A potential antibacterial agent Embelin, a natural benzoquinone extracted from Embelia ribes

Herbal medicine has been used for the prevention and treatment of various health aliments from time immemorial. In the present work, embelin from Embelia ribes berries of Indian origin was extracted and characterized by UV, NMR, thermal and X-ray diffraction analyses. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of embelin against both Gram +ve and Gram -ve bacteria were studied using micro dilution method and agar plate method by sub-culturing 10μl of the test dilutions from MIC tubes on to fresh Mueller-Hinton agar plates. About 1.9± 0.1 gram of pure embelin was obtained from 100 gram of powdered berries (E.ribes). The characteristics studied reveal the properties are on par with the standard embelin received from Sigma (USA). With regard to antibacterial activity, embelin showed bactericidal activity against Gram +ve organisms, and bacteriostatic against Gram -ve organisms. Thus, embelin finds application as potent antibacterial agent

Management of chromium induced oxidative stress by marine Bacillus licheniformis

The present study describes management of oxidative stress induced by heavy metal chromium in marine Bacillus licheniformis (NCBI GenBank Accession Number- HM194725). It is identified that the isolate reduces 10-1500 mg/L of Cr (VI) within 24-72 h. Existence of chromium reductase in growth medium implies the possibility of enzymatic reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr (III). Nevertheless, no correlation was observed between the real concentration of Cr (III) and the predicted concentration upon reduction of Cr (VI). Extracellular surface-active agent (biosurfactant) of the isolate was found responsible for the reduced level of Cr (III) in the solution which eventually provides tolerance to the cells towards hexavalent chromium and protects the cells from oxidative stress

Quality assessment of commercial formulations of tin based herbal drug by physico-chemical fingerprints

The Tin based herbal drug Vanga Parpam is extensively used for treating urino genital infections, Odema, Polydepsia and Dyspepsia effectively. There are no reports of physico chemical fingerprints for the tin based drug available. Proper characterization techniques are required for checking the quality of the commercial samples, in terms of the physical and chemical constitution to meet the expected criteria to support its use worldwide. Two popular commercial brands such drug were characterized and compared in terms of morphology, composition, crystal lattice, and oxidation state of the active metal. Physico-chemical fingerprints were generated for the samples using analytical techniques like Powder X ray crystallography, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X ray Analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy and Fourier Transformed Infra Red spectroscopy. It was found that the percentage of tin varied drastically in both brands along with a difference in the percentage composition of other elements and surface morphology which would have significant impact on the therapeutic efficacy and pharmacological activity of the drug samples. The current study appropriately substantiated the need for the use of modern analytical techniques in the establishment of quality and safety assurance of such potent drug

Ga and In Modified Ceria as a Support for Cobalt Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Ceria modified by the addition of gallium or indium (20 mol%) was used as a support for cobalt Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The addition of gallium to ceria improved the CO conversion for cobalt, whereas indium tended to decrease it. A similar trend was observed with the Ag-promoted cobalt/ceria catalysts that were doped with Ga or In. For Ag promoted catalysts, doping with Ga or In decreased methane and increased the product selectivities of olefins and alcohols. The sum of olefins and alcohols in terms of product selectivity for the Ag-promoted catalysts decreased in the following order: Ag-Co/Ce-Ga \u3e Ag-Co/Ce-In \u3e Ag-Co/Ce. The H2-TPR-XANES data shown that addition of gallium or indium to ceria increased the fraction of surface Ce3+ for both unpromoted and Ag promoted catalysts. This partially reduced ceria plays an important role in the product selectivity of cobalt for FT synthesis

Review on Carbon Dioxide Utilization for Cycloaddition of Epoxides by Ionic Liquid-Modified Hybrid Catalysts: Effect of Influential Parameters and Mechanisms Insight

The storage, utilization, and control of the greenhouse (CO2) gas is a topic of interest for researchers in academia and society. The present review article is dedicating to cover the overall role of ionic liquid-modified hybrid materials in cycloaddition reactions. Special emphasis is on the synthesis of various cyclic carbonate using ionic liquid-based modified catalysts. Catalytic activity studies have discussed with respect to process conditions and their effects on conversion and product selectivity for the reaction of cycloaddition of CO2 with styrene oxide. The reaction temperature and the partial pressure of CO2 have found to play a key role in cyclic carbonate formation. The role of other influential parameter (solvent effect) is also discussed for the conversion of cyclic/aromatic oxides to polycarbonate production. Our own research work that deals with ionic liquid-based halide-modified mesoporous catalyst (MCM-41 type) derived from rice husk waste has also been discussed. Finally, the role of carbon dioxide activation and ring-opening mechanisms involved in the cyclic carbonate product formation from CO2 have been discussed

Bioinformatics in crosslinking chemistry of collagen with selective cross linkers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Identifying the molecular interactions using bioinformatics tools before venturing into wet lab studies saves the energy and time considerably. The present study summarizes, molecular interactions and binding energy calculations made for major structural protein, collagen of Type I and Type III with the chosen cross-linkers, namely, coenzyme Q₁₀, dopaquinone, embelin, embelin complex-1 & 2, idebenone, 5-O-methyl embelin, potassium embelate and vilangin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Molecular descriptive analyses suggest, dopaquinone, embelin, idebenone, 5-O-methyl embelin, and potassium embelate display nil violations. And results of docking analyses revealed, best affinity for Type I (- 4.74 kcal/mol) and type III (-4.94 kcal/mol) collagen was with dopaquinone.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Among the selected cross-linkers, dopaquinone, embelin, potassium embelate and 5-O-methyl embelin were the suitable cross-linkers for both Type I and Type III collagen and stabilizes the collagen at the expected level.</p

Removal of Tannic Acid From Aqueous Solution by Cloud Point Extraction and Investigation of Surfactant Regeneration by Microemulsion Extraction

The aim of this work is the extraction of tannic acid (TA) with two commercial nonionic surfactants, separately: Lutensol ON 30 and Triton X-114 (TX-114).The experimental cloud point extraction results are expressed by four responses to surfactant concentration and temperature variations: extent of TA extraction (E), remaining solute (X s,w) and surfactant (X t,w) concentrations in dilute phase and volume fraction of coacervate (Φc) at equilibrium. An empirical smoothing method was used and the results are represented on three dimensional plots. In optimal conditions, the extraction extent of TA reaches 95 and 87 % using TX-114 and Lutensol ON 30, respectively. Sodium sulfate, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) addition and pH effect are also studied. Finally, the possibility of recycling of the surfactant is proved