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A decoction of leaves and unripe fruits prepared from C. aronia syn. azarolus (L) (Rosaceae), the indigenous Israeli hawthorn, is used to treat diabetes in Arab traditional medicine. There is a growing body of evidence reporting the presence of systemic oxidative stress in insulin-dependent and non-insulin dependent diabetes. We have already reported that this decoction has antioxidant properties in vitro. In this report, we extended these in vitro observations to study its antioxidant action in the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat in which we measured its effect on plasma and tissue indices of oxidative stress, as well as blood glucose levels. In an experiment lasting 24 days, 30 diabetic and 30 control rats were each subdivided into three separate groups. Group 1 rats drank tap water, group 2 rats drank the decoction containing 50 mg grounded dried plant/mL and group 3 rats drank the decoction containing 350 mg grounded dried plant/mL. Upon completion of the treatment period, the rats were anesthetized and blood glucose was measured using a drop of blood obtained by tail vein puncture. The abdomen was opened and aortic blood was withdrawn for measurement of the plasma levels of lipid peroxides, glutathione, cholesterol and triglycerides and the livers were harvested for determination of the extent of lipid peroxidation. The results of these experiments show that a decoction prepared from the leaves and unripe fruits of C. aronia normalizes plasma lipid peroxide levels and lowers blood glucose levels in diabetic rats. These findings indicate that the therapeutic benefit of the decoction could be due to these two actions, thereby providing a basis for its use in treating diabetes in traditional Arab medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-nine plant extracts of local species were evaluated for their potential as a source of bioactive ingredients with significant acaricidal activity that could lead to the development of new and safe bio-acaricides. The crude extracts (70% ethanol) of these plants were tested for their acaricidal activity against the carmine spider mite Tetranychus cinnabarinus in a bioassay under controlled conditions. Mortality, repellency, and the number of eggs laid were measured. Extracts from Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Inula viscosa caused more than 25% mortality. Sixteen plant extracts showed significant repellency compared with the control. The six best extracts, resulting in more than 75% repellency, were from Allium sativum, Capparis spinosa, Cupressus sempervirens, Lupinus pilosus, Rhus coriaria and Tamarix aphylla. Extracts from 16 plants were found to cause a significant reduction in the number of eggs laid compared with the control. The greatest reduction was achieved by extracts from C. spinosa, Cyperus rotundus, E. camaldulensis, L. pilosus, Punica granatum, R. coriaria and T. aphylla. A relatively negative fit was found between the mean number of repelled mites and the number of eggs laid (r=−0.65), which might indicate that most repelled mites were unable to lay eggs before leaving the leaf discs of the bioassay. Our results show that several plant extracts have good potential for acaricidal activity and are worth further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological control of the western flower thrips (WFT) Frankliniella occidentalis, using the entomopathogenic Metarhizium anisopliae-7 ( M. a-7) strain was studied in three consecutive seasons under greenhouse conditions. Cucumber plants infested with WFT were sprayed with spore suspension of the fungus M. a-7 (0.5 g m-2), or the soil was treated with dry powder of the fungus (0.5 g m-2); the control was without fungus application. In the 1997 spring experiment, when the cucumber plants were initially infested with only three or four insects per leaf, the spore suspension spray caused a significant reduction in growth of the thrips population compared with the other treatments and the control. However, in the 1997 summer experiment, when the plants were initially heavily infested with WFT (10–15 insects per leaf), the spray treatment caused only a modest reduction in WFT population growth, and only after 4 weeks of treatment was the reduction significant. In the 1999 experiment, with a low initial WFT population of three or four insects per leaf, the spray treatment was effective in reducing the population growth to a lower level than in the other treatments or control. The M. a-7 strain was found to be effective in reducing the population growth of WFT under greenhouse conditions, particularly when the initial thrips population was low to moderate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of rhizosphere and bulk soil microbes to volatilize selenate, selenite, and selenomethionine was studied in liquid culturesunder controlled conditions. Microbes cultured from the rhizosphere of bulrush (Scirpus robustus) plants showed higher Se volatilization than those from bulk soil of a flow-through, constructed wetland areacontaminated with selenite. The data show that bacteria are the dominant microbes involved in Se volatilization; fungi contribute relatively little to this process. Bactericides significantly decreased bothSe volatilization and the number of culturable bacteria in rhizosphere cultures compared to an untreated control. In the absence of addedC, Se volatilization was greatest from selenomethionine, then selenite, then selenate. Aeration substantially increased the percent ages of Se volatilized from rhizosphere soil cultures to which no C was added. Up to 95, 21, and 3% of the Se was volatilized from selenomethionine, selenite, and selenate, respectively. When both C and aeration treatments were applied to the rhizosphere cultures, the corresponding percentages changed to 20, 57, and 4%, that is, selenomethionine volatilization by rhizosphere microbes decreased when C was added whileselenite volatilization substantially increased. Since selenite volatilization was the greatest when rhizosphere microbes were supplied with C and aeration, we suggest that microbes in this selenite-contaminated wetland are adapted to volatilize Se by using C released from roots, and that Se volatilization may be enhanced by oxygen and environmental conditions provided by the plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructed wetlands (CWs) offer an efficient alternative technology for removing emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) from wastewater. Optimizing CW performance requires understanding the impact of CW configuration on EOC removal and microbial community dynamics. This study investigated EOC removal and microbial communities in horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) CWs over a 26-month operational period. Comparison between tuff-filled and gravel-filled CWs highlighted the superior EOC removal in tuff-filled CWs during extended operation, likely caused by the larger surface area of the tuff substrate fostering microbial growth, sorption, and biodegradation. Removal of partially positively charged EOCs, like atenolol (29-98 %) and fexofenadine (21-87 %), remained constant in the different CWs, and was mainly attributed to sorption. In contrast, removal rates for polar non-sorbing compounds, including diclofenac (3-64 %), acyclovir (9-85 %), and artificial sweeteners acesulfame (5-60 %) and saccharin (1-48 %), seemed to increase over time due to enhanced biodegradation. The presence of vegetation and different planting methods (single vs. mixed plantation) had a limited impact, underscoring the dominance of substrate type in the CW performance. Microbial community analysis identified two stages: a startup phase (1-7 months) and a maturation phase (19-26 months). During this transition, highly diverse communities dominated by specific species in the early stages gave way to more evenly distributed and relatively stable communities. Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes remained dominant throughout. Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Salinimicrobium, and Sphingomonas were enriched during the maturation phase, potentially serving as bioindicators for EOC removal. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the pivotal role of substrate type and maturation in the removal of EOCs in HSSF CW, considering the complex interplay with EOC physicochemical properties. Insights into microbial community dynamics underscore the importance of taxonomic and functional diversity in assessing CW effectiveness. This knowledge aids in optimizing HSSF CWs for sustainable wastewater treatment, EOC removal, and ecological risk assessment, ultimately contributing to environmental protection., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

We assessed the potential of Pistacia lentiscus (lentisk) phenolic compounds to enhance production of milk composition in lactating goats and caprine primary mammary epithelial cells (MEC). Damascus goats were given a lentisk infusion (LI) or fresh water (FW) to drink, in a crossover design. Milk from LI vs. FW goats was 0.43% richer in fat and 30% in omega 3 fatty acids. Lentisk infusion enhanced antioxidant capacity of plasma and milk by 37% and 30% respectively, and induced transcriptional activation of antioxidant genes. To assess the direct effect of polyphenols on milk quality in terms of composition and antioxidant capacity, we used plasma collected from goats fed hay (HP) or browsed on phenolic compounds-rich pasture (primarily lentisk; PP) as a conditioning medium for primary culture of MEC. PP increased 2-fold cellular triglyceride content and 2.4-fold intracellular casein, and increased ATP production and non-mitochondrial oxygen consumption. Taken together, the results imply that lentisk phenolic compounds affect blood, MEC and milk oxidative status, which increase fat production by the mammary gland., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This study aimed to investigate the influence of cropping method and substrate type on the fate and the removal of bacterial and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) indicators from primary wastewater by constructed wetlands (CWs) during startup and maturation stages. Four small-scale CWs differing in their plantation pattern (monoculture vs. polyculture) and substrate type were constructed and operated under field conditions. While for bacteria, the greatest impact of the cropping method and substrate type on removal was during the startup stage rather than the maturation stage, for ARGs, such impact was significant at both stages. During startup, the removal efficiencies of heterotrophic bacteria, fecal coliforms, E. coli, 16S rRNA genes and lacZ increased with the operation time. At maturation, the removal efficiencies were constant and were within the range of 89.2-99.4%, 93.7-98.9%, 89-98.8%, 94.1-99.6% and 92.9-98.7%, respectively. The removal efficiencies of intl1, tetM, intl1, sul1, ermB and total ARGs were also increased with the operation time. However, they were ARG type and configuration-dependent; at maturation they ranged between 50.7%-89.4%, 85.9%-97%, 49.6%-92.9%, 58.2%-96.7% and 79.9-94.3%, respectively. The tuff-filled serially planted CW was also the only one capable of removing these genes at similar high efficiency. Metagenomic analysis showed that none of the ARGs was among the most common ARGs in water and biofilm samples; rather most ARGs belonged to bacterial efflux transporter superfamilies. Although ARGs were removed, they were still detected in substrate biofilm and their relative concentrations were increased in the effluents. While the removal of both bacteria and ARGs was higher during summer compared to winter, the season had no effect on the removal pattern of ARGs. Hence, combination of the serial plantation with substrate having high surface area is a potential strategy that can be used to improve the performance of CWs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Olive mill solid waste (OMSW) is an abundant agricultural waste without viable solution. The effects of OMSW different pretreatments (microwave or autoclave), different additives (water, formic, or sulfuric acid), and utilization of different saccharification enzymes (Cellic® CTec2 or Accellerase® 1500) were tested on saccharification process and sugar release, and on fermentation inhibitors formation and ethanol production. Microwave treatment with formic acid resulted in highest saccharification rates (90% of cellulose fraction) and fermentation yields (15.9 g/L ethanol), although loss of sugars and fermentation inhibitors production was notable. Microwave with water treatment resulted in less saccharification and ethanol (9.6 g/L). To facilitate economical process and to extract maximum value, solid remnants after saccharification were tested as heavy metal sorbent. Microwave with water resulted in the best sorbent, followed by microwave with formic acid. Addition of sulfuric acid, to either microwave or autoclave, resulted in very poor saccharification and absorbance capacity. Therefore, combination of ethanol and sorbent production from OMSW are suggested., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lignocellulosic biomass from agricultural residues is a promising feedstock for lactic acid (LA) production. The aim of the current study was to investigate the production of LA from different lignocellulosic biomass. The LA production from banana peduncles using strain Bacillus coagulans with yeast extract resulted in 26.6 g LA·L -1 , and yield of 0.90 g LA·g -1 sugars. The sugarcane fermentation with yeast extract resulted in 46.5 g LA·L -1 , and yield of 0.88 g LA·g -1 sugars. Carob showed that addition of yeast extract resulted in higher productivity of 3.2 g LA·L -1 ·h -1 compared to without yeast extract where1.95 g LA·L -1 ·h -1 was obtained. Interestingly, similar LA production was obtained by the end where 54.8 and 51.4 g·L -1 were obtained with and without yeast extract, respectively. A pilot scale of 35 L using carob biomass fermentation without yeast extract resulted in yield of 0.84 g LA·g -1 sugars, and productivity of 2.30 g LA·L -1 ·h -1 which indicate a very promising process for future industrial production of LA.