Induction of antimicrobial peptides from Bacillus thuringiensis challenged Spodoptera litura larvae and investigation of the antimicrobial properties of hemolymph samples

Antimicrobial peptides constitute key factors in insect humoral immune response against invading microorganisms. In this study, biochemical approach was identified antimicrobial peptides which appeared in larval hemolymph of Spodoptera litura after bacterial challenge. HPLC profile showed two major peaks in two samples, Brassica oleracea and Ricinus communis fed S. litura that were collected at 5 min interval. It was shown to be active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The highest zone of inhibition was observed in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in B. oleracea fed S. litura hemolymph fraction II and R. communis fed S. litura hemolymph fraction I and it also contributes the increased antioxidant, lysozyme, and less hemolytic activity were increase in treated groups. TLC activity was tested with hemolymph extract samples, pink color pots was identified the protein present in the samples. An SDS-PAGE result shows that high expression of antimicrobial peptide present in the treated sample. The appearance of peptides with such different properties in insect hemolymph in response to immune challenge indicates the complexity of the insect immune system.

Bioactivity-Guided Single-Step Isolation of Stachyspinoside from Sideritis congesta by Centrifugal Partition Chromatography

Sideritis congesta is a plant native to Mediterranean countries. Infusions of this plant are used to treat various diseases. The anti-inflammatory potential of Sideritis species is widely known. However, the anti-inflammatory potential of an aqueous extract of S. congesta has not been investigated yet. In this study, the phytochemical composition and anti-inflammatory potential of different fractions of an aqueous extract from S. congesta using bioactivity guided fractionation via centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) were determined. A CPC single-step isolation of a flavonoid stachyspinoside 1 from S. congesta is reported. In addition, a CPC fractionation protocol of the crude aqueous extract was developed. Three aqueous fractions (I, II, and III) of S. congesta were obtained, and their anti-inflammatory potential was evaluated with respect to their ability to inhibit the activity of COX-2 and NF-κB in vitro. Fraction I showed the highest COX-2 inhibition activity (92.3% inhibition at 0.1%). Fraction III showed the highest NF-κB inhibition activity (99.9% at 0.1%) among the CPC produced fractions. The structures of 3 compounds of fraction III could be identified and were validated by HPLC-PDA, HRMS, and NMR spectroscopy. Finally, the phenol, saponin, and flavonoid contents were quantified in the most potent CPC fractions (I and III).

Health-Promoting Properties of Borage Seed Oil Fractionated by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction

Borage (Borago officinalis L.) seed oil is an important source of γ–linolenic acid, which is normally used as a treatment against different pathologies. Since the fractionation of this interesting seed oil has many environmental, economic and biological benefits, two borage fractionation techniques after extraction with CO2 under supercritical conditions have been studied: precipitation in two cyclone separators and countercurrent extraction column. Both techniques have successfully collected free fatty acids in one fraction: (i) two separators set up in series obtained the highest concentration of free fatty acids in separator 2 at 90 bar/40 °C; (ii) when countercurrent extraction column was used, the acidity index of the raffinate stream was independent from the operating conditions (2.6 ± 0.5%). Furthermore, the composition of the fatty acids, as well as their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities, were determined. The profile of the fatty acids obtained by either of these two methods remained unaltered, so that the crude oil exhibited improved antioxidant and cytotoxic properties. All the extracts obtained in the two cyclone separators at the same pressure/temperature conditions displayed high tumouricidal activity against HL 60 promyelocytic leukaemia cells, even if the extracts at 50% concentration from separator 2 presented a lower inhibitory activity (IC50). The extracts from separator 2 at 90 bar/40 °C exhibited the highest anti-proliferative activity at low doses (IC50 of 0.3 μL/mL for the trypan blue exclusion test). To reach the lethal dose—IC50—with the product obtained through countercurrent column fractionation, a concentration of 2 μL/mL of crude borage oil raffinate was required.

Estimation of technological value and chemical composition of selected common wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.)

The aim of the study was to estimate the technological value and chemical composition of new common wheat cultivars. The experimental material consisted of grain and flour obtained from 5 cultivars of common wheat, registered in 2017-2019, donated by Plant Breeding Strzelce - IHAR Group Ltd., Co., and harvested in years 2017-2018. The physical characteristics of the grain were determined: milling yield, falling number, gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation index as well as farinograph analysis and laboratory baking were performed. Furthermore, the content of grain nutrients and dietary fiber was determined. Significant differences between cultivars in terms of technological parameters and chemical composition have been demonstrated. The protein content in the grain was in the range of 13.3-15.2%, and the amount of gluten in the range of 28.6-36.8%. The cultivars were characterized by low alpha-amylase activity with an average falling number value 331s. The average water absorption of flour was 62.1%, and the volume of obtained bread was in the range 318-381cm3. The bread of best quality was obtained from the Wilejka cultivar, that was also the richest source of protein. The average dietary fiber content from two years of research was 10.8%, including 7.7% of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), of which 5.8% of the insoluble fraction (I-NSP) and 1.9% of the soluble fraction (S-NSP). The richest source of dietary fiber was the spring wheat Alibi. The tested cultivars were characterized by high technological value and very good chemical composition and can be recommended for use in the food industry.

Phenolic Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Antibacterial Activity of White Wormwood (Artemisia herba-alba)

Artemisia herba-alba Asso. (Wormwood) is a wild aromatic herb that is popular for its healing and medicinal effects and has been used in conventional as well as modern medicine. This research aimed at the extraction, identification, and quantification of phenolic compounds in the aerial parts of wormwood using Soxhlet extraction, as well as characterizing their antimicrobial and anitoxidant effects. The phenolic compounds were identified in different extracts by column chromatography, thin layer chromatography (TLC), and high performance liquid chromatography. Five different fractions, two from ethyl acetate extraction and three from ethanolic extraction were obtained and evaluated further. The antimicrobial activity of each fractions was evaluated against two Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus) and two Gram-negative microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris) using the disc-diffusion assay and direct TLC bioautography assay. Fraction I inhibited B. cereus and P. vulgaris, Fraction II inhibited B. cereus and E. coli, Fraction III inhibited all, except for P. vulgaris, while Fractions IV and V did not exhibit strong antimicrobial effects. Their antioxidant capabilities were also measured by calculating their ability to scavenge the free radical using DPPH method and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Ethanolic fractions III and V demonstrated excellent antioxidant properties with IC50 values less than 15.0 μg/mL, while other fractions also had IC50 values less than 80.0 μg/mL. These antioxidant effects were highly associated with the number of phenolic hydroxyl group on the phenolics they contained. These extracts demonstrated antimicrobial effects, suggesting the different phenolic compounds in these extracts had specific inhibitory effects on the growth of each bacteria. The results of this study suggested that the A. herba-alba can be a source of phenolic compounds with natural antimicrobial and antioxidant properties which can be used for potential pharmaceutical applications.

Production of a fine fraction using micro-perforated screens

The objective for this work was to investigate the possibility to use a pressure screen equipped with a micro-perforated screen basket to produce a fine fraction from bleached chemical pulp. Trials were performed with unrefined bleached chemical hardwood pulp, and with unrefined and refined bleached chemical softwood pulp. The effect of feed concentration, feed flow, and volumetric fine fraction flow was evaluated. The difference between the fine fraction (i. e. the particles passing the screen) and the feed was analysed by studying the fibre morphology. The results showed that high feed concentration was positive for both the fine fraction concentration and the separation efficiency. A higher fine fraction concentration was also obtained when using hardwood pulp, which was explained by the shorter fibre length. Refining of the pulp prior to the fractionation proved beneficial, as a larger share of the refined pulp passed the screen, resulting in a twice as high concentration of the fine fraction when compared to unrefined pulp.

On the mechanism of polarized metre-wave stellar emission

ABSTRACT Two coherent radio emission mechanisms operate in stellar coronae: plasma emission and cyclotron emission. They directly probe the electron density and magnetic field strength respectively. Most stellar radio detections have been made at cm-wavelengths where it is often not possible to uniquely identify the emission mechanism, hindering the utility of radio observations in probing coronal conditions. In anticipation of stellar observations from a suite of sensitive low-frequency ($\nu \sim 10^2\, {\rm MHz}$) radio telescopes, here I apply the general theory of coherent emission in non-relativistic plasma to the low-frequency case. I consider the recently reported low-frequency emission from dMe flare stars AD Leo and UV Ceti and the quiescent star GJ 1151 as test cases. My main conclusion is that unlike the cm-wave regime, for reasonable turbulence saturation regimes, the emission mechanism in metre-wave observations ($\nu \sim 10^2\, {\rm MHz}$) can often be identified based on the observed brightness temperature, emission duration, and polarization fraction. I arrive at the following heuristic: M-dwarf emission that is ≳ hour-long with ${\gtrsim}50{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ circular polarized fraction at brightness temperatures of ${\gtrsim}10^{12}\,$K at ${\sim}100\, {\rm MHz}$ in M-dwarfs strongly favours a cyclotron maser interpretation.

Production of sialic acid rich glycopeptide from bovine κ-casein glycomacropeptide by hydrolyzing with papain

Bovine κ-casein glycomacropeptide (GMP) is a sialic acid containing glycopeptide having many biological activities. The study described in this research communication was undertaken to determine whether sialic acid rich glycopeptide can be produced from GMP by proteinase treatment. A sample of GMP was hydrolyzed with papain, and the obtained hydrolysate was chromatographed on a column of diethylaminoethyl-Sephacel to obtain a glycopeptide fraction (GPF). This product accounted for average 48.1% dry weight of GMP or 81.1% total recovered sialic acid from GMP. The content of sialic acid (expressed as % dry weight) was 1.7 times higher in GPF (22.6) than in unhydrolyzed GMP (13.4). Major differences in amino acid composition between GPF and GMP were found in the contents (mol%) of: lysine (<1 and 4.5, respectively), serine (20.3 and 10.3, approximately twice higher in GPF), asparagine/aspartic acid and isoleucine. The contents of the last two amino acids were approximately twice lower in GPF. On gel filtration chromatography with Sephacryl S-100, GMP was eluted as a single peak with elution volume similar to that of dimeric β-lactoglobulin (36.6 kDa) whereas GPF was eluted in two peaks both with elution volumes greater than that of α-lactalbumin (14.2 kDa). These peak fractions containing high (fraction I) and low (fraction II) molecular size glycopeptides gave different sialic acid to peptide ratio, which was 1.7 times higher in fraction I than in fraction II. Results of size exclusion HPLC on Superdex-75 were consistent with those of gel filtlation chromatography. On cellulose acetate electrophoresis, the mobility of GPF relative to that of GMP as 1.0 was found to average 1.2, suggesting a higher negative charge density in GPF than in GMP. It was concluded that papain digestion of GMP is an efficient method to produce glycopeptide with high sialic acid content.

EFEK HEPATOPROTEKTOR FRAKSI TIDAK TERSABUNKAN DARI DALMS TERHADAP KONDISI STRES OKSIDATIF PADA TIKUS WISTAR

Palm oil fatty acid distillate (POFAD) is a byproduct of the process of refining palm oil, which still contains compounds. As a result of the increasing production of palm oil in Indonesia and POFAD, making POFAD has the potential as a source of tocotrienols, which can act as natural antioxidants and protect the liver against oxidative stress. The purpose of this study was to study the effects of hepatoprotection of the non-atomized fraction of POFAD in vivo and to find out the best dose of non-soapy fraction of POFAD on MDA levels, SOD of rat liver, and histopathological features in oxidative stress conditions due to waste cooking oil intake. The study design used was a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) which was composed of 6 treatment groups consisting of negative (normal), positive (indiscriminate) control groups, non-dose fraction I (100 mg/kg BW) fractions, non-soapy fractions dose II (200 mg/kg body weight), non-atomic dose III (500 mg/kg body weight), the non-dose fraction (1000 mg/kg body weight) and each treatment were repeated four times. Observational data obtained were processed statistically with the ANOVA test and continued with the Smallest Significant Difference Test (BNT) processed with SPSS for Windows 16 series. The results of this study indicate that the non-soapy fraction of palm oil fatty acid distillates has the ability to protect the liver from organ damage to dose III, namely the administration of non-soapy fractions at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight.

Aktivitas Antibakteri Ekstrak Jeruju Acanthus ilicifolius terhadap Bakteri Multi Drug Resistant

This study aims to determine the antibacterial activity of the Jeruju fraction extract (roots, stems and leaves) against Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria. Extraction uses the solid-liquid extraction method. Fractionation was done by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Open Column Chromatography (OCC). The antibacterial activity was tested by the diffusion method for different concentrations. The test bacteria were MDR bacteria: Klebsiella sp, Coagulant negative stapylococi (CNS), Enterobacter 5, Enterobacter 10, E. Coli and Pseudomonas sp. The activity test results showed the crude extract of the root with ethyl acetate solvent had the highest antibacterial activity. The results of the Open Column Chromatography activity test showed that the fraction I, II and III of the root extracts had antibacterial activity against the test bacteria. Fraction I was active against Enterobacter 5 with inhibition zones of 10.0 ± 0.34 mm. Fraction II was active against Coagulant negative stapylococi with inhibition zone diameters of 11.80 ± 0.16 mm. Fraction III has the highest antibacterial activity against Enterobacter 10, Klebsiella sp, Pseudomonas sp. danE. Coli successively produce inhibition zones (13.98mm ± 0.58), (13.22mm ± 0.50), (13.15mm ± 1.15) and (13.10mm ± 0.04) and the highest in and Results the study concluded that root extracts had the highest antibacterial bioactivity compounds compared to stem and leaf extract samples. Furthermore, the MDR antibacterial activity test showed that the sample III fraction had the best inhibitory zone on the best bacteria as an anti-bacterial MDR: Klebsiella sp, Enterobacter 10, E. Coli and Pseudomonas sp Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui aktivitas antibakteri fraksi ekstrak Jeruju, (akar, batang dan daun) terhadap bakteri Multi Drug Resistant (MDR). Ekstraksi menggunakan metode ekstraksi padat-cair. Fraksinasi dilakukan dengan Kromatografi Lapis Tipis (KLT) dan Kromatografi Kolom Terbuka (KKT). Uji aktivitas antibakteri dengan metode difusi agar konsentrasi yang berbeda. Bakteri uji adalah bakteri MDR: Klebsiella sp, Coagulant negative stapylococi (CNS), Enterobacter 5, Enterobacter 10, E. Coli dan Pseudomonas sp. Hasil uji aktifitas antibakteri menunjukan ekstrak kasar akar dengan pelarut etil asetat memiliki aktifitas antibakteri tertinggi pada semua bakteri uji. Hasil uji aktivitas fraksi Kromatografi Kolom Terbuka memperlihatkan fraksi I, II dan III ekstrak akar memiliki aktivitas antibakteri terhadap bakteri uji. Fraksi I aktif terhadap Enterobacter 5 dengan zona hambat 10,0±0,34 mm. Fraksi II aktif terhadap Coagulant negative stapylococi dengan diameter zona hambat 11,80±0,16 mm. Fraksi III memiliki aktivitas antibakteri yang paling tinggi terhadap Enterobacter 10, Klebsiella sp, Pseudomonas sp. dan E. Coli. berturut – turut menghasilkan zona hambat (13,98mm ±0,58), (13,22mm ±0,50), (13,15mm ±1,15) dan (13,10mm ±0,04) serta tertinggi pada dan Hasil penelitian disimpulkan bahwa ekstrak akar memiliki senyawa bioaktifitas antibakteri tertinggi dibandingkan sampel ekstrak batang dan daun. Selanjutnya uji aktifitas antibakteri MDR memperlihatkan bahwa sampel fraksi III memiliki zona hambat terbaik pada bakteri terbaik sebagai anti bakteri MDR: Klebsiella sp, Enterobacter 10, E. Coli dan Pseudomonas sp