Antibiotic resistance is the major growing threat facing the pharmacological treatment of bacterial infections. Therefore, bioprospecting the medicinal plants could provide potential sources for antimicrobial agents. Mimusops, the biggest and widely distributed plant genus of family Sapotaceae, is used in traditional medicines due to its promising pharmacological activities. This study was conducted to elucidate the antimicrobial effect of three unexplored Mimusops spp. (M. kummel, M. laurifolia and M. zeyheri). Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying such antibacterial activity were studied. The Mimusops leaf extracts revealed significant antibacterial activities against the five tested bacterial strains with a maximum inhibition zone diameter of 22.0 mm against B. subtilis compared with standard antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentration values against tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains ranged from 3.15-12.5 µg/ml. However, weak antifungal effect was recorded against Candida albicans with MIC value ˃25 µg/ml. The 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay showed that M. caffra was the best antioxidant (IC50=14.75±0.028 µg/ml), while M. laurifolia was the least one (IC50=34.22±0.014 µg/ml). The phenolics in plant leaves extracts were identified and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which revealed the presence of seven phenolic acids and four flavonoids. The abundant phenolic compounds were rutin (5.216±0.067 mg/g dried wt.) and gallic acid (0.296±0.068 mg/g) followed by myricetin (0.317±0.091 mg/g) then kaempferol (0.113±0.049 mg/g) as flavonoids. The antibacterial mechanism of M. laurifolia extract, as a representative species, induces ultrastructural changes in the model bacterium Staphylococcus aureus with cell wall and plasma membrane lysis as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Overall, Mimusops species (M. laurifolia, M. kummel and M. zeyheri) are promising natural alternative sources for antimicrobial agents.
The present study was conducted to determine the optimum conditions required for lipase enzyme activity extracted from germinated sunflower seeds, including temperature, pH, agitation, time of incubation, enzyme concentration, substrate type, and concentrations of mineral salts and EDTA. Optimum pH, temperature and time of incubation required for lipase stability were also determined. The results showede optimum lipase activity (3.251U/ml) wasund at 30 ÌŠC and pH 7 after 20 minutes of incubation when using 1 ml lipase enzyme with 0.02 ml of CaCl2 (10 mM) at 100 rpm of agitation and in the presence of olive oil as the substrate for enzyme reaction. EDTA appeared to have inhibitory effects, while Ca+2 and Mg+2 have stimulatory effec
... Show MoreAn antibacterial and antifungal piperonal-derived compound and its Rh(III), Pd(II), Pt(IV), and Cd(II) metal complexes were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods, conductivity, metal analyses and magnetic moment measurements. The nature of the complexes formed in ethanolic solution was studied following the molar ratio method. From the spectral studies, octahedral geometry was suggested for rhodium (III) and platinum (IV) complexes, while a square planer structure was suggested for palladium (II) complex and a tetrahedral geometry for cadmium (II) complex. Structural geometries of these compounds were also suggested in gas phase by using hyperchem-8 program for the molecular mechanics and semi-empirical calculations.
... Show MoreDental clinicians and professionals need an affordable, nontoxic, and effective disinfectant against infectious microorganisms when dealing with the contaminated dental impressions. This study evaluated the efficiency of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as an antimicrobial disinfectant by spraying technique for the alginate impression materials, compared with sodium hypochlorite, and its effect on dimensional stability and reproduction of details. HOCl with a concentration of 200 ppm for 5 and 10 min was compared with the control group (no treatment) as a negative control and with sodium hypochlorite (% 0.5) as a positive control. Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were selected to assess the antimicrobi
... Show MoreDental clinicians and professionals need an affordable, nontoxic, and effective disinfectant against infectious microorganisms when dealing with the contaminated dental impressions. This study evaluated the efficiency of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as an antimicrobial disinfectant by spraying technique for the alginate impression materials, compared with sodium hypochlorite, and its effect on dimensional stability and reproduction of details. HOCl with a concentration of 200 ppm for 5 and 10 min was compared with the control group (no treatment) as a negative control and with sodium hypochlorite (% 0.5) as a positive control. Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were selected to assess the antimicrobi
... Show MoreInfluence of metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms upon soil-borne microscopic fungus Aspergillus terreus K-8 was studied. It was established that the metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms affect the enzymatic activity of the studied culture. Silver nanoparticles lead to a decrease in cellulase activity and completely suppress the amylase activity of the fungus, while copper nanoparticles completely inhibit the activity of both the cellulase complex and amylase. The obtained results imply that the large-scale use of silver and copper nanoparticles may disrupt biological processes in the soil and cause change in the physiological and biochemical state of soil-borne microorganisms as well.
Manganese sulfate and Punica granatum plant extract were used to create MnO2 nanoparticles, which were then characterized using techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The crystal's size was calculated to be 30.94nm by employing the Debye Scherrer equation in X-ray diffraction. MnO2 NPs were shown to be effective in adsorbing M(II) = Co, Ni, and Cu ions, proving that all three metal ions may be removed from water in one go. Ni(II) has a higher adsorption rate throughout the board. Co, Ni, and Cu ion removal efficiencies were 32.79%, 75
... Show MoreMetal and metal oxide NPs have shown to be perfectly synthesized by using plant extracts with high efficiency, low cost and low toxicity. Our goal was to synthesize ZnO NPs by using an extract of pomegranate seeds and investigate the anticorrosion, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the synthesized ZnO NPs. The results have shown that the use of pomegranate in the green synthesis of ZnO NPs gave a good yield, with a low cost and non-toxic approach. The electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was used to coat stainless steel (S.S) by synthesized ZnO NPs in an alcoholic solution at room temperature producing a good coating against corrosion. The corrosion properties were investigated in a saline solution and a temperature range of (293–32
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