Phenolic Compounds from Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) By-products and their Antimicrobial Activities

Cynara scolymus L. is a medicinal plant frequently used in traditional medicine for liver diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the different parts of Artichoke. Maximum antimicrobial activity was observed with methanolic extract of bound phenols for (bract and heart) against Gram negative bacteria. The MIC values for bound phenols from heart were (63?g/ml). Whereas, the bound phenols for bracts was ranged from (312 and 486?g/ml) against Gram negative and (486?g/ml) against Gram positive. Free phenols of the heart of artichoke showed the lowest MIC (204 to 206) ?g/mL for microorganism Gram positive and Gram negative. Therefore, this study indicate that the free phenolic extract from bracts of Cynara scolymus L. might be of interest within the developing market of nutritional ingredients and is capable of yielding nutritional supplements with antimicrobial activities. Key words: artichoke wastes, antibacterial effect

Evaluation of Turkish Delight Prepared With Pigments And Essential Oils Extracted From Clementine (Citrus Clementine) Peels As Natural Antioxidants

مستخلص قشر الكلمينتين غني بالمركبات الفعالة كالزيوت الطيارة والصبغات النشطة بيولوجيًا. وقد يؤدى خلط الملبن بمستحلص قشور الكلمينتين الى ان يصبح أكثر فائدة من الناحية  الصحية بالاضافة الى انه قد يؤثر على  صفات الجودة الفيزيائية والكيميائية والحسية للمنتج. وقد تم فى هذه الدراسة تقدير محتوى الزيوت الأساسية بواسطة ال GC/MS والصبغات والنشاط المضاد للأكسدة لقشور الكلمينتين بالأضافة الى التقييم الحسى لعينات الملبن. اظهرت النتائج ان الليمونين (66.88%) كان هو المركب الأعلى فى المحتوى مقارنة بالزيوت الأساسية الاخرى. أظهرت قشور الكلمينتين نشاط مضاد للأكسدة باستخدام طرق DPPH و ABTS . أظهرت جميع تركيزات المستخلص قيم حسية مقبولة من حيث المظهر واللون والرائحة والقبول العام مقارنة بالملبن الكونترول. إلى جانب ذلك ، أظهرت عينات الملبن المحتوية على 15 مللجرام من مستخلص صبغة الأستازانثين أعلى درجات التقييم الحسيى مقارنة بعينات الملبن الأخرى والكونترول. وكان المنتج الأقل قبولًا لدى المحكمين هو المحتوى على تركيز 3.75 مللجرام من مستخلص صبغة الأستازانثين مقارنةً بالكونترول. كما أظهرت جميع العينات التي تم تحليلها أن الملبن المدعم من صبغة الأستازانتين والتي تحتوي على نسبة عالية من الزيوت الأساسية لها نشاط مضادات للأكسدة جيد. و  توصى الدراسة باستخدام قشر الكلمينتين كمكون وظيفي مفيد ذو قيمة غذائية وصحية يمكن استخدامة فى الصناعات الغذائية كإضافات.This experiment presented essential oils by GC/MS, pigment content, and their antioxidant activities as well as sensory evaluation of delight samples. Limonene (66.88%) was the most prevalent yield. The peels of clementine had DPPH and ABT Scavenging activity. All levels of pigment extract had better scores for all sensory values and recorded acceptable scores in terms of appearance, color, aroma, and overall acceptability compared to control delight. Besides, delight samples containing 15 mg astaxanthin pigment extract showed maximum sensory scores compared to other samples and control delight. On the other hand, the product was less acceptable to the panelists compared to control in the case of the addition of 3.75 mg astaxanthin pigment extract. All the analyzed samples showed that delight fortified with astaxanthin pigment which has high contents of essential oils has good antioxidant activities. As a general conclusion, Clementine peels are recommended as a useful value-added functional ingredient for the food industry as natural additives that will be healthier than artificial additives

A Comparative Study on the Active Constituents, Antioxidant Capacity and Anti-Cancer Activity of Cruciferous Vegetable Residues

أجريت هذه الدراسة لتقييم كفاءة وفعالية مخلفات أربعة أنواع من خضروات العائلة الصليبية (البراسيكا) تم ستخلاصهم بمذيبين (الميانولي  - المائي) وهم كاتالي البروكولي ، كرنب بروكسل ، القرنبيط ، الفجل الأحمر. وتم تقييم المستخلصات من حيث محتواها الكلي من المركبات الفعالة مثل الفينولات و الفلاڤونيدات والتانينات وڤيتامين سي واتعرف عليها بالـ HPLC ودراسة نشاطاتها المضادة للأكسدة بأكثر من طريقة مثل الـ DPPH· والـ Fe2+-chelating والـ Reducing power وكذلك دراسة كفاءتها في كبح جماح ومنع إنتشار وتكاثر ثلاثة أنواع من الخلايا السرطانية للإنسان علي النطاق المعملي مثل خلايا سرطان الكبد HePG2 و خلايا سرطان القولون HTC116 وخلايا سرطان الثدي MCF7. أظهرت النتائج أن المستخلص الميثانولي لمخلفات البروكولي وكرنب بروكسيل أعطي أعلي محتوي من المركبات الفعالة و أعلي نشاط مضاد للأكسدة في كبح جماح الشق الحر الـ DPPH· و وأعلي قدرات إختزلية ضد الحديديك الـ Reducing power. بينما أظهر المستخلص المائي لكل من كرنب بروكسيل والقرنبيط اعلى نشاط في عملية خلب الحديدوز الـ Fe2+-chelating. أكد تحليل HPLC للتعرف علي المركبات الفينولية الموجودة في مستخلصات مخلفات خضروات البراسيكا التي تم التعرف عليها أن المستخلص الميثانولي يمتلك كميات مرتفعة من الكاتشين والروتين والكيوماريك والبنزويك و الليتيولين. كما أظهر المستخلص الميثانولي لمخلفات كرنب بروكسيل تأثيراً مثبطاً و مانع للإنتشار وقاتل مع كافة أنواع الخلايا السرطانية وكان ذلك متبوعاً بالبروكولي والفجل الاحمر على التوالي. أكدت هذه النتائج أن مخلفات كرنب بروكسيل تحتوي على مركبات كيميائية فعالة يمكنها أن تمنع تكاثر الخلايا السرطانية. لذلك ، اقترحت هذه النتائج أن مخلفات خضروات البراسيكا يمكن إستخدامها كمضادات أكسدة قوية ومضادة لإنتشار الخلايا السرطانية وذلك في تطبيقات الصناعات الغذائية و الدوائية.This study is pointed out to estimate the effectiveness of two solvents in the extraction and evaluating the active ingredients and their antioxidant activity as well as anti-cancer efficiency. Therefore, residues from four different Brassica vegetables viz. broccoli, Brussels sprout, cauliflower, and red cherry radish were extracted using two procedures methods: methanolic and water crude extracts. Methanol extracts showed the highest content of total phenolic (TP), total flavonoids (TF), and total tannins (TT) for broccoli and Brussels sprouts residues. Methanolic extract of broccoli and Brussels sprouts residues showed the highest DPPH· scavenging activity (IC50 = 15.39 and 18.64 µg/ml). The methanol and water extracts of Brussels sprout residues showed the highest chelating activity (IC50 = 11.77 and 5.94 µg/ml) and exhibited the highest reducing power (EC50 =14.38 and 20.18 µg/ml) with broccoli respectively. The HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds confirmed that the methanol extract of all the residues examined possessed high amounts of catchine, rutin, cumaric, benzoic, and luteolin. The methanol extract at 100 µg/ml of Brussels sprouts residues displayed a rise cytotoxic effect on HePG2 (80.40%), MCF7 (75.49%) and HCT116 (22.74%) followed by broccoli and red cherry radish, respectively. This result confirmed that Brussels sprouts residue contain effective chemical compounds that can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Therefore, these results proposed that those Brassica vegetable residues might be beneficial as a potent antioxidant and anticancer agents and strongly recommended as fixing in constituent's food applications and pharmaceutical industries

Antioxidant and AntiproliferativeEffects on Human Liver HePG2Epithelial Cells from Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) By-Products

Cynara scolymus L.is a medicinal plant frequently used in traditional medicine for liver diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and Anti-tumer effect in human Liver HePG2 epithelial cells of artichoke. The antioxidant activity of the free phenolic of bracts methanolic extract, as measured with the DPPH.freeradical scavenging activity and iron chelating showed significant antioxidant activity > 0.05  as well as yielded the largest quantity of  phenolics and flavonoids  compounds. A significant increase was observed in hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HePG2) 78.3 % treated with free phenolic extract of bracts higher than that found in by the heart of artichoke 36.7%. This work showed that extracts with high antioxidant activity can be obtained from artichoke and artichoke by-products. Therefore, this study indicate that the free phenolic extract from bracts of Cynara scolymusL. might be of interest within the developing market of nutritional ingredients and is capable of yielding nutritional supplements with antioxidant and anticancer activities. Key words: Artichoke by-products, antioxidant, antitumor, HepG

Ascorbic Acid Induces the Increase of Secondary Metabolites, Antioxidant Activity, Growth, and Productivity of the Common Bean under Water Stress Conditions

One of the most vital environmental factors that restricts plant production in arid and semi-arid environments is the lack of fresh water and drought stress. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) productivity is severely limited by abiotic stress, especially climate-related constraints. Therefore, a field experiment in split-plot design was carried out to examine the potential function of ascorbic acid (AsA) in mitigating the adverse effects of water stress on common bean. The experiment included two irrigation regimes (100% or 50% of crop evapotranspiration) and three AsA doses (0, 200, or 400 mg L−1 AsA). The results revealed that water stress reduced common bean photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids), carbonic anhydrase activity, antioxidant activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical activity scavenging activity and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation assay), growth and seed yield, while increased enzymatic antioxidants (peroxidase), secondary metabolites (phenolic, flavonoids, and tannins), malondialdehyde (MDA), and crop water productivity. In contrast, the AsA foliar spray enhanced all studied traits and the enhancement was gradual with the increasing AsA dose. The linear regression model predicted that when the AsA dose increase by 1.0 mg L−1, the seed yield is expected to increase by 0.06 g m−2. Enhanced water stress tolerance through adequate ascorbic acid application is a promising strategy to increase the tolerance and productivity of common bean under water stress. Moreover, the response of common bean to water deficit appears to be dependent on AsA dose

EFFECT OF NEEM AND WILLOW AQUEOUS EXTRACTS ON FUSARIUM WILT DISEASE IN TOMATO SEEDLINGS: 1-INDUCTION OF ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSIVE ENZYMES

Fusarium wilt disease is one of the major plant diseases that affect tomato production. The effects of neem (Azadirachta indica) and willow (Salix babylonica) aqueous extracts on fusarium wilt disease in tomato seedlings were investigated. Four weeks old tomato seedlings were treated with 10% of either neem and willow aqueous extracts and then infected with Fusarium oxysporum after 4 days of treatment. The results showed that the percentage of disease incidence was increased in non treated tomato seedlings in time dependent manner and reached the maximum level (65%) after 6 weeks of infection. Treatments of tomato plants with neem and willow aqueous extracts reduced the percentage of disease incidence to the level of 25.5% and 27.8% after 6 weeks of infection respectively. The results show that infection of tomato seedling with Fusarium oxysporum led to many morphological and biochemical changes including, reducing the growth of tomato shoot and root, increasing the level of lipid peroxidation and marked increase in the activities of antioxidant defensive enzyme i.e. POX, CAT, and SOD. Treatment with neem and willow aqueous extracts significantly exhibited a growth promotion of tomato shoot and root in infected or non infected seedling. Moreover, application of neem and willow aqueous extracts with fusarium, significantly reduce the level of lipid peroxidation and induce high activities of antioxidant defensive enzymes after 3 and 7 days of infection. Electrophoretic pattern of POX demonstrated that Fusarium oxysporum caused up regulation of several POX isoenzymes. It could be concluded that neem and willow aqueous extracts reduced the disease incidence of fusarium wilt in tomato seedlings by increasing the activities of antioxidant defensive enzymes and decreasing the level of lipid peroxidation

PREPARATION AND FLAVOUR EVALUATION OF HIGH QUALITY FREEZE DRIED SEASONING BLEND

Combinations of different spices were used at variable concentrations in the preparation of vari-ous curry blends. The sample showed the highest sensory attributes in comparison with control cur-ry sample was compounded with different spices, onion and garlic at variable concentrations in cor-responding seasoning blend. The oleoresin of the seasoning blend that possessed the highest quality scores was prepared and subjected to freeze drying process after dispersion on suitable carrier. The flavour contribution percentages of the character-istic notes; light sweet top, medium aromatic, full boiled spicy and pungent spicy were calculated for each curry and seasoning blends. The hydro dis-tilled (HD) oils of the selected curry and its con-stituents were subjected to GC-MS analysis. The results revealed the high contribution of the com-ponents possess spicy note in the raw curry sam-ple. The components possess pungent notes showed less representation. β-Caryophellene was the major compounds in the HD oil of raw season-ing blends followed by δ-carene and ar-turmenone. The qualitative and quantitative varia-tion in the volatile compounds separated from the HD oil of the freeze dried sample may be attribut-ed to the interaction between such components and the used carrier (10% maltodextrin in water)

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Improving Tolerance of Faba Bean during Early Growth Stages to Salinity through Micronutrients Foliar Spray

Salinity, either of soil or of irrigation water, causes disturbances in plant growth and nutrient balance. Previous work indicates that applying nutrients by foliar application increases tolerance to salinity. A pot experiment with three replicates was carried out in the green house of NRC, Cairo, Egypt, to study the effect of micronutrients foliar application on salt tolerance of faba bean. Two concentrations of a micronutrient compound (0.1% and 0.15%) were sprayed in two different treatments prior to or after the salinity treatments. Levels of NaCl (0.00-1000-2000-5000 ppm) were supplied to irrigation water. Results indicated that 2000 and 5000 ppm NaCl inhibited growth and nutrient uptake. Spraying micronutrients could restore the negative effect of salinity on dry weight and nutrients uptake, when sprayed either before or after the salinity treatments. It is suggested that micronutrient foliar sprays could be used to improve plant tolerance to salinity