Chemical Profiling and Biological Activity of Psydrax dicoccos Gaertn.

Breast cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in women with a mortality rate of 6.6%. Adverse effects of synthetic drugs have directed research toward safer alternatives such as natural compounds. This study focused on Psydrax dicoccos Gaertn, an evergreen tree abundantly distributed in Tamil Nadu (India) for its possible application against breast cancer cells. P. dicoccos leaf methanol extract, found within a wide range of phytochemicals, demonstrated cytotoxic effects against MCF7 breast cancer cells at IC50 of 34 µg/mL. The extract exhibited good antioxidant activities against DPPH• (62%) and ABTS•+ (80%), as well as concentration-dependent (100-800 µg/mL) anti-inflammatory potential of 18-60% compared to standards, ascorbic acid or aspirin, respectively. Moreover, even low extract concentrations (10 µg/mL) inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli (1.9 ± 0.6 mm) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.3 ± 0.7 mm), thus showing high antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potential. GC-MS and LC-MS analyses identified 31 and 16 components, respectively, of which selected compounds were used to evaluate the interaction between key receptors (AKT-1, COX-2, and HER-2) of breast cancer based on binding energy (ΔG) and inhibition constant (Ki). The results indicate that bioactive compounds from P. dicoccos have potential against breast cancer cells, but further evaluations are needed.

Optimization, compositional analysis, and characterization of exopolysaccharides produced by multi-metal resistant Bacillus cereus KMS3-1.

The isolation, screening, and identification of multi-metal resistant (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) bacteria from polluted coastal sediment samples were performed. In this study, the isolates S2-2 and S3-2 had higher multi-metal resistance and were identified as Pseudomonas pachastrellae KMS2-2 and Bacillus cereus KMS3-1, respectively. One-variable-at-a time approach suggested that optimum conditions for exopolysaccharides (EPS) production were pH 7.0, incubation time 120 h, 5 g/L sucrose, and 10 g/L yeast extract. Further, optimization by central composite design revealed that the optimum concentrations of sucrose and yeast extract for higher EPS production (8.9 g/L) were 5 g/L, and 30 g/L, respectively. Heteropolysaccharide nature of EPS determined by FTIR, TLC, and HPLC analysis, consist of mannose, rhamnose, glucose, and xylose. In addition, EPS showed strong emulsifying and flocculation activity. Results suggested the potential EPS-producing multi-metal resistant Bacillus cereus KMS3-1 could be used in biotechnological and industrial application, especially metal removal.

Improved co-composting of poultry manure with complementary consortium of indigenous Bacillus spp.

Three efficient Bacillus species selected among the 55 indigenous isolates from poultry manure (PM) were used for the development of a rapid and efficient composting process. The biochemical and 16sr RNA sequence analyses identified the isolates as Bacillus flexus (B-07), B. cereus (B-41) and B. subtilis (B-54). Collectively, the consortium has the ability of cellulolysis, keratinolysis, ammonia oxidation, nitrite oxidation and P solubilization for composting PM along with carbon amendments. The efficacy of composting with rice husk or sawdust with the consortium (109 CFU/ml) was tested. The biochemical and microbiological profiles showed that the efficacy of compost with sawdust along with consortium was better when compared to rice husk, resulting in the development of a rapid and single cycle of composting in 30 days. The resultant compost in pot trials enhanced the yield of the pulse crop, Vigna radiata to 78% and the oilseed crop, Sesamum indicum to 45% when compared to the addition of chemical fertilizers.