Mai Ali Mwaheb

Microorganisms are preferred as an enzyme source due to their short lifespan, high production rate, affordability, and absence of harmful chemicals in enzymes generated from plant and animal sources. Fungi communities are biological factories for many bioactive compounds such as the important industrial enzyme pectinase. The current study dealt with production, optimization, purification, biocompatibility, and application of fungal pectinase obtained from five plant rhizospheres (banana, jarawa, lemon, tomato, and wheat) at Fayoum Governorate, Egypt. The highest pectinase degrading index (PDI) was scored for FB5, FJ2, and FW1 isolates. Pectinase production was also examined quantitively and the highest output of 1603.67, 1311.22, and 1264.83 U/ml was gained by FB5, FJ1, and FW1 fungal isolates, respectively. The most active pectinase-producing fungi were identified as Aspergillus niveus strain AUMC1624, A. niger strain AUMC16245, and A. brasiliensis strain AUMC16244, respectively. For pectinase production optimization, one factor at a time (OFAT) protocol was applied and revealed that A. niger, A. niveus, and A. brasiliensis reached maximum pectinase levels at 1% pectin after 5, 7, and 7 days, at 40, 45, and 45 °C, respectively. Obtained pectinases were partially purified using ammonium sulfate precipitation (ASP) and organic solvent precipitation (OSP) methods. The highest activity using the ASP method scored at 40–60% saturation with A. niger. The thermostability characterization of A. niger pectinase was reached with relative activities of 61.7, 69.0, 99.9, 91.3, and 90.6% at temperatures ranging between 30 and 70 °C. pH optimized at pH 5–7. The enzyme’s molecular weight was approximately 35 kDa. The GC-mass analysis of pectinase end products included acetic acid ethyl ester, hexadecane carbonsaure methylase, and hexadecenoic acid. The biocompatibility was examined using a human skin cell line (HFb-4) for the first time, with a minimal half concentration (IC₅₀) of 151.86 ± 0.76 U/ml. The biocompatible pectinase was applied as a clothes bioscouring agent with different concentrations of 1893.52 U/ml achieving the highest bioscouring with 20.0%.

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. has been used in folk medicine against several diseases. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the chemical composition of the methanolic extract of O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. flowers and their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. Besides, network pharmacology and molecular docking were used to explore the potential antitumor effect of active metabolites of O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. against breast and liver cancer. The results revealed many bioactive components known for their antimicrobial and anticancer properties. Furthermore, scavenging activity was obtained, which indicated strong antioxidant properties. The plant extract exhibited antimicrobial activities against Aspergillus brasiliensis (MIC of 0.625 mg/mL), Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at MICs of 1.25 mg/mL. The results revealed proapoptotic activities of the O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. extract against MCF7, MDA-MB-231, and HepG2 cell lines, where it induced significant early apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at sub-G1 phases, besides increasing the expression levels of p53, cyclin D1, and caspase 3 (p O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. flower extract targets the PI3K-Akt pathway. More investigations might be required to test the mechanistic pathways by which O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. might exhibit its biological activities in vivo.

Background: Natural pigments are becoming more significant because of the rising cost of raw materials, pollution, and the complexity of synthetic pigments. Compared to synthetic pigments, natural pigments exhibit antimicrobial properties and is less allergic. Pigments from microbial sources could easily be obtained in an inexpensive culture media, produced in high yields, and microbes are capable of producing different colored pigments. Searching for new sources for natural pigments to replace synthetic ones in food applications has become an urgent necessity, but the instability of these compounds is sometimes considered one of the obstacles that reduce their application. Encapsulation provides an ideal solution for natural dye protection through a controlled release strategy. Thus, this study aims at isolation of several soil fungi and subsequent screening their pigment production ability. The chosen pigment-producing fungal strain underwent full identification. The produced pigment was extracted with ethyl acetate and estimated spectrophotometrically. As there is a necessity to obtain a high pigment yield for efficient industrial application, the best production medium was tested, optimum conditions for maximum dye production were also investigated through the response surface methodology, and gamma irradiation was also employed to enhance the fungal productivity. Encapsulation of the produced pigment into chitosan microsphere was tested. The pigment release under different pH conditions was also investigated. Results: A new strain, Fusarium verticillioides AUMC 15934 was chosen and identified for a violet pigment production process. Out of four different media studied, the tested strain grew well on potato dextrose broth medium. Optimum conditions are initial medium pH 8, 25 °C-incubation temperature, and for 15-day incubation period under shaking state. Moreover, a 400 Gy irradiation dose enhanced the pigment production. Chitosan microsphere loaded by the pigment was successfully prepared and characterized by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Conclusion: This irradiated Fusarium strain provides a more economically favorable source for production of a natural violet dye with an optimum productivity, enhanced yield, and improved properties (such as, enhanced stability, controlled release, and bioaccessibility) by encapsulation with chitosan for efficient application in food industry.

This study aimed to assess the current water quality status across various regions within the Fayoum depression by examining water canals, drains, and potential contaminants impacting public health and the local ecosystem. Additionally, an adsorption treatability investigation was conducted on various antibiotics identified during the assessment. Fifteen sampling points were selected across the Fayoum depression, covering surface water bodies and agricultural drainage systems during both winter and summer seasons. Physico-chemical, microbiological, and antibiotic analyses were performed on collected water samples. The water quality parameters investigated included pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and concentrations of antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and tetracycline. The findings revealed significant variations in water quality parameters among different water sources, categorizing them into three types: irrigation canals, polluted canals, and drains. High contamination levels were observed in certain water canals and drains due to untreated sewage and agricultural drainage discharge. Notably, elevated TDS levels (exceeding 1200 mg/L), microbial indicators count (with total coliforms reaching up to 2.3 × 10⁶ CFU/100 mL), and antibiotics (with concentrations of ciprofloxacin and tetracycline exceeding 4.6 µg/L) were detected. To mitigate antibiotic contamination, a Phyto-adsorption treatability study using magnetite nanoparticles prepared with Phragmites australis plant extract demonstrated promising results, achieving complete removal of high antibiotic concentrations with an adsorption capacity of up to 67 mg/g. This study provides updated insights into water quality in the Fayoum depression and proposes a novel approach for addressing antibiotic contamination, potentially safeguarding human and environmental health.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop functional probiotic Labneh cheeses supplemented with broccoli florets.Design/methodology/approach: Probiotic Labneh cheese was produced using broccoli florets paste at four different levels (0, 5, 10 and 15%), with Lactobacillus casei NRRL B-1922 as a probiotic strain, to evaluate its physicochemical, phenols, antioxidant activity, minerals, vitamins, textural, microbiological and sensory characteristics during storage for 15 days.Findings: The results indicated that Labneh cheese with added broccoli paste exhibited significantly (p = 0.05) higher level of moisture, acidity, soluble nitrogen, phenols, antioxidant activity, minerals and B vitamins, and lower protein, fat, ash and pH values when compared to control Labneh cheese. Textural analysis of Labneh cheese indicated that Labneh with higher level of broccoli (15%) exhibited harder texture than others. Higher viable counts of Lactobacillus casei and Streptococcus thermophilus were detected in Labneh with broccoli paste, and the counts (107 cfu/g) were higher than the number should be present to achieve their health benefits. The most acceptable Labneh cheeses were those supplemented with 5 and 10% broccoli paste.Originality/value: This study revealed broccoli florets could enhance the growth of Lactobacillus casei and Streptococcus thermophilus in the Labneh matrix, which resulted in a wider spectrum of health benefits of Labneh cheese to the consumers.