Effect of the spray and freeze dryers on the bioactive compounds of olive leaf aqueous extract by chemometrics of HCA and PCA

Formulation and evaluation of the effective microorganisms in sewage treatment

Effective microorganisms pose a great potential in wastewater treatment. In the present study, effective microorganisms' formulations were developed using different organic substrates that support the growth of more beneficial microorganisms for sewage treatment. Based on the metagenomic analysis and biochemical profile information, the fish waste-based effective microorganisms' formulation was identified as the effective formulation. Metagenomic analysis showed that fish-based effective microorganisms' formulation had the Lactobacillus and Acetobacter groups of bacteria. The dominant groups were Lactobacillus pontis (64.85%), Acetobacter aceti (8.92%), and Lactobacillus reuteri (8.98%). The developed fish waste-based effective microorganisms' formulation was used to treat the sewage water with different concentrations. Effective microorganisms' formulation at 3% showed appreciable results. It recorded a significant reduction in BOD from 389.2 to 117.9 mg L-1 and COD from 820.5 to 257.1 mg L-1 in 96 h. It also significantly decreased the concentration of ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphate, and coliforms. Besides, the effective microorganisms' formulation ensured the reduced level of odour from sewage water. Therefore, we can effectively use the effective microorganisms' formulation for sewage water treatment and recycling.

Nutrient and Bioactive Fraction Content of Olea europaea L. Leaves: Assessing the Impact of Drying Methods in a Comprehensive Study of Prominent Cultivars in Morocco

This study explores the potential of olive leaves, long integral to Mediterranean traditional medicine, as a rich source of valuable compounds. The challenge lies in their considerable water content, hindering these compounds' full valorization. Four drying methods (air-drying, oven-drying, freeze-drying and solar-drying) were investigated for their impact on nutrient and bioactive compound content in the leaves of four olive varieties ("Arbequina", "Koroneiki", "Menara" and "Picholine Marocaine") cultivated in Morocco. In their fresh state, "Picholine Marocaine" exhibited the highest protein levels (6.11%), "Arbequina" had the highest phenolic content (20.18 mg gallic acid equivalents/g fresh weight (FW)), and "Koroneiki" and "Menara" were highest in flavonoids (3.28 mg quercetin equivalents/g FW). Specific drying methods proved optimal for different varieties. Oven-drying at 60 °C and 70 °C effectively preserved protein, while phenolic content varied with drying conditions. Air-drying and freeze-drying demonstrated effectiveness for flavonoids. In addition, an analytical approach using high-performance liquid chromatography and diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was applied to investigate the effects of the different drying methods on the bioactive fraction of the analyzed samples. The results showed qualitative and quantitative differences depending on both the variety and the drying method used. A total of 11 phenolic compounds were tentatively identified, with oleuropein being the most abundant in all the samples analyzed. The freeze-dried samples showed the highest content of oleuropein in the varieties "Arbequina" and "Picholine Marocaine" compared to the other methods analyzed. In contrast, "Koroneiki" and "Menara" had higher oleuropein content when air dried. Overall, the obtained results highlight the importance of tailored drying techniques for the preservation of nutrients and bioactive compounds in olive leaves.

Effects of Polyphenols and Glucosinolates in Broccoli Extract on Human Gut Microorganisms Based on Simulation In Vitro

Broccoli extract mainly contains polyphenols and glucosinolates (GSLs). GSLs can be hydrolyzed by gut microorganisms into isothiocyanates (ITCs) and other active substances. These substances have anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and atherosclerosis-reducing functions. In this study, a high concentration (2000 μmol/L GSLs and 24 μmol/L polyphenols) and a low concentration (83 μmol/L GSLs and 1 μmol/L polyphenols) of broccoli extract were prepared. Gut microorganisms from fresh human feces were cultured to simulate the gut environment in vitro. The GSL content decreased and the types and content of ITCs increased with broccoli extract hydrolysis through cyclic condensation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. Broccoli extract significantly increased probiotics and inhibited harmful bacteria through 16S rDNA sequencing. Based on phylum level analysis, Firmicutes and Lachnospiraceae increased significantly (P < 0.05). At the genus level, both high- and low-concentration groups significantly inhibited Escherichia and increased Bilophila and Alistipes (P < 0.05). The high-concentration group significantly increased Bifidobacterium (P < 0.05). The broccoli extract improved the richness of gut microorganisms and regulated their structure. The GSL hydrolysis was significantly correlated with Bilophila, Lachnospiraceae, Alistipes, Bifidobacterium, Escherichia, and Streptococcus (P < 0.05). These study findings provide a theoretical foundation for further exploring a probiotic mechanism of broccoli extract in the intestine.

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Hydroethanolic Leaf Extracts from Six Mediterranean Olive Cultivars

Phenolic profiles, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of hydroethanolic olive leaf extracts from six Mediterranean olive cultivars (Croatian: Lastovka, Levantinka, Oblica; Italian: Moraiolo, Frantoio, Nostrana di Brisighella) were investigated. As expected, various distributions of phenolic levels were observed for each cultivar and the total phenolic content showed high variability (ranging from 4 to 22 mg GAE/g of dry extract), with the highest amount of phenolics found in the Oblica sample, which also provided the highest antiradical (ORAC) and reducing activity (FRAP). The screening of individual compounds was performed by HPLC-PDA-ESI-QTOF-MS and the main detected compounds were oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, oleoside/secologanoside, verbascoside, rutin, luteolin glucoside, hydroxyoleuropein, and ligstroside. While the antioxidant activity of the samples was relatively high, they showed no bactericidal and bacteriostatic activity against E. coli and S. Typhimurium; weak activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Listeria innocua; and inhibitory effects against Campylobacter jejuni at 0.5 mg dry extract/mL. The obtained results support the fact that olive leaf extracts, and especially those from the Oblica cultivar, could potentially be applied in various industries as natural preservatives and effective and inexpensive sources of valuable antioxidants.

Extraction Methods, Quantitative and Qualitative Phytochemical Screening of Medicinal Plants for Antimicrobial Textiles: A Review

Medicinal plants are the product of natural drug discoveries and have gained traction due to their pharmacological activities. Pathogens are everywhere, and they thrive in ideal conditions depending on the nutrients, moisture, temperature, and pH that increase the growth of harmful pathogens on surfaces and textiles. Thus, antimicrobial agents and finishes may be the solution to the destruction of pathogens. This review article presents an analysis of various aspects of producing antimicrobial finishings, the microorganisms, their mechanism of attachment to natural and synthetic fibre, the effect of microbial growth, and the principle and mechanism of the microbial activity of the medicinal plants. Furthermore, the extraction methods, qualitative and quantitative phytochemical evaluations of antimicrobial efficacy, and developments of antimicrobial treated textiles using various agents are covered in this review.

Analysis and health risk assessment of nitrosamines in meat products collected from markets, Iran: with the approach of chemometric

The aim of study was evaluate of the concentration and health risk of nitrosamines in 150 meat products samples by using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS), with the chemometric approach. Among the identified nitrosamines, the levels of N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), and total nitrosamines in meat sausages samples were significantly higher than chicken sausages (p < 0.05). Principal component analysis and heat map visualization confirmed meat percentage and sausages type (meat or chicken) which had significant effects on nitrosamines content. The NPIP and NPYR intake was 1.17E-07 and 2.12E-07 mg/kg bw/day, respectively. The Monte Carlo simulation results indicated that the 95th percentile from NPIP and NPYR based on ILCR index were 9.07E-07 and 4.72E-07, respectively. In conclusion, the carcinogenic risk of nitrosamines was considerably lower than the safe risk limit (CR > 1E-4) recommended by United States Environmental Protection Agency for Iranian population.

A metabolomics approach to evaluate the effect of lyophilization versus oven drying on the chemical composition of plant extracts

Lyophilization is the “gold standard” for drying plant extracts, which is important in preserving their quality and extending their shelf-life. Compared to other methods of drying plant extracts, lyophilization is costlier due to equipment, material and operational expenses. An alternative method is post-extraction oven-drying, but the effects of this process on extract quality are unknown. In this study, crude extracts from Arthrocnemum macrostachyum shoots were compared using three post-extraction drying methods (lyophilization and oven drying at 40 and 60 °C) and two extraction solvents (water and aqueous 50% ethanol). Untargeted metabolomics coupled with chemometrics analysis revealed that post extraction oven-drying resulted in the loss of up to 27% of molecular features when compared to lyophilization in water extracts only. In contrast, only 3% of molecular features were lost in aqueous 50% ethanol extracts when subjected to oven drying. That is to say, ethanol used as a solvent has a stabilizing effect on metabolites and enhances their resistance to thermal transformation in the oven. Collectively, oven-drying of extracts was as effective as lyophilization in preserving metabolites in extracts only when 50% ethanol was used as a solvent. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the value of selecting solvent-appropriate post-extraction drying methods.

Roles of Drying, Size Reduction, and Blanching in Sustainable Extraction of Phenolics from Olive Leaves

It is now known that olive leaves contain a sizable portion of polyphenols and there is much research highlighting that these natural ingredients favorably exhibit bio-functional activities. In this regard, many studies have focused on the exploration of optimum conditions involved directly in the extraction process. These investigations, while being highly valuable, may somewhat cast a shadow over other contributing factors such as those involved in the preprocessing of leaves, including size reduction, drying, and blanching. The use of these unit operations under appropriate conditions, together with other benefits, potentially exert improved surface area, homogeneity, and diffusion/mass transfer which may help develop the liberation of target bio-compounds. The research work in this area, particularly size reduction, is relatively limited. Although in various experiments they are incorporated, not many studies have focused on them as the main predictor variables. The performance of further research may help ascertain the magnitude of their effects. Consideration of the operational parameters in preprocessing step is equally important as those in the processing/extraction step that may comparably influence on the extraction efficiency. This review provides an overview of the potential roles of drying, size reduction, and blanching in the extraction efficiency of phenolics from olive leaves.

Olive Leaf Waste Management

Olive trees are the oldest known cultivated trees in the world and present-day cultivation is widespread, with an estimated magnitude of 9 million hectares worldwide. As the olive oil industry has continued to grow, so has the environmental impact of olive oil production, such as the energy and water consumption, gas emissions and waste generation. The largest contributor to waste generation are the olive leaves, an abundant and unavoidable byproduct of olive-oil production due to the necessity of tree-pruning. It is estimated that an annual 1.25 million tons of olive leaf waste are generated in Spain alone, around 50% of the total world production. The leaves are currently used for biomass production or animal feed. However, because of their polyphenolic composition, olive leaves have potential in numerous other applications. In this review we analyze the chemical composition of olive leaves, and discuss current processing methods of the olive leaf waste, including thermochemical, biochemical, drying, extraction and condensation methods. We also examine current applications of the treated olive leaves in sectors relating to cattle feed, fertilizers, novel materials, energy generation, and food and pharmaceutical products. The aim of this review is to provide a resource for producers, policy makers, innovators and industry in shaping environmentally sustainable decisions for how olive leaf waste can be utilized and optimized.

Use of D-optimal combined design methodology to describe the effect of extraction parameters on the production of quinoa-barley malt extract by superheated water extraction

Superheated water extraction was applied to produce quinoa-barley malt extract. D-optimal combined design was used to optimize the extraction conditions (time (min), solid-water ratio and particle size to obtain maximum protein and carbohydrate content, and minimum turbidity and pH. Quinoa flour (10%-30%), barley malt flour (70%-90%), different particle sizes (F = 420 µm, G = 710 µm), time (15-45 min), and solid-water ratio (0.1-0.2) were selected as independent variable and protein, carbohydrate, turbidity, and pH as dependent factors. Polynomials models satisfactorily fitted the experimental data with the R 2 values of .9961, .9909, .9949, and .9987, respectively. The protein and carbohydrate value was affected by superheated water extraction parameters. Our results revealed that increasing quinoa/barley malt ratio has significant effect on the turbidity and pH. The optimum extraction conditions were quinoa flour (30%), barley malt flour (70%), solid-water ratio (0.2), time (45 min), and particle size (F = 420 µm).

Assessment of Rice Marketed in Iran with Emphasis on Toxic and Essential Elements; Effect of Different Cooking Methods

Rice is one of the most valuable nutrients in the diet of most people in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of various pre-cooking (washing, soaking) and cooking processes (traditional and rinse) of rice on the amount of toxic and essential elements in the various brands of rice in Iran and assessing human health risks from their carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects. For this purpose, totally, 144 sample sizes were examined from three brand (Iranian (n = 48), Pakistani (n = 48), and Indian (n = 48)) in order to the amount of toxic and essential elements using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The results showed that pre-cooking processes such as washing and soaking in the rinse method were significantly effective in removal toxic metals than the traditional method, so that the most changes were observed for potassium and aluminum metals. The estimated daily intakes of copper, magnesium, manganese, iron, and zinc in different cooking methods were 1.19-1.2%, 0.29-0.32%, 1.01-1.23%, 0.4-0.98%, and 0.9-1.32%, respectively. The Monte Carlo simulation results showed that the rank order of toxic metals of cooked rice based on target hazard quotients value was arsenic > chromium > cadmium > mercury > lead > aluminum, respectively. The result of cancer risk probability was lower than the safe risk limits (1E-4), representing no remarkable cancer risk probability that was due to ingestion of rice for adults and children in Iran. According to the this results, it is recommended to use the rinse method due to further reduction of metals especially toxic metals for rice samples, although the amount of essential elements was also removed by this method.