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By understanding all the components of plants, especially medicinal ones, our goal is to discover plant-derived alternatives to antibiotics. This research aims to contribute to the knowledge of the biological activities Mentha spicata (MS) extracts and their effects under different environmental conditions. Hemolysis, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities were estimated of aqueous extracts of Mentha spicata. The results showed that MS El Oued extract protected the erythrocytes from hemolysis, while MS El Taref extract showed a lower protection capability. The results showed high levels of anti-inflammatory activity from plants found in the northeastern region (Tebessa and El Taref) compared to the southeast region (El Oued). They showed that MS El Oued extract exhibited higher analgesic activity (32.46%) compared to MS Tebessa, and MS El Taref extracts (19.48 and 12.97%, respectively). The results showed the antimicrobial activity, the inhibition diameter was between 17.4 - 25mm, and the largest diameter of all extracts was recorded against Aspergillus niger from the MS El Taref extract and the lowest against Staphylococcus aureus from the MS El Oued extract. The MS El Taref extract had the highest levels of activity against Aspergillus niger and Staphylococcus aureus and the MS Tebessa extract had the highest levels against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. The activity levels against Candida lipolytica, were found to be equal. In conclusion, the environmental conditions had an influence on the bioactive substances present in the plants. These bioactive substances directly influenced the biological activities of the plant extracts. more...

This work combines experimental and computational modeling studies for the preparation of a composite of metformin and an organoclay, examining the advantages of a Tunisian clay used for drug delivery applications. The clay mineral studied is a montmorillonite-like smectite (Sm-Na), and the organoclay derivative (HDTMA-Sm) was used as a drug carrier for metformin hydrochloride (MET). In order to assess the MET loading into the clays, these materials were characterized by means of cation exchange capacity assessment, specific surface area measurement, and with the techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy. Computational molecular modeling studies showed the surface adsorption process, identifying the clay–drug interactions through hydrogen bonds, and assessing electrostatic interactions for the hybrid MET/Sm-Na and hydrophobic interactions and cation exchange for the hybrid MET/HDTMA-Sm. The results show that the clays (Sm-Na and HDTMA-Sm) are capable of adsorbing MET, reaching a maximum load of 12.42 and 21.97 %, respectively. The adsorption isotherms were fitted by the Freundlich model, indicating heterogeneous adsorption of the studied adsorbate–adsorbent system, and they followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The calculations of ΔGº indicate the spontaneous and reversible nature of the adsorption. The calculation of ΔH° indicates physical adsorption for the purified clay (Sm-Na) and chemical adsorption for the modified clay (HDTMA-Sm). The release of intercalated MET was studied in media simulating gastric and intestinal fluids, revealing that the purified clay (Sm-Na) and the modified organoclay (HDTMA-Sm) can be used as carriers in controlled drug delivery in future clinical applications. The molecular modeling studies confirmed the experimental phenomena, showing that the main adsorption mechanism is the cation exchange process between proton and MET cations into the interlayer space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Environmental and industrial sectors widely use activated carbon with a porous structure, a product of chemical or physical activation. In this work, we looked at both processes for making activated carbon from agricultural residue. The review focuses on the chemical agents used during chemical activation, namely phosphoric acid, potassium or sodium hydroxide, and zinc chloride. Despite phosphoric acid's extensive use in lignocellulosic materials, it produces a smaller specific surface area than zinc chloride. However, the use of the latter remains limited due to environmental problems. Potassium and sodium hydroxide generally produce activated carbons with remarkable porosity, which is beneficial for adsorbing large pollutants, such as dyes. Physical activation yields activated carbons with greater porosity, compared to chemical activation. Although chemical activation can introduce mineral impurities trapped in the pores of the coal, it remains profitable and offers the advantage of resulting in a diversified and controlled pore size distribution. This review talks about how different activating agents can change chemicals to make activated carbon from biomass. The effectiveness of activated carbons and their applications, such as wastewater pollutant absorption, are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

CPG's wastewater from phosphate ore processing was characterized and its phytotoxicity before and after physicochemical treatment inside washing units was investigated for the first time. Mineralogical, spectral, physicochemical and microbiological characterizations showed that these wastewaters are relatively alkaline due to the high calcium and phosphorus contents. In fact, numerous minerals mainly fluorapatite, clinoptilolite and gypse were identified. In addition to its high salinity (EC = 9890 µS cm−1), the BOD5/COD ratio is equal to 0.949, which allows for the estimation that this effluent is potentially biodegradable. The microbiological characterization revealed the presence of revivable aerobic bacteria as; total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), Pseudomonas, anaerobic sulfite bacteria (ASR), and fungi (F), whereas a complete absence of Salmonella, Vibrio cholera (CV), and Helminth egg (HE) was noted. In the second part, the influence of varying concentrations of phosphate wastewater was studied on radish, lentil, wheat and fenugreek seeds. Phosphate effluents were provided at 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Results were compared with a control group of the same seeds, irrigated with tap water. Based on several germination tests, plant irrigated with treated or untreated effluent exhibited a prominent reduction in growth traits at all four harvests. Except plant treated with treated effluent at 25% which generally induced no significant phytotoxicity to all species and which can play a fertilizer role. The adverse effects occurred with effluent-dose dependent manner. The high toxicity of untreated effluent compared to the treated effluent was inferred from the results. Nevertheless, the treated ffluent is still toxic, except at very low concentrations acting as a fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...