Separation of polyhydroxyalkanoates-producing bacterial strains using PHA synthase gene and their evaluation for PHA deposition

In this study, a variety of samples were screened for the presence of PHA synthase gene. Results showed that 16 out of 102 isolated were positive for PHA respective genes. The highest prevalence was observed in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The capability of PHA production was also shown by growing these strains on the defined medium and subsequent analysis using intracellular granules staining and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The microscopic analysis showed that the positive strains accumulated PHA in the cell. The FT-IR analysis showed the presence of PHA peaks in the dried cells as well as in extraction product. P aeruginosa strain P7 showed higher concentration of PHA compared to the others as demonstrated by the highest respective peaks in FT-IR.

Determination of free phenolic acids and antioxidant capacity of methanolic extracts obtained from leaves and flowers of camel thorn (Alhagi maurorum).

The present study comprises the determination of some phenolic acids from the leaves and flowers of Alhagi maurorum by HPLC-DAD, confirmed by LC-MS-APCI. The antioxidant properties and measurements of the total phenolic contents of the extracts were assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and Folin-Ciocalteu methods, respectively. It was found that the leaf extract had higher antioxidant potential (83.5%) than the flower extract (72.3%). The antioxidant properties and total phenolic contents of the leaves were higher than those of the flowers.

Determination of free phenolic acids and antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts obtained from fruits and leaves of Chenopodium album.

In this study, determination of phenolic acids as well as investigation of antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts from the fruits and leaves of Chenopodium album is described. Extracts were subjected to acidic hydrolysis in order to obtain total free phenolic acids. However, some of phenolic acids were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD. The results were confirmed by LC-MS equipped with MS-ESI. In addition, Folin-Ciocalteu method was applied to determine the total phenolic contents. The antioxidant activity of C. album extracts was examined by using DPPH and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity assays. Results revealed that the leaves extract exhibits better performance in antioxidant assays and in the higher total phenolic contents (3066mg of GAE/100g) when compared to fruits extract (1385mg of GAE/100g). From these results it has been revealed that the methanolic extracts of C. album from fruits and leaves have great potential as a source for natural health products.

Effect of successive increase in alcohol chains on reaction with isocyanates and isothiocyanates.

The reaction of isocyanates and isothiocyanates with long-chain alcohols, e.g. n-hexanol, n-heptanol and n-octanol, exclusively gave N-aryl-O-alkyl carbamates, while N-aryl-O-alkyl carbamates were formed along with symmetrical 1,3-disubstituted ureas and thioureas when the same reactions were carried out with small-chain alcohols at room temperature without using any solvent.