Existing status and future advancements of adulteration detection techniques in herbal products.

BACKGROUND: Herbal products have been commonly used all over the world for centuries. Its products have gained remarkable acceptance as therapeutic agents for a variety of disorders. However, following recent research disclosing discrepancies between labeling and actual components of herbal products, there is growing concern about the efficacy, quality and safety of the products. The admixture and adulteration of herbal medicinal products pose a risk of serious health compromise and the well-being of the consumers. To prevent adulteration in raw ingredients and final herbal products, it is necessary to use approaches to assess both genomes as well as metabolomics of the products; this offers quality assurance in terms of product identification and purity. The combinations of molecular and analytical methods are inevitable for thorough verification and quality control of herbal medicine. METHODS AND RESULTS: This review discusses the combination of DNA barcoding, DNA metabarcoding, mass spectroscopy as well as HPLC for the authentication of herbal medicine and determination of the level of adulteration. It also discusses the roles of PCR and real-time PCR techniques in validating and ensuring the quality, purity and identity of the herbal products. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, each technique has its own pros and cons, but the cumulative of both the chemical and molecular methods is proven to be the best strategy for adulteration detection. Moreover, CRISPR diagnosis tools equipped with multiplexing techniques may be implemented for screening adulteration from herbal drugs, this will play a crucial role in herbal product authentication in the future.

Fate of pesticides in agricultural runoff treatment systems: Occurrence, impacts and technological progress.

The levels of pesticides in air, water, and soil are gradually increasing due to its inappropriate management. In particular, agricultural runoff inflicts the damages on the ecosystem and human health at massive scale. Present study summarizes 70 studies in which investigations on removal or treatment of pesticides/insecticides/herbicides are reported. A bibliometric analysis was also done to understand the recent research trends through the analysis of 2218 publications. The specific objectives of this study are as follows: i) to inventorize the characteristics details of agriculture runoff and analyzing the occurrence and impacts of pesticides, ii) analyzing the role and interaction of pesticides in different environmental segments, iii) investigating the fate of pesticides in agriculture runoff treatment systems, iv) summarizing the experiences and findings of most commonly technology deployed for pesticides remediation in agriculture runoff including target pesticide(s), specifications, configuration of technological intervention. Among the reported technologies for pesticide treatment in agriculture runoff, constructed wetland was at the top followed by algal or photobioreactor. Among various advanced oxidation processes, photo Fenton method is mainly used for pesticides remediation such as triazine, methyl parathion, fenuron and diuron. Algal bioreactors are extensively used for a wide range of pesticides treatment including 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, alachlor, diuron, chlorpyrifos, endosulfan, and imidacloprid; especially at lower hydraulic retention time of 2-6 h. This study highlights that hybrid approaches can offers potential opportunities for effective removal of pesticides in a more viable manner.

The current status of phage therapy and its advancement towards establishing standard antimicrobials for combating multi drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.

Phage therapy; a revived antimicrobial weapon, has great therapeutic advantages with the main ones being its ability to eradicate multidrug-resistant pathogens as well as selective toxicity, which ensures that beneficial microbiota is not harmed, unlike antibiotics. These therapeutic properties make phage therapy a novel approach for combating resistant pathogens. Since millions of people across the globe succumb to multidrug-resistant infections, the implementation of phage therapy as a standard antimicrobial could transform global medicine as it offers greater therapeutic advantages than conventional antibiotics. Although phage therapy has incomplete clinical data, such as a lack of standard dosage and the ideal mode of administration, the conducted clinical studies report its safety and efficacy in some case studies, and therefore, this could lessen the concerns of its skeptics. Since its discovery, the development of phage therapeutics has been in a smooth progression. Concerns about phage resistance in populations of pathogenic bacteria are raised when bacteria are exposed to phages. Bacteria can use restriction-modification, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) defense, or mutations in the phage receptors to prevent phage invasion. Phage resistance, however, is often costly for the bacteria and may lead to a reduction in its virulence. The ongoing competition between bacteria and phage, on the other hand, ensures the emergence of phage strains that have evolved to infect resistant bacteria. A phage can quickly adapt by altering one or more aspects of its mode of infection, evading a resistance mechanism through genetic modifications, or directly thwarting the CRISPR-Cas defense. Using phage-bacterium coevolution as a technique could be crucial in the development of phage therapy as well. Through its recent advancement, gene-editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas allow the bioengineering of phages to produce phage cocktails that have broad spectrum activities, which could maximize the treatment's efficacy. This review presents the current state of phage therapy and its progression toward establishing standard medicine for combating antibiotic resistance. Recent clinical trials of phage therapy, some important case studies, and other ongoing clinical studies of phage therapy are all presented in this review. Furthermore, the recent advancement in the development of phage therapeutics, its application in various sectors, and concerns regarding its implementation are also highlighted here. Phage therapy has great potential and could help the fight against drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.

Development of sustainable strontium ferrite graphene nanocomposite for highly effective catalysis and antimicrobial activity.

Graphene oxide (GO) has layered structure with carbon atoms that are highly coated with oxygen-containing groups, increasing the interlayer distance while simultaneously making hydrophilic atomic-thick layers. It is exfoliated sheets that only have one or a few layers of carbon atoms. In our work, Strontium Ferrite Graphene Composite (SF@GOC) has been synthesized and thoroughly characterized by physico-chemical methods like XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, TEM, AFM, TGA and Nitrogen adsorption desorption analysis. A very few catalysts have been manufactured so far that are capable of degrading Eosin-Y and Orange (II) dyes in water by heterogeneous catalytic method. The current study offers an overview of the recyclable nanocomposite SF@GOC used in mild reaction conditions to breakdown the hazardous water pollutant dyes Eosin-Y (96.2%) and Orange (II) (98.7%). The leaching experiment has demonstrated that the use of the transition metals strontium and iron have not result in any secondary contamination. Moreover, antibacterial and antifungal assay have been investigated. SF@GOC has shown greater activity with bacterial and fungal species while compared with GO. FESEM analysis shows that the bactericidal mechanism for SF@GOC is same in both gram-negative bacteria. The difference in the antifungal activity among the candida strains can be correlated with the movement of ions release (slower and faster) of synthesized nanoscrolls in SF@GOC. In comparison to previous reports, this new environmentally safe and novel catalyst showed substantial degrading activity. It can also be applied to new multifunctional processes such as in the fields of composite materials, solar energy, heterogeneous catalysis and biomedical applications.

A state-of-the-art review on WWTP associated bioaerosols: Microbial diversity, potential emission stages, dispersion factors, and control strategies.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) associated bioaerosols have emerged as one of the critical sustainability indicators, ensuring health and well-being of societies and cities. In this context, this review summarizes the various wastewater treatment technologies which have been studied with a focus of bioaerosols emissions, potential emission stages, available sampling strategies, survival and dispersion factors, dominant microbial species in bioaerosols, and possible control approaches. Literature review revealed that most of the studies were devoted to sampling, enumerating and identifying cultivable microbial species of bioaerosols, as well as measuring their concentrations. However, the role of treatment technologies and their operational factors are investigated in limited studies only. Moreover, few studies have been reported to investigate the presence and concentrations of air borne virus and fungi in WWTP, as compared to bacterial species. The common environmental factors, affecting the survival and dispersion of bioaerosols, are observed as relative humidity, temperature, wind speed, and solar illumination. Further, research studies on recent episodes of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 virus) pandemic also revealed that continuous and effective surveillance on WWTPs associated bioaerosols may led to early sign for future pandemics. The evaluation of reported data is bit complicated, due to the variation in sampling approaches, ambient conditions, and site activities of each study. Therefore, such studies need a standardized methodology and improved guidance to help informed future policies, contextual research, and support a robust health-based risk assessment process. Based on this review, an integrated sampling and analysis framework is suggested for future WWTPs to ensure their sustainability at social and/or health associated aspects.

Eminence of Microbial Products in Cosmetic Industry.

Cosmetology is the developing branch of science, having direct impact on the society. The cosmetic sector is interested in finding novel biological alternatives which can enhance the product attributes as well as it can substitute chemical compounds. Many of the compounds are having biological origin and are acquire from bacteria, fungi, and algae. A range of biological compounds, like bio-surfactant, vitamins, antioxidants, pigments, enzymes, peptides have promising features and beneficial properties. Moreover, these products can be produced commercially with ease. The review will encompass the importance and use of microbial compounds for new cosmetic formulations as well as products associated with it.

Life History Responses and Gene Expression Profiles of the Nematode Pristionchus pacificus Cultured on Cryptococcus Yeasts.

Nematodes, the earth's most abundant metazoa are found in all ecosystems. In order to survive in diverse environments, they have evolved distinct feeding strategies and they can use different food sources. While some nematodes are specialists, including parasites of plants and animals, others such as Pristionchus pacificus are omnivorous feeders, which can live on a diet of bacteria, protozoans, fungi or yeast. In the wild, P. pacificus is often found in a necromenic association with beetles and is known to be able to feed on a variety of microbes as well as on nematode prey. However, in laboratory studies Escherichia coli OP50 has been used as standard food source, similar to investigations in Caenorhabditis elegans and it is unclear to what extent this biases the obtained results and how relevant findings are in real nature. To gain first insight into the variation in traits induced by a non-bacterial food source, we study Pristionchus-fungi interactions under laboratory conditions. After screening different yeast strains, we were able to maintain P. pacificus for at least 50-60 generations on Cryptococcus albidus and Cryptococcus curvatus. We describe life history traits of P. pacificus on both yeast strains, including developmental timing, survival and brood size. Despite a slight developmental delay and problems to digest yeast cells, which are both reflected at a transcriptomic level, all analyses support the potential of Cryptococcus strains as food source for P. pacificus. In summary, our work establishes two Cryptococcus strains as alternative food source for P. pacificus and shows change in various developmental, physiological and morphological traits, including the transcriptomic profiles.

Role of ligninolytic enzymes of white rot fungi (Pleurotus spp.) grown with azo dyes.

BACKGROUND: Total three Pleurotus species (P. ostreatus, P. sapidus, P. florida) was compared for ligninolytic enzyme production grown with Coralene Golden Yellow, Coralene Navy Blue and Coralene Dark Red azo dyes in liquid medium under shaking condition. RESULTS: The biodegradation competency varied from species to species and it was found that P. ostreatus, P. sapidus and P. florida to 20 ppm dye concentration shows 88, 92 and 98 % decolorization, respectively for all three dyes. Production pattern of laccase, manganese dependent peroxidase and lignin peroxidase were studied during the growth of the organisms for 10 days. Laccase was found to be the major extracellular ligninolytic enzyme produced by fungus with negligible detection of lignin peroxidases. In all concentration of three dye studied, maximum laccase activity was observed on day 8, for 20 mg/l of dye laccase specific activity was 1-1.58 U/mg in P. ostreatus, 0.5-0.78 U/mg in P. sapidus and 1-1.92 U/mg in P. florida. Different factors (dye concentration, pH, protein and sugar estimation) influencing the ability of Pleurotus species to degrade dyes is documented and degradation was attributed to microbial action irrespective of pH change. HPTLC analysis of samples indicated degradation of dyes into intermediate products. CONCLUSION: Level of ligninolytic enzymes is playing a major role in degradation of dye, which is dependent on time of incubation and species of fungi.

Mitigation of acrylamide by l-asparaginase from Bacillus subtilis KDPS1 and analysis of degradation products by HPLC and HPTLC.

The use of bacterial l-asparaginase (LA) is one of the alternative approaches for acrylamide reduction in food stuffs as it catalyzes the conversion of l-asparagine to l-aspartic acid and ammonia. In present investigation, purification of extracellular LA from isolate of Bacillus subtilis sp. strain KDPS-1 was carried out by solid state fermentation process. The effects of solid substrates, initial moisture content, moistening agents, temperature, and incubation time on LA production was studied, and the highest asparaginase activity (47 IU/ml) was achieved in the medium having orange peel as substrate. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose ion exchange chromatography; with 84.89 % yield and 12.11 fold purity. LA showed stimulant activity against ß-mercaptoethanol and was greatly inhibited by Zn(2+) and Hg(2+) metal ions. Reduction of acrylamide in fried potatoes was detected by high performance liquid chromatography, which showed clear degradation of acrylamide by height and area (%) in the chromatograms of standard sample to that of the test sample. Hydrolysates analysis by high performance thin layer chromatography confirmed the test sample to be LA.

A novel alkaline keratinase from Bacillus subtilis DP1 with potential utility in cosmetic formulation.

The Bacillus subtilis DP1 was isolated from poultry farm soil at Anand district, India. The highest enzyme production (379.65U/ml) was obtained at pH 10.0, a temperature of 37°C and a growth period of 72h. The extracellular keratinase was purified by gel filtration chromatography with 27.98 purification fold. Purity was also confirmed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis, where a major peak having retention time of 2.5min was obtained on C18 column using photo diode array detector. Purified keratinase was stable in a broad range of pH (8-12) and temperature (20-50°C) with optimum at pH 10.0 and 37°C. The metallic ions, Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) enhance keratinase activity. Secondary structure from Circular Dichroism (CD) spectra implies that purified keratinase is largely ß-pleated sheet rich protein. For preparation of dehairing cream formulation, compatibility studies of excipients were carried out. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of sodium stearate, calcium carbonate and sodium lauryl sulphate shows no reactivity of functional groups and hence mixture was compatible for formulation of keratinase dehairing cream. Prepared biological depilatory was able to remove hair more efficiently compared to marketed formulations.

Ficus recemosa bark extract attenuates diabetic complications and oxidative stress in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Context Ficus recemosa Linn. (Moraceae) has been reported as a natural folk medicine with diverse pathological activities such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, renoprotective and cardioprotective. Objective The present study evaluates the preventive effect of standardised ethanol extract of F. racemosa stem bark (EEFSB) on diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC) and diabetic nephropathy (DN). Materials and methods Animals were rendered diabetic by one time administration of STZ (45 mg kg(-1), i.v.) and, after 7 d, diabetic rats were randomised into four groups of eight rats each. EEFSB (200 and 400 mg kg(-1)) was administered to diabetic rats once daily for 8 weeks. Furthermore, the presence of phytochemicals was evaluated by HPTLC. Results Treatment with EEFSB markedly restores the blood glucose and lipid level (p < 0.001), also reduced creatinine kinase (p < 0.001), lactate dehydrogenase (p < 0.001), C-reactive protein (p < 0.001), creatinine (p < 0.001), blood urea nitrogen (p < 0.001), collagen (p < 0.05) and albumin (p < 0.001) levels. Reduced level of sodium (p < 0.001), creatinine (p < 0.001), albumin (p < 0.001) and malondialdehyde (p < 0.01) in heart and kidney tissue along with enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase (p < 0.001) and reduced glutathione (p < 0.001). Moreover, left ventricular hypertrophic index and cardiac hypertrophic index were markedly reduced by EEFSB treatment. Conclusion The findings of this study provided strong scientific evidence for the traditional use of F. racemosa and postulate protective effects against diabetes and its complications such as DC and DN.

Medicinal and antimicrobial role of the oyster culinary-medicinal mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus (higher Basidiomycetes) cultivated on banana agrowastes in India.

Oyster mushrooms, species of the genus Pleurotus, are recognized for producing secondary metabolites with important medicinal properties. Investigations were carried out to evaluate the antioxidative and antimicrobial properties of the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus (MTCC142) extracts cultivated on banana agrowastes. Ethanolic extracts showed antimicrobial activities against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and their in vitro antifungal activities against all fungi tested revealed a promising role. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of Pleurotus grown on yeast dextrose broth and banana agrowaste confirmed the presence of steroids, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, and alkaloids, whereas ethanolic extract after 40 days exhibited a phenol concentration of 521.67 µg/mL in banana waste compared to 155 µg/mL in yeast dextrose broth. The minimum inhibitory concentration of ethanolic extracts ranged from 19.74 to 56.84 mg/mL and 35.53 to 102.31 mg/mL in solid-state and submerged grown mycelium extracts, respectively, after 40 days. Moreover, banana agrowaste could be a significant economic source for the production of the oyster mushroom P. ostreatus. The nutritive, medicinal, and antimicrobial properties of P. ostreatus can be used to develop a new nutraceutical formulation; it can also be used as an additive to routine and fast food.

Purification and Characterization of Haloalkaline, Organic Solvent Stable Xylanase from Newly Isolated Halophilic Bacterium-OKH.

A novel, alkali-tolerant halophilic bacterium-OKH with an ability to produce extracellular halophilic, alkali-tolerant, organic solvent stable, and moderately thermostable xylanase was isolated from salt salterns of Mithapur region, Gujarat, India. Identification of the bacterium was done based upon biochemical tests and 16S rRNA sequence. Maximum xylanase production was achieved at pH 9.0 and 37°C temperature in the medium containing 15% NaCl and 1% (w/v) corn cobs. Sugarcane bagasse and wheat straw also induce xylanase production when used as carbon source. The enzyme was active over a range of 0-25% sodium chloride examined in culture broth. The optimum xylanase activity was observed at 5% sodium chloride. Xylanase was purified with 25.81%-fold purification and 17.1% yield. Kinetic properties such as Km and Vmax were 4.2 mg/mL and 0.31 µmol/min/mL, respectively. The enzyme was stable at pH 6.0 and 50°C with 60% activity after 8 hours of incubation. Enzyme activity was enhanced by Ca(2+), Mn(2+), and Mg(2+) but strongly inhibited by heavy metals such as Hg(2+), Fe(3+), Ni(2+), and Zn(2+). Xylanase was found to be stable in organic solvents like glutaraldehyde and isopropanol. The purified enzyme hydrolysed lignocellulosic substrates. Xylanase, purified from the halophilic bacterium-OKH, has potential biotechnological applications.

Isolation and partial purification of erythromycin from alkaliphilic Streptomyces werraensis isolated from Rajkot, India.

An alkaliphilic actinomycete, BCI-1, was isolated from soil samples collected from Saurashtra University campus, Gujarat. Isolated strain was identified as Streptomyces werraensis based on morphological, biochemical and phylogenetic analysis. Maximum antibiotic production was obtained in media containing sucrose 2%, Yeast extract 1.5%, and NaCl 2.5% at pH 9.0 for 7 days at 30 °C. Maximum inhibitory compound was produced at pH 9 and at 30 °C. FTIR revealed imine, amine, alkane (C[bond, double bond]C) of aromatic ring and p-di substituted benzene, whereas HPLC analysis of partially purified compound and library search confirmed 95% peaks matches with erythromycin. Chloroform extracted isolated compound showed MIC values 1 µg/ml against Bacillus subtilis, ≤0.5 µg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus, ≤0.5 µg/ml against Escherichia coli and 2.0 µg/ml against Serretia GSD2 sp., which is more effective in comparison to ehtylacetate and methanol extracted compounds. The study holds significance as only few alkaliphilic actinomycetes have been explored for their antimicrobial potential.

Isolation, optimization, and partial purification of amylase from Chrysosporium asperatum by submerged fermentation.

A potent fungus for amylase production, Chrysosporium asperatum, was isolated from among 30 different cultures obtained from wood samples collected in the Junagadh forest, India. All of the isolated cultures were screened for their ability to produce amylase by submerged fermentation. Among the selected cultures, C. asperatum (Class Euascomycetes; Onygenales; Onygenaceae) gave maximum amylase production. In all of the different media tested, potato starch was found to be a good substrate for production of amylase enzyme at 30 degrees C and pH 5.0. Production of enzyme reached the maximum when a combination of starch and 2% xylose, and organic nitrogen (1% yeast extract) and ammonium sulfate were used as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. There was no significant effect of metal ions on enzyme activity. The enzyme was relatively stable at 50 degrees C for 20 min, and no inhibitory effect of Ca+2 ions on amylase production was observed.

Morpho-anatomy of Solanum pseudocapsicum

Morpho-anatomical features in leaves, stems and unripe fruits of Solanum pseudocapsicum L., Solanaceae, were investigated by histological methods. Anatomically the plant may be characterised by the presence of uniseriate trichomes, anomocytic stomata, calcium oxalate needles in leaves while presence of oval to circular compound starch grains, angular vessels, vertically upright, uni-biseriate rays and intraxylary phloem with differentiation of internal cambium abutting marginal pith cells and protoxylem in transverse view. Development of distinct internal cambium may be considered as a characteristic feature for S. pseudocapsicum. Intraxylary secondary phloem was composed of sieve tube elements, companion cells and axial parenchyma cells.