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Objectives/methodology: The present study focuses on the evaluation of antioxidant potential (AP), total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid (TF), antimicrobial activity (AA), antidiabetic capacity (AC), heavy metals contents (HMC) and sensory evaluation of commercial ketchup samples. Results: The AP, TP and TF were found to be in the range of 35.51 to 77.92%, 2.66 to 14.98 mg GAE/100 g and 1.69 to 4.23 mg QE/g, respectively. The results of AA showed that commercial ketchup (CK) samples showed inhibition of microbial growth ranged from 18.96 to 30.67 mm against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and 19.00 to 31.14 mm against Escherichia coli (E. coli). The AC (involving alpha-amylase assay) was determined and represented as IC50 value of 23.12 to 62.76 µg/mL. According to the sensory evolution, all the samples were acceptable for use with overall acceptability <50. Conclusions: The current study concluded that ketchup exhibited good antioxidant, antimicrobial and antidiabetic potential, however, the level of heavy metals in tested ketchup were required to be controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have great importance due to their use in many biomedical applications such as contrast agents in MRI, repairing of tissues, detoxification of biological fluids, cell separation, drug delivery, immunoassay, and magnetic hyperthermia. One of the interesting properties of IONPs is to produce heat in the presence of an applied alternating magnetic field (AMF), the basic principle of magnetic hyperthermia. Here, we seek synthetic reproducibility and to optimize Fe3O4 NPs to use in magnetic hyperthermia applications. We compared the thermal efficiency of Fe3O4 NPs after doping with copper. Using co-precipitation methodology, pure and Cu-doped Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized at five different concentrations (2%, 4%, 5%, 8%, and 10%). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used to study the crystal structure and surface morphology of nanomaterials. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectroscopy were used to investigate the functional group, vibrational and optical properties of NPs. The thermal response of doped and undoped Fe3O4 NPs was studied by using high-frequency electromagnet driver for hyperthermia applications (HFEDHA) at 53 kHz frequency and 270 Oe magnetic field strength. To check the effects of suspension medium and variation of NP concentration in the sample on heat response and on specific absorption rate (SAR) values, the hyperthermia studies have been investigated in three biological mediums water, glycerol, and agar at four different NP concentrations 2%, 5%, 7%, and 10%. Our results show that at 2% concentration of copper in Fe3O4 NPs gave better results in all three mediums. However, they showed greater heat response and the highest SAR value in water than glycerol and agar. Further, at the lower concentration on NPs showed better thermal efficiency than higher concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The findings of this study suggests that chemical composition, essential oil yield, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Boswellia serrata oleo gum resin essential oils extracted by hydro distillation, steam distillation and supercritical fluid carbon dioxide methods vary greatly from each other. The optimum essential oil yield was obtained using hydro distillation method (8.18 ± 0.15 %). The essential oils isolated through different extraction methods contained remarkable amounts of total phenolics and total flavonoids. Essential oil isolated through supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extraction exhibited better antioxidant activity with highest free radical scavenging potential (96.16 ± 1.57 %), inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation (94.18 ± 1.47 %) and hydrogen peroxide free radical scavenging potential (68.25 ± 1.02 %). Moreover, the antimicrobial activity of essential oils was performed through well diffusion, resazurin microtiter plate and micro dilution broth assay assays. The essential oil isolated through steam distillation method revealed highest antimicrobial activity with maximum inhibition zone (24.21 ± 0.34 to12.08 ± 0.30 mm) and least MIC values (35.18 ± 0.77 to 281.46 ± 7.03 µg/mL). The comparison of chemical composition of essential oils isolated at different extraction methods have shown that the concentration of α-thujene, camphene, β-pinene, myrcene, limonene, m-cymene and cis-verbenol was higher in steam distilled essential oil as compared to hydro and supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extracted essential oils. These compounds may be responsible for the higher antimicrobial activity of Boswellia serrata oleo gum resin steam distilled essential oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to appraise the anticancer activity of Pinus roxburghii essential oil along with chemical composition evaluation. MTT assay revealed cytotoxicity induction in colon, leukemia, multiple myeloma, pancreatic, head and neck and lung cancer cells exposed to essential oil. Cancer cell death was also observed through live/dead cell viability assay and FACS analysis. Apoptosis induced by essential oil was confirmed by cleavage of PARP and caspase-3 that suppressed the colony-forming ability of tumor cells and 50% inhibition occurred at a dose of 25 µg/mL. Moreover, essential oil inhibited the activation of inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB and inhibited expression of NF-κB regulated gene products linked to cell survival (survivin, c-FLIP, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, c-Myc, c-IAP2), proliferation (Cyclin D1) and metastasis (MMP-9). P. roxburghii essential oil has considerable anticancer activity and could be used as anticancer agent, which needs further investigation to identify and purify the bioactive compounds followed by in vivo studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artemisia rutifolia (Asteraceae) had been used in traditional medicines for the treatment of different ailments. In the current study, an effort was made to explore the phenolic composition, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of different solvent extracts obtained from A. rutifolia leaves. The reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) analysis revealed the higher extent of polyphenolic compounds (i.e., gallic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, syringic acid, sinapic acid, p-coumaric acid, m-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, myricetin, and quercetin) in methanol extract. Methanol extract consistently showed the highest total phenolic contents (98 ± 2 µg GAE/mg of plant extract), total flavonoid contents (28 ± 0.0 µg QE/mg of plant extract), antimicrobial activity, free radical (DPPH) scavenging (IC50 = 39 µg/mL) activity, and reducing power (18.3 ± 0.2 mg GAE/g of plant extract) followed by those of chloroform and hexane extracts, respectively. The current study concluded that extracts of A. rutifolia are novel natural source of antioxidative and antimicrobial agents for the treatment of oxidative stress-related disorders and microbial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current aim was to evaluate antidiabetic potential ofSyzygium aromaticumandCuminum cyminumessential oils and their emulsions by alpha amylase inhibition assay. Antidiabetic activity ofC. cyminumandS. aromaticumwas examined in dose dependent mode (1 to 100 µg/mL). The maximum antidiabetic activity forS. aromaticumandC. cyminumessential oils was noted at the highest dose (100 µg/mL). Five emulsions (essential oil + surfactant [tween 80] + co-surfactant [ethanol] + water) of different concentrations forS. aromaticum(A1 to A5) andC. cyminum(B1 to B5) essential oils were formulated. Among different emulsions, A5 ofS. aromaticumand B5 ofC. cyminumessential oil exhibited a maximum antidiabetic activity with 95.30 and 83.09% inhibition of α-amylase, respectively. Moreover, the analysis of essential oils showed that eugenol (18.7%) and α-pinene (18.8%) were the major components ofS. aromaticumandC. cyminumessential oils, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ContextPsidium guajavaL. (Myrtaceae) leaves are used in traditional medicines for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and other ailments. ObjectiveThe current study explores scientific validation for this traditional medication. Materials and methodsWe used ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazil (DPPH) assays to estimate antioxidant activity ofP. guajavaleaf extracts (methanol, hexane and chloroform). Antitumour andin vivocytotoxic activities were determined using potato disc assay (PDA) and brine shrimp lethality assay, respectively. Three human carcinoma cell lines (KBM5, SCC4 and U266) were incubated with different doses (10–100 μg/mL) of extracts and the anticancer activity was estimated by MTT assay. NF-κB suppressing activity was determined using electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Chemical composition of the three extracts was identified by GC-MS. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were measured by colorimetric assays. Results and discussionsThe order of antioxidant activity of three extracts was methanol > chloroform > hexane. The IC50values ranged from 22.73 to 51.65 μg/mL for KBM5; 22.82 to 70.25 μg/mL for SCC4 and 20.97 to 89.55 μg/mL for U266 cells. The hexane extract exhibited potent antitumour (IC50 value = 65.02 μg/mL) and cytotoxic (LC50 value = 32.18 μg/mL) activities. This extract also completely inhibited the TNF-α induced NF-κB activation in KBM5 cells. GC-MS results showed that pyrogallol, palmitic acid and vitamin E were the major components of methanol, chloroform and hexane extracts. We observed significant (p < 0.05) difference in total phenolic and flavonoid contents of different solvent extracts. ConclusionThe present study demonstrates thatP. guajavaleaf extracts play a substantial role against cancer and down-modulate inflammatory nuclear factor kB. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Essential oils and their volatile constituents are used extensively to prevent and treat human diseases. In the past decades, worldwide demand for citrus essential oils has greatly increased. Citrus essential oils containing 85-99% volatile and 1-15% non-volatile components. Essential oils from Citrus pseudolimon and Citrus grandis peels were extracted through steam distillation and characterized by GC-MS. C. pseudolimon has thirty six and C. grandis has thirty three total components; limonene 47.07% and 71.48% was the major component in both oils respectively. Antioxidant activity was checked by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical assay and β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching test. Both oils have modest activity. The antimicrobial potential was assessed against different bacterial and fungus strains. C. pseudolimon oil possessed strong activity against all tested strains while C. grandis has moderate activity. The antitumor activity was evaluated by potato disc assay, C. pseudolimon showed 81.25% inhibition. Hence the essential oils could have a great potential in pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was focused on the formulation of clove and cumin essential oil emulsions and their potential for antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Essential oil extraction was performed using hydrodistillation technique. The % age yield of oils was found to be 8.48 and 1.99% for clove and cumin, respectively. Both oils were subjected to preparation of five emulsions of varying concentrations. The antioxidant activity was measured using DPPH-free radical scavenging assay. The highest scavenging activity was found in case of B1 (25% clove essential oil emulsion) and A1 (25% cumin essential oil emulsion) with IC50 values of 34.40 and 42.66 μg/mL, respectively. Disk diffusion method was applied for screening of antimicrobial activity. Staphylococcus aureus was found to be the most sensitive bacteria with large inhibition zone against B1 (27.66 mm) and A1 (16.66 mm), while among fungal strains, Penicillium notatum was the most sensitive against A1 (10.66 mm) and B2 (9.66 mm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, ethanolic, methanolic and acetone extracts of Aerva (A.) javanica were investigated for their phenolic compounds, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Antioxidant activity was determined through 2, 2-Diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, ß-carotene linoleic acid and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. Antimicrobial activity was assessed by disc diffusion assay. All extracts exhibited effective 2, 2-Diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyland superoxide radical scavenging activity, inhibition of denaturation of ß-carotene and ferric reducing antioxidant power contents. Extracts also showed good antimicrobial potential with appreciable phenolic and flavonoid contents. Nevertheless, methanolic extract of A. javanica exhibited highest antioxidant and antimicrobial activities as compared to ethanolic and acetone extracts proving itself most suitable extraction solvent for biologically active phenolic compounds from A. javanica. The solvent nature significantly (P<0.05) affected the phenolic contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. In conclusion, A. javanica may be a potential source of antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Natural honey samples were collected from different localities of Pakistan. [•] Commercial honeys were purchased from markets of pakistan. [•] Honeys were found to be a potential antioxidant natural product. [•] Most of honeys also exhibited strong antitumour potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, leaves of three indigenous varieties of Mulberry namely, Morus alba L., Morus nigra L. and Morus rubra L. were investigated for their antioxidant potential and their proximate composition was determined. The yields of 80% methanolic extracts ranged between 8.28-13.89%. The contents of total phenolics (TPC), total flavonoids (TFC) and ascorbic acid (AA) ranged between 16.21-24.37 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g, 26.41-31.28 mg rutin equivalent (RE)/g and 0.97-1.49 mg/g, respectively. The antioxidant activity of leaf extracts was evaluated by measuring 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging actity, 2,2'-azino-bis-(3- ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS ) radical cation scavenging capacity and ferric ion reducing power and values ranged between 1.89-2.12, 6.12-9.89 and 0.56-0.97 mM Trolox equivalent/g of dried leaves, respectively. The investigated features reveal good nutritive and antioxidant attributes of all the varieties with mutually significant differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amino acids complexes of osmium(II), i.e. [Os(η6-p-cymene)(η1-N-(rac)-phenylglycine methyl ester)Cl2] (A) and [Os(η6-p-cymene) (η1-N,N'-(S)-phenylalanine amido) Cl] (B), were prepared by an ultrasound energy-assisted method at room temperature. The solid structures of the newly synthesized complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray analysis. In A, osmium is bonded to 2 chloride ligands, the η6-coordinated p-cymene molecule, and to a nitrogen atom of the corresponding amino acid derived ligand, whereas in the case of B the central osmium is surrounded by an N, N' bidentate amino amide ligand, by an η6-coordinated p-cymene molecule, and a chloride ligand. Both complexes have a pseudotetrahedral geometry. As shown by X-ray structure, A exhibited racemization of the corresponding ligand. The ligand retained its configuration in B with co-crystallization of the 2 diastereomers, ROsSC and SOsSC, in a single crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of empirical models in the research is a vital part of the inventions and investigations of civil and environmental engineering organizations. Linear regression is the most commonly used method for optimization and parameter estimation of different equilibrium and kinetic models for sorption. In addition, the usage of this analysis can be extended to a range of nonlinear error functions, subsequently in consent to broader mathematical approach to parameter estimation. The sorption behavior of U(VI) ions from aqueous solution was studied with untreated, treated, and immobilized rice husk by conducting batchmode sorption experiments. The equilibrium experimental data were fitted to the Freundlich, Langmuir and Redlich-Peterson isotherms by linear and nonlinear regression methods. Kinetic modeling of U(VI) ions removal was also done using linear and nonlinear pseudo-first and second-order rate expressions. In the case of nonlinear regression method, six error functions, namely hybrid fractional error function, Marquardt's percent standard deviation, average relative error, sum of the errors squared, sum of the absolute errors, and Chi-square test were used to predict the parameters involved in the two- and three-parameter isotherms, and also to predict the optimum isotherm. The results showed that nonlinear method could be a better way to obtain the parameters and get the most suitable fitted model for equilibrium and kinetic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to estimate total arsenic concentration in different tissues (leg, breast, liver and heart) of broiler chicken by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), prior to microwave assisted acid digestion. The accuracy of the techniques was evaluated by using certified reference material DORM-2. The percentage recoveries of total As were observed as 100.6% and 99.4% for HGAAS and GFAAS, respectively. The precision of the techniques, expressed as relative standard deviation, was observed as 1.71% and 4.18% for HGAAS and GFAAS measurements, respectively. The limits of detection for HGAAS and GFAAS were 0.025μg/g and 0.052μg/g, respectively. The concentrations of total arsenic in different tissues of broiler chicken were found in the range of 2.19–5.28, 2.15–5.22, 2.97–7.17 and 2.68–6.36μg/g for leg, breast, liver and heart tissues, respectively. At a mean level of chicken consumption (60g/person/day), people may ingest in the range of 72.0–85.1μg arsenic/person/day from chicken alone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Waste management and the economy are intertwined in various ways. Adopting sustainable waste management techniques can contribute to economic growth and resource conservation. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based classification is very crucial for rapid and contactless classification of metals in electronic waste (e-waste) management. In the present research work, five types of aluminium alloys, because of their extensive use in structural, electrical and thermotechnical functions in the electronics industry, were taken. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), a spectral identifier technique, was employed in conjunction with machine learning (ML) classification models of AI. Principal component analysis (PCA), an unsupervised ML classifier, was found incapable to differentiate LIBS data of alloys. Supervised ML classifier was then trained (for 10-fold cross-validation) on randomly selected 80% and tested on 20% spectral data of each alloy to assess classification capacity of each. In most of the tested variants of K nearest neighbour (kNN) the resulting accuracy was lower than 30% but kNN ensembled with random subspace method showed improved accuracy up to 98%. This study revealed that an AI-based LIBS system can classify e-waste alloys rather effectively in a non-contactless mode and could potentially be connected with robotic systems, hence, minimizing manual labour., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.