Biological roles of momilactones: achievements, challenges, and promising approaches to exploit their beneficial properties

Momilactones are defined as every lactone derived from rice husk. To date, these compounds can only be naturally found in rice (Oryza lineage) and moss (Pseudoleskeella papillosa and Hypnum plumaeforme). Their basic structure refers to the (9β-H)-pimarane skeleton bearing a γ-butyrolactone. In this review, the beneficial properties of momilactones, especially momilactones A (MA) and B (MB), including allelopathy, antimicrobials, antioxidants, anti-chronic diseases, anti-inflammation, and anticancer, are highlighted. Additionally, the signaling roles of momilactones in the response of host plants against environmental stresses are discussed, raising the question of whether momilactones act as novel phytohormones that require further comprehensive clarification. In another aspect, we come up with promising approaches to the future exploitation of these valuable compounds based on the current knowledge of their bioactivity mechanisms, biosynthetic pathways, and isolation protocols. However, momilactone biosynthetic processes remain elusive. Moreover, challenges in researching these compounds are mainly due to difficulties in isolation procedures and the lack of commercial sources, which have been least improved over the last half-century. Accordingly, we propose promising strategies to address these present problems and promote the effectiveness of further research, including: i) to improve the efficiency of momilactone extraction and isolation from plant sources; ii) to increase momilactone production applying synthetic models; iii) to generate crops that accumulate greater momilactone contents through genetic engineering approaches; iv) to discover new applications that combine momilactones with other prospective substances for enhancing targeted biological properties and preventing undesirable impacts; and v) to employ smart farming for optimizing the application of momilactones, monitoring their levels, and promoting sustainable agriculture. This paper may provide valuable insights for future strategies, focusing on the exploitation of momilactones for human health-beneficial purposes and the development of green agriculture aligned with sustainable development targets

Tannins: Extraction from Plants

The chapter presents mainly on different extraction methods of tannin. Some technical means required for effective extraction are also presented, for example, collection and treatment of plant and drying and storage of plant. Opportunity and challenges in application of extraction methods are also exhibited in the chapter

Analyzing the Sea Weather Effects to the Ship Maneuvering in Vietnam’s Sea from BinhThuan Province to Ca Mau Province Based on Fuzzy Control Method

Vietnam is located in the tropical monsoon climate, so there are many storms affecting the marine environment each year. However, Vietnam’s sea also has distinct characteristics due to the continental shelf factors, salinity, sea currents and viscosity water. In this paper, the sea weather effects to the ship in the sea area from BinhThuan province to Ca Mau province are analyzed. Specifically, wave, wind and current which are the three main factors affecting the safety of ship are thoroughly examined. Importantly, the survey parameters have been built from the actual operating environment. In addition, maintaining the stability of dynamic positioning system in Vietnam weather conditions is the main point of this study

Optimization Parameters of Milling Process of Mould Material for Decreasing Machining Power and Surface Roughness Criteria

Improving milling performances is an effective solution to decrease the costs required. This paper addressed a multi-response optimization to simultaneously decrease the machining power consumed Pm, arithmetical roughness Ra, and ten-spot roughness Rz. The Grey-Response Surface Method-Multi Island Genetic Algorithm (GRMA) consisting of grey relational analysis (GRA), response surface method (RSM), and multi-island genetic algorithm (MA) was proposed to predict the optimal parameters and yield optimum milling performances. The experimental trials were conducted with the support of a CNC milling center. The influences of spindle speed (S), depth of cut (ap), feed rate (fz), and tip radius (r) were explored using GRA. The nonlinear relationship between machining parameters and grey grade (GG) model was developed using RSM. Finally, two optimization techniques, including desirability approach (DA) and MA were performed to observe the optimal values. The results indicated that the machining power was greatly affected by processing factors and the radius has a significant impact on the roughness criteria. The measured reductions using optimal parameters of Pm, Ra, and Rz are approximately 77.05%, 50.00%, and 58.02%, respectively, as compared to initial settings. The GRMA can be considered as an effective approach to generate reliable values of processing conditions and technological performances in the milling process

Growth and morphological responses of Halophila beccarii to low salinity

Halophila beccarii Ascherson is classified as a threatened seagrass species by IUCN because of the reductive tendency of ​​its distribution area. This seagrass is considered a euryhaline species adapted to a wide range of salinities from freshwater and brackish water to marine water. Previous studies showed that the species tends to grow better under low salinity; however, its optimum salinity has not been determined. In Vietnam, H. beccarii grows in habitats with low salinity (0–20 ppt). The results show that salinity affects the growth, survival rate, shoot density, biomass, and morphological characteristics of the grass. The leaf dimension is more prolonged and broader; the petiole and shoot length are longer at 10 ppt salinity. In contrast, both the number of shoots and biomass peak at 5 ppt and decrease at lower and higher salinities. The study reveals that H. beccarii can grow better under mesohaline conditions than freshwater and hypersaline conditions with an optimum salinity at 5–10 ppt. These findings would explain the species’ distribution dynamics in coastal environments and be helpful information for conserving the seagrass populations in habitats with fluctuating salinity as coastal lagoons in Central Vietnam

Optimization of protein extraction from "Cam" rice bran by response surface methodology

"Cam" rice bran was considered a waste product from rice, which is rich in natural compounds and protein owing to its outstanding nutritional value. This study aimed to establish an optimization model for extracting protein from rice bran, with two responses: extraction yield (%) and protein content (%). The variable parameters included were pH (8.5-9.5), stirring time (3.5-4.5 h), and enzyme incubation temperature (85-95°C). The coefficient of determination for both models were above 0.95, indicating a high correlation between the actual and estimated values. The maximum extraction yield and protein content were achieved when the conditions were set at pH of 9.02, stirring time of 4.02 h, and extraction temperature of 90.6°C. Under these optimum conditions, the predicted protein extracted from rice bran was 43.03% (moisture <13.0%), with an extraction yield of 15.9%. The findings of this study suggested that this protocol can enhance the utilization of rice bran and might be employed on a large scale in the food industry to exploit the nutritional source

Immobilizing Alcalase® Enzyme onto Magnetic Nanoparticles

In recent years, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been applied to numerous biological systems. The nanoparticles are particularly useful in separating biological molecules due to its low price, scalable ability and very little interference. Here, MNPs, which can efficiently separate biocatalysts from reaction media by external magnet, was used to immobilize an alkaline protease (Alcalase®). Covalent attachment of the enzyme to MNPs began with the functionalization of the MNPs' surface with amines (APTES). Then, glutaraldehyde was introduced to link the MNP surface amines with enzyme surface amine residues, typically lysine. Successful covalent bonds were checked by FT-IR. Our results showed the attached enzyme did not affect superparamagnetic property of MNPs, therefore the MNPs-attached enzyme was easily recovered after the reaction. The immobilized enzyme maintained its activities after 10 times of recycle uses

Investigation of Sodium Manganese Oxide Nanowires Synthesized by Hydrothermal Method for Alkaline Ion Battery

Sodium Manganese Oxide (NaxMnO2) has attracted much attention as cathode materials for alkaline ion battery due to the ability of fast charge and discharge ion Na+, in particular in nanoscale. We report on the synthesis of NaxMnO2 nanowires via hydrothermal synthesis route from Mn2O3 and NaOH solution. The morphological observation indicates that the obtained Na0.44MnO2 nanowires with diameters of about 20-30 nm, length up to several micrometers were formed by this process. The electrochemical properties of fabricated materials were investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry technique and show that Sodium Manganese Oxide (NaxMnO2) is a promising material in the field of research and fabrication alkaline ion battery

Comparison of dispersion characteristics of hollow-core photonic crystal fibers filled with aromatic compounds

In this paper, hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) infiltrated with benzene and nitrobenzene are designed and investigated. Their dispersion characteristics are numerically simulated. The results show that using the aromatic-compounds-filled hollow core of PCFs makes dispersion curves flat. In addition, the dispersion curves approach the zero-dispersion line closer than previously published dispersion curves of PCFs with toluene, thus significantly improving the supercontinuum generation to create the ultra-flat spectrum expansion