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Ezema BO, Omeje KO, Ozioko JN, Fernandez-Castane A, Oscar O. Eze S. Biodiesel potential of Cucumeropsis mannii (white melon) seed oil: A neglected and underutilized resource in Nigeria. Heliyon 2023; 9:e16799. [PMID: 37303580 PMCID: PMC10248266 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in the biodiesel industry is the availability of high-quality vegetable oil feedstocks. Thus, there is a continuous search for quality biodiesel feedstock whose production will trigger economic impact on the agricultural sector, minimize land degradation and without significant disruption to the food chain. In this work, we extracted and analysed oil from neglected and underutilized Cucumeropsis mannii seeds for their potential in biodiesel production. The oil content of C. mannii seed was 40.8 ± 0.56%. GC-MS analysis of the oil revealed the presence of 47.0% saturated fatty (predominantly palmitic acid, stearic acid) and 53.0% of unsaturated fatty acids (predominantly oleic, linoleic and erucic acids). The physicochemical properties were determined and values were as follows: iodine value (111.07 ± 0.15 g/100 g), saponification value (192.03 ± 0.37 mg/kg of oil), peroxide value (2.60 ± 0.10 meq/kg), acid value (4.20 ± 0.02 mgKOH/g) free fatty acid (2.51 ± 0.02%), relative density (0.93 ± 0.02), the refractive index at 28 °C (1.46 ± 0.04) and viscosity at 30 °C (3.00 ± 0.10 mm2/s). The fuel properties namely, cloud point, pour point, flash point and caloric value were determined and the values were 3.03 ± 0.11 °C, 1.00 ± 0.10 °C, 279.04 ± 0.99 °C and 31.10 ± 0.11 MJ/kg, respectively. In addition, the protein content of the defatted seed was found to be 47.4 ± 0.61 g/100 g. The defatted protein-rich cakes can be upgraded as a food additive; thus the C. mannii seed oil can serve as biodiesel feedstock without altering the food chain. These characteristics demonstrate the potential of C. mannii oil as a high-quality feedstock for biodiesel production. We envisage that its utilization as biodiesel feedstock will improve the market value of these seeds, thus supporting the economic development of local farmers in rural areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin O. Ezema
- The Biochemistry Unit, Department of Science Laboratory Technology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
- Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK
| | | | - Juliet N. Ozioko
- The Biochemistry Unit, Department of Science Laboratory Technology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
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Welleweerd MK, Hageman T, Pichel M, van As D, Keizer H, Hendrix J, Micheal MM, Khalil ISM, Mir A, Korkmaz N, Kräwinkel R, Chevrier DM, Faivre D, Fernandez-Castane A, Pfeiffer D, Abelmann L. An open-source automated magnetic optical density meter for analysis of suspensions of magnetic cells and particles. Rev Sci Instrum 2022; 93:094101. [PMID: 36182516 DOI: 10.1063/5.0098008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
We present a spectrophotometer (optical density meter) combined with electromagnets dedicated to the analysis of suspensions of magnetotactic bacteria. The instrument can also be applied to suspensions of other magnetic cells and magnetic particles. We have ensured that our system, called MagOD, can be easily reproduced by providing the source of the 3D prints for the housing, electronic designs, circuit board layouts, and microcontroller software. We compare the performance of our system to existing adapted commercial spectrophotometers. In addition, we demonstrate its use by analyzing the absorbance of magnetotactic bacteria as a function of their orientation with respect to the light path and their speed of reorientation after the field has been rotated by 90°. We continuously monitored the development of a culture of magnetotactic bacteria over a period of 5 days and measured the development of their velocity distribution over a period of one hour. Even though this dedicated spectrophotometer is relatively simple to construct and cost-effective, a range of magnetic field-dependent parameters can be extracted from suspensions of magnetotactic bacteria. Therefore, this instrument will help the magnetotactic research community to understand and apply this intriguing micro-organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel K Welleweerd
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Tijmen Hageman
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Marc Pichel
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Dave van As
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Hans Keizer
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Jordi Hendrix
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Mina M Micheal
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Islam S M Khalil
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Alveena Mir
- KIST Europe, Biosensors Group, Campus E7, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Nuriye Korkmaz
- KIST Europe, Biosensors Group, Campus E7, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Robbert Kräwinkel
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Daniel M Chevrier
- Aix-Marseille Université, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, UMR7265, 13108 Saint-Paul lez Durance, France
| | - Damien Faivre
- Aix-Marseille Université, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, UMR7265, 13108 Saint-Paul lez Durance, France
| | | | - Daniel Pfeiffer
- Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Leon Abelmann
- University of Twente, EWI/Robotics and Mechatronics, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
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Ezema BO, Omeje KO, Bill RM, Goddard AD, O Eze SO, Fernandez-Castane A. Bioinformatic characterization of a triacylglycerol lipase produced by Aspergillus flavus isolated from the decaying seed of Cucumeropsis mannii. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 41:2587-2601. [PMID: 35147487 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2035821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Lipases are enzymes of industrial importance responsible for the hydrolysis of ester bonds of triglycerides. A lipolytic fungus was isolated and subsequently identified based on the ITS sequence analysis as putative Aspergillus flavus with accession number LC424503. The gene coding for extracellular triacylglycerol lipase was isolated from Aspergillus flavus species, sequenced, and characterised using bioinformatics tools. An open reading frame of 420 amino acid sequence was obtained and designated as Aspergillus flavus lipase (AFL) sequence. Alignment of the amino acid sequence with other lipases revealed the presence GHSLG sequence which is the lipase consensus sequence Gly-X1-Ser-X2-Gly indicating that it a classical lipase. A catalytic active site lid domain composed of TYITDTIIDLS amino acids sequence was also revealed. This lid protects the active site, control the catalytic activity and substrate selectivity in lipases. The 3-Dimensional structural model shared 34.08% sequence identity with a lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica covering 272 amino acid residues of the template model. A search of the lipase engineering database using AFL sequence revealed that it belongs to the class GX-lipase, superfamily abH23 and homologous family abH23.02, molecular weight and isoelectric point values of 46.95 KDa and 5.7, respectively. N-glycosylation sites were predicted at residues 164, 236 and 333, with potentials of 0.7250, 0.7037 and 0.7048, respectively. O-glycosylation sites were predicted at residues 355, 358, 360 and 366. A signal sequence of 37 amino acids was revealed at the N-terminal of the polypeptide. This is a short peptide sequence that marks a protein for transport across the cell membrane and indicates that AFL is an extracellular lipase. The findings on the structural and molecular properties of Aspergillus flavus lipase in this work will be crucial in future studies aiming at engineering the enzyme for biotechnology applications.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin O Ezema
- The Biochemistry Unit, Department of Science Laboratory Technology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.,Aston Institute of Materials Research, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.,Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - Kingsley O Omeje
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
| | | | | | | | - Alfred Fernandez-Castane
- Aston Institute of Materials Research, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.,Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
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