Flavokawain C (FKC) is a naturally occurring chalcone which can be found in Kava (Piper methysticum Forst) root. The present study evaluated the effect of FKC on the growth of various human cancer cell lines and the underlying associated mechanisms. FKC showed higher cytotoxic activity against HCT 116 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner in comparison to other cell lines (MCF-7, HT-29, A549 and CaSki), with minimal toxicity on normal human colon cells. The apoptosis-inducing capability of FKC on HCT 116 cells was evidenced by cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation and increased phosphatidylserine externalization. FKC was found to disrupt mitochondrial membrane potential, resulting in the release of Smac/DIABLO, AIF and cytochrome c into the cytoplasm. Our results also revealed that FKC induced intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis via upregulation of the levels of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bak) and death receptors (DR5), while downregulation of the levels of anti-apoptotic proteins (XIAP, cIAP-1, c-FlipL, Bcl-xL and survivin), resulting in the activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9 and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). FKC was also found to cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as suggested by the elevation of GADD153 protein after FKC treatment. After the cells were exposed to FKC (60μM) over 18hrs, there was a substantial increase in the phosphorylation of ERK 1/2. The expression of phosphorylated Akt was also reduced. FKC also caused cell cycle arrest in the S phase in HCT 116 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner and with accumulation of cells in the sub-G1 phase. This was accompanied by the downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK2 and CDK4), consistent with the upregulation of CDK inhibitors (p21Cip1 and p27Kip1), and hypophosphorylation of Rb.
Chalcones are a group of compounds widely distributed in plant kingdom. The aim of this study was to assess the neurite outgrowth stimulatory activity of selected chalcones, namely helichrysetin, xanthohumol and flavokawin-C. Using adherent rat pheochromocytoma (PC12 Adh) cells, the chalcones were subjected to neurite outgrowth assay and the extracellular nerve growth factor (NGF) levels were determined. Xanthohumol (10 μg/mL) displayed the highest (p
Brown rice is unpolished rice with immeasurable benefits for human health. Brown rice (BR) and pre-germinated brown rice (PGBR) are known to contain various functional compounds such as gamma-oryzanol, dietary fibre and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In the present study, the experimental diets containing BR and PGBR (24, 48 h pre-germination) were used to investigate the influence of pre-germination time of brown rice on blood cholesterol in Sprague-Dawley male rats.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of fortification and nano-size reduction on calcium absorption and bioavailability of milk powder formula in sham, ovariectomized, and ovariectomized-osteoporosis rats as a menopause and menopause-osteoporosis model. Skim milk powder and skim milk powder fortified with calcium citrate and the suitable doses of inulin, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and vitamins D3, K1, and B6 were formulated based on the North American and Western European recommended dietary allowances. Optimization on cycle and pressure of high-pressure homogenizer was done to produce nano-fortified milk powder. In vivo study demonstrated that fortification and calcium citrate nano-fortified milk powder increased absorption and bioavailability of calcium, as well as bone stiffness and bone strength in sham, ovariectomized, and ovariectomized-osteoporosis rats. This study successfully developed an effective fortified milk powder for food application.
Low mineralization activity by human osteoblast cells (HOBs) indicates abnormal bone remodeling that potentially leads to osteoporosis. Oxidation, the most prominent form of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) modification, is suggested to affect bone mineralization through the inflammatory pathway. Adiponectin, which possesses anti-inflammatory activity, is postulated to have the ability to suppress the detrimental effects of oxidized HDL (oxHDL). This study aimed to investigate the effects of HDL before and after oxidation on markers of mineralization and inflammation. The protective effects of adiponectin on demineralization and inflammation induced by oxHDL were also investigated. OxHDL at 100 µg/mL protein had the highest inhibitory effect on mineralization, followed by lower calcium incorporation. OxHDL also had significantly lower expression of a mineralization marker (COL1A2) and higher expression of inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-α, and RELA proto-oncogene, NF-κβ (p65)) compared to the unstimulated control group. These findings suggest that oxHDL reduces the mineralization activity of HOBs by increasing the expression of inflammatory markers. Interestingly, co-incubation of adiponectin and oxHDL in HOBs resulted in higher expression of mineralization markers (ALPL, COL1A2, BGLAP, and RUNX2) and significantly reduced all targeted inflammatory markers compared to the oxHDL groups. On the contrary, HDL increased the expression of mineralization markers (COL1A2 and STAT-3) and exhibited lower expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α), proving the protective effect of HDL beyond the reverse cholesterol transport activity.
The structural gene of elastase strain K (elastase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain K), namely HindIII1500PstI, was successfully sequenced to contain 1497 bp. The amino acid sequence, deduced from the nucleotide sequence, revealed that the mature elastase consists of 301 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 33.1 kDa, and contains a conserved motif HEXXH, zinc ligands and residues involved in the catalysis of elastase strain K. The structural gene was successfully cloned to a shuttle vector, pUCP19, and transformed into Escherichia coli strains TOP10, KRX, JM109 and Tuner™ pLacI as well as P. aeruginosa strains PA01 (A.T.C.C. 47085) and S5, with detection of significant protein expression. Overexpression was detected from transformants KRX/pUCP19/HindIII1500PstI of E. coli and PA01/pUCP19/HindIII1500PstI of P. aeruginosa, with increases in elastolytic activity to 13.83- and 5.04-fold respectively relative to their controls. In addition, recombinant elastase strain K showed considerable stability towards numerous organic solvents such as methanol, ethanol, acetone, toluene, undecan-1-ol and n-dodecane, which typically pose a detrimental effect on enzymes; our finding provides further information to support the potential application of the enzyme in synthetic industries, particularly peptide synthesis.
Objective: Studies investigating the effects of exergaming in available platforms are still limited. This review aims to systematically identify available studies on physiological intensities of exergaming boxing in able-bodied adults and recategorize them based on different platforms or environments. The meta-analysis further analyzes the physiological responses during exergaming boxing into a set of pooled data for any evidence of outliers, heterogeneity, or publication bias. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was conducted by using databases from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science. Population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) and preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used in the study selection process for the review. Results: From the 1534 articles examined, 16 articles were included for further analyses. Results indicated that exergaming boxing exhibits a wide range of metabolic equivalent of task (MET) values and intensity, from very light to vigorous, with elements of heterogeneity and bias detected. The Xbox® Kinect boxing platform produced higher MET (mean = 5.3) compared with the Nintendo® Wii™ boxing (mean = 3.8). Conclusion: The results of this review suggest that boxing exergames can produce intensity-adequate physical activity among younger adults that are beneficial for cardiometabolic improvements, regardless of platforms used. Exergaming boxing may be employed as an effective exercise tool to increase energy expenditure and physical activity level in young adults.
The release of wastewater from textile dyeing industrial sectors is a huge concern with regard to pollution as the treatment of these waters is truly a challenging process. Hence, this study investigates the triazo bond Direct Blue 71 (DB71) dye decolorization and degradation dye by a mixed bacterial culture in the deficiency source of carbon and nitrogen. The metagenomics analysis found that the microbial community consists of a major bacterial group of Acinetobacter (30%), Comamonas (11%), Aeromonadaceae (10%), Pseudomonas (10%), Flavobacterium (8%), Porphyromonadaceae (6%), and Enterobacteriaceae (4%). The richest phylum includes Proteobacteria (78.61%), followed by Bacteroidetes (14.48%) and Firmicutes (3.08%). The decolorization process optimization was effectively done by using response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). The experimental variables of dye concentration, yeast extract, and pH show a significant effect on DB71 dye decolorization percentage. Over a comparative scale, the ANN model has higher prediction and accuracy in the fitness compared to the RSM model proven by approximated R2 and AAD values. The results acquired signify an efficient decolorization of DB71 dye by a mixed bacterial culture.
Over the past decade, L-homophenylalanine is extensively used in the pharmaceutical industry as a precursor for production of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, which possesses significant clinical application in the management of hypertension and congestive heart failure (CHF). A number of chemical methods have been reported thus far for the synthesis of L-homophenylalanine. However, chemical methods generally suffer from process complexity, high cost, and environmental pollution. On the other hand, enantiomerically pure L-homophenylalanine can be obtained elegantly and efficiently by employing biocatalytic methods, where it appears to be the most attractive process in terms of potential industrial applications, green chemistry and sustainability. Herein we review the biocatalytic synthesis of vital L-homophenylalanine as potentially useful intermediate in the production of pharmaceutical drugs in environmentally friendly conditions, using membrane bioreactor for sustainable biotransformation process. One envisages the future prospects of developing an integrated membrane bioreactor system with improved performance for L-homophenylalanine production.
The granulation process in palm oil mill effluent using calcium oxide-cement kiln dust (CaO-CKD) provides an attractive and cost effective treatment option. In this study the efficiency of CaO-CKD at doses of 1.5-20 g/l was tested in batch experiments and found that 10 g of CaO/l caused the greatest degradation of VFA, butyrate and acetate. An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was operated continuously at 35°C for 150 days to investigate the effect of CaO-CKD on sludge granulation and methanogenesis during start-up. The treatment of POME emphasized the influence of varying organic loading rates (OLR). Up to 94.9% of COD was removed when the reactor was fed with the 15.5-65.5 g-CODg/l at an OLR of 4.5-12.5 kg-COD/m(3)d, suggesting the feasibility of using CaO in an UASB process to treat POME. The ratio of volatile solids/total solids (VS/TS) and volatile fatty acids in the anaerobic sludge in the UASB reactor decreased significantly after long-term operation due to the precipitation of calcium carbonate in the granules. Granulation and methanogenesis decreased with an increase in the influent CaO-CKD concentration.
The effect of cultivation condition of two locally isolated ascomycetes strains namely Trichoderma asperellum UPM1 and Aspergillus fumigatus UPM2 were compared in submerged and solid state fermentation. Physical evaluation on water absorption index, solubility index and chemical properties of lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose content as well as the cellulose structure on crystallinity and amorphous region of treated oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) (resulted in partial removal of lignin), sago pith residues (SPR) and oil palm decanter cake towards cellulases production were determined. Submerged fermentation shows significant cellulases production for both strains in all types of substrates. Crystallinity of cellulose and its chemical composition mainly holocellulose components was found to significantly affect the total cellulase synthesis in submerged fermentation as the higher crystallinity index, and holocellulose composition will increase cellulase production. Treated OPEFB apparently induced the total cellulases from T. asperellum UPM1 and A. fumigatus UPM2 with 0.66 U/mg FPase, 53.79 U/mg CMCase, 0.92 U/mg β-glucosidase and 0.67 U/mg FPase, 47.56 U/mg and 0.14 U/mg β-glucosidase, respectively. Physical properties of water absorption and solubility for OPEFB and SPR also had shown significant correlation on the cellulases production.
Cellulase is an enzyme that converts the polymer structure of polysaccharides into fermentable sugars. The high market demand for this enzyme together with the variety of applications in the industry has brought the research on cellulase into focus. In this study, crude cellulase was produced from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) pretreated with 2% NaOH with autoclave, which was composed of 59.7% cellulose, 21.6% hemicellulose, and 12.3% lignin using Trichoderma asperellum UPM1 and Aspergillus fumigatus UPM2. Approximately 0.8 U/ml of FPase, 24.7 U/ml of CMCase and 5.0 U/ml of β-glucosidase were produced by T. asperellum UPM1 at a temperature of 35 °C and at an initial pH of 7.0. A 1.7 U/ml of FPase, 24.2 U/ml of CMCase, and 1.1 U/ml of β-glucosidase were produced by A. fumigatus UPM2 at a temperature of 45 °C and at initial pH of 6.0. The crude cellulase was best produced at 1% of substrate concentration for both T. asperellum UPM1 and A. fumigatus UPM2. The hydrolysis percentage of pretreated OPEFB using 5% of crude cellulase concentration from T. asperellum UPM1 and A. fumigatus UPM2 were 3.33% and 19.11%, with the reducing sugars concentration of 1.47 and 8.63 g/l, respectively.
Sago pith residue is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic biomass which can serve as an alternative cheap substrate for fermentable sugars production. This residue is the fibrous waste left behind after the starch extraction process and contains significant amounts of starch (58%), cellulose (23%), hemicellulose (9.2%) and lignin (3.9%). The conversion of sago pith residue into fermentable sugars is commonly performed using cellulolytic enzymes or known as cellulases. In this study, crude cellulases were produced by two local isolates, Trichoderma asperellum UPM1 and Aspergillus fumigatus, UPM2 using sago pith residue as substrate. A. fumigatus UPM2 gave the highest FPase, CMCase and β-glucosidase activities of 0.39, 23.99 and 0.78 U/ml, respectively, on day 5. The highest activity of FPase, CMCase and β-glucosidase by T. asperellum UPM1 was 0.27, 12.03 and 0.42 U/ml, respectively, on day 7. The crude enzyme obtained from A. fumigatus UPM2 using β-glucosidase as the rate-limiting enzyme (3.9, 11.7 and 23.4 IU) was used for the saccharification process to convert 5% (w/v) sago pith residue into reducing sugars. Hydrolysis of sago pith residue using crude enzyme containing β-glucosidase with 23.4 IU, produced by A. fumigatus UPM2 gave higher reducing sugars production of 20.77 g/l with overall hydrolysis percentage of 73%.
Dimethyl adipate (DMA) was synthesized by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B-catalyzed esterification of adipic acid and methanol. To optimize the reaction conditions of ester production, response surface methodology was applied, and the effects of four factors namely, time, temperature, enzyme concentration, and molar ratio of substrates on product synthesis were determined. A statistical model predicted that the maximum conversion yield would be 97.6%, at the optimal conditions of 58.5 degrees C, 54.0 mg enzyme, 358.0 min, and 12:1 molar ratio of methanol to adipic acid. The R(2) (0.9769) shows a high correlation between predicted and experimental values. The kinetics of the reaction was also investigated in this study. The reaction was found to obey the ping-pong bi-bi mechanism with methanol inhibition. The kinetic parameters were determined and used to simulate the experimental results. A good quality of fit was observed between the simulated and experimental initial rates.
This review provides an overview of biovanillin production from agro wastes as an alternative food flavour. Biovanillin is one of the widely used flavour compounds in the foods, beverages and pharmaceutical industries. An alternative production approach for biovanillin as a food flavour is hoped for due to the high and variable cost of natural vanillin as well as the limited availability of vanilla pods in the market. Natural vanillin refers to the main organic compound that is extracted from the vanilla bean, as compared to biovanillin, which is produced biologically by microorganisms from a natural precursor such as ferulic acid. Biovanillin is also reviewed as a potential bioflavour produced by microbial fermentation in an economically feasible way in the near future. In fact, we briefly discuss natural, synthetic and biovanillin and the types of agro wastes that are useful as sources for bioconversion of ferulic acid into biovanillin. The subsequent part of the review emphasizes the current application of vanillin as well as the utilization of biovanillin as an alternative food flavour. The final part summarizes biovanillin production from agro wastes that could be of benefit as a food flavour derived from potential natural precursors.
The bioconversion of domestic wastewater sludge by immobilized mixed culture of filamentous fungi was investigated in a laboratory. The potential mixed culture of Penicillium corylophilum WWZA1003 and Aspergillus niger SCahmA103 was isolated from its local habitats (wastewater and sludge cake) and optimized on the basis of biodegradability and dewaterability of treated sludge. The observed results in this study showed that the sludge treatment was highly influenced by the effect of immobilized mixed fungi using liquid state bioconversion (LSB) process. The maximum production of dry filter cake (DFC) was enriched with fungal biomass to about 20.05 g/kg containing 23.47 g/kg of soluble protein after 4 days of fungal treatment. The reduction of COD, TSS, turbidity (optical density against distilled water, 660 nm), reducing sugar and protein in supernatant and filtration rate of treated sludge were influenced by the fungal mixed culture as compared to control (uninnoculated). After these processes, 99.4% of TSS, 98.05% of turbidity, 76.2% of soluble protein, 98% of reducing sugar and 92.4% of COD in supernatant of treated sludge were removed. Filtration time was decreased tremendously by the microbial treatment after 2 days of incubation. The effect of fungal strain on pH was also studied and presented. Effective bioconversion was observed after 4 days of fungal treatment.
Abundant lignocellulosic biomass from various industries provides a great potential feedstock for the production of value-added products such as biofuel, animal feed, and paper pulping. However, low yield of sugar obtained from lignocellulosic hydrolysate is usually due to the presence of lignin that acts as a protective barrier for cellulose and thus restricts the accessibility of the enzyme to work on the cellulosic component. This review focuses on the significance of biological pretreatment specifically using ligninolytic enzymes as an alternative method apart from the conventional physical and chemical pretreatment. Different modes of biological pretreatment are discussed in this paper which is based on (i) fungal pretreatment where fungi mycelia colonise and directly attack the substrate by releasing ligninolytic enzymes and (ii) enzymatic pretreatment using ligninolytic enzymes to counter the drawbacks of fungal pretreatment. This review also discusses the important factors of biological pretreatment using ligninolytic enzymes such as nature of the lignocellulosic biomass, pH, temperature, presence of mediator, oxygen, and surfactant during the biodelignification process.
Sago hampas is a starch-based biomass from sago processing industries consisted of 58% remaining starch. This study has demonstrated the bioconversion of sago hampas to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) by Clostridium beijerinckii SR1 via anaerobic digestion. Higher total VFAs were obtained from sago hampas (5.04 g/L and 0.287 g/g) as compared to commercial starch (5.94 g/L and 0.318 g/g). The physical factors have been investigated for the enhancement of VFAs production using one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT). The optimum condition; 3% substrate concentration, 3 g/L of yeast extract concentration and 2 g/L of ammonium nitrate enhanced the production of VFAs by 52.6%, resulted the total VFAs produced is 7.69 g/L with the VFAs yield of 0.451 g/g. VFAs hydrolysate produced successfully generated 273.4 mV of open voltage circuit and 61.5 mW/m2 of power density in microbial fuel cells. It was suggested that sago hampas provide as an alternative carbon feedstock for bioelectricity generation.
Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with delayed yeast extract feeding (DYEF) was conducted in a 2-L bioreactor equipped with in-situ recovery using a gas stripping in order to enhance biobutanol production from lignocellulosic biomass of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB). This study showed that 2.88 g/L of biobutanol has been produced from SSF with a similar yield of 0.23 g/g as compared to separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF). An increase of 42% of biobutanol concentration was observed when DYEF was introduced in the SSF at 39 h of fermentation operation. Biobutanol production was further enhanced up to 11% with a total improvement of 72% when in-situ recovery using a gas stripping was implemented to reduce the solvents inhibition in the bioreactor. In overall, DYEF and in-situ recovery were able to enhance biobutanol production in SSF.
Heavy metals from industrial effluents and sewage contribute to serious water pollution in most developing countries. The constant penetration and contamination of heavy metals into natural water sources may substantially raise the chances of human exposure to these metals through ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact, which could lead to liver damage, cancer, and other severe conditions in the long term. Biosurfactant as an efficient biological surface-active agent may provide an alternative solution for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastes. Biosurfactants exhibit the properties of reducing surface and interfacial tension, stabilizing emulsions, promoting foaming, high selectivity, and specific activity at extreme temperatures, pH, and salinity, and the ability to be synthesized from renewable resources. This study aimed to produce biosurfactant from renewable feedstock, which is used cooking oil (UCO), by a local isolate, namely Bacillus sp. HIP3 for heavy metals removal. Bacillus sp. HIP3 is a Gram-positive isolate that gave the highest oil displacement area with the lowest surface tension, of 38 mN/m, after 7 days of culturing in mineral salt medium and 2% (v/v) UCO at a temperature of 30 °C and under agitation at 200 rpm. An extraction method, using chloroform:methanol (2:1) as the solvents, gave the highest biosurfactant yield, which was 9.5 g/L. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis confirmed that the biosurfactant produced by Bacillus sp. HIP3 consists of a lipopeptide similar to standard surfactin. The biosurfactant was capable of removing 13.57%, 12.71%, 2.91%, 1.68%, and 0.7% of copper, lead, zinc, chromium, and cadmium, respectively, from artificially contaminated water, highlighting its potential for bioremediation.