb2O6) is known to be metastable with respect to the thermodynamically stable nonferroelectric rhombohedral polymorph. The high-temperature tetragonal to low temperature rhombohedral phase transition is reconstructive and thereby sluggish; ferroelectric PbNb2O6 is obtained by quenching from the stable phase field of the tetragonal polymorph. We report on the stabilization of the ferroelectric tungsten bronze polymorphs of PbNb2O6 by minor chemical substitution in the series [(1 - x) PbNb2O6-xBiTiNbO(6)], [(1 - x)PbNb2O6-xNa(0.5)Bi(0.5)Nb(2)O(6)], [(1 - x)PbNb2O6-xK(0.5)Bi(0.5)Nb(2)O(6)], and [(1 - x)PbNb2O6-xCaTiO(3)]. The high- temperature tungsten bronze polymorph is entropy stabilized with respect to the stable rhombohedral polymorph, and we propose that the tungsten bronze is further entropy stabilized by chemical substitution, reducing the transition temperature of the rhombohedral polymorph and further disfavoring the kinetics of the undesired phase transition. Optimized solid-state synthesis and processing to obtain dense ceramics were developed for the solid solutions, and the dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of the PbNb2O6 solid solutions are reported. Curie temperature is suppressed with chemical substitution in all the systems. Lattice cell parameters display systematic variation with composition, reducing the molar volume, and the lattice parameter ratio 2b/a with increasing degree of substitution, reflecting a suppression of the polarization along the (010) direction due to chemical substitution. The piezoelectric properties improved with increasing substitution level probably due to the ease of poling of the materials with lower T-c. However, some improvements seen with 2% CaTiO3 were not accompanied by T-c decrease

Nonlinear mechanical behaviour of Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3−δ and in situ stress dependent synchrotron X-ray diffraction study

Perovskite type Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3 − δ ceramics display nonlinear stress-strain behaviour upon uniaxial compression at room temperature. Step functional loading experiments show that the nonlinear strain response of the material is time dependent, partially reversible and depends on the oxygen vacancy concentration. In situ compressive stress-dependent synchrotron X-ray diffraction reveals that the nonlinearity is not related to ferroelasticity or a stress-induced phase transformation. The oxygen vacancy concentration and average spin state were determined from Rietveld analysis of the magnetic scattering found in the neutron powder diffraction data, indicating their role during mechanical loading. An oxygen vacancy migration model and a spin-state transition are proposed as possible mechanisms of nonlinear mechanical response