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Mixed medicinal plant waste was composted with addition of novel bacterial strains belonging to the genera Streptomyces, Paenybacillus, Bacillus and Hymenobacter. The composting was followed by assessment of chemical and biological parameters including C/N ratio, loss of organic matter, phosphorous and potassium content as well as CO2 generation and dehydrogenase activity during 164 days. The selected mesophilic bacterial starters had a potential to significantly reduce the period of mixed herb waste decomposition, from about 6 months to about 2.5 months. Based on the seed germination index of four plants (Fagopirum esculentum, Thymus vulgaris, Cynara scolimus and Lavandula officinalis) the germination and radial root growth of the investigated plants was improved by the inoculated compost. The germination index of all tested species on the mature inoculated composts was in average 60% higher compared to the control compost. The research indicates that the mesophilic starter addition into the herbs waste can contribute to the speed of waste decomposition and lead to the improvement of biofertilization effect of the obtained compost. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR 31035] more...

This paper has demonstrated the valorization of inexpensive and readily available restaurant waste containing most consumed food and beverage residues as adsorbents for methylene blue dye. Coffee, tea, lettuce and citrus waste have been utilized without any pre-treatment, thus the adsorption capacities and dye removal efficiency were determined. Coffee waste showed highest adsorbent capacity, followed by tea, lettuce and citrus waste. The dye removal was more effective as dye concentration increases from 5 up to 60 mg/L. The favorable results obtained for lettuce waste have been especially encouraged, as this material has not been commonly employed for sorption purposes. Equilibrium data fitted very well in a Freundlich isotherm model, whereas pseudo-second-order kinetic model describes the process behavior. Restaurant waste performed rapid dye removal at no cost, so it can be adopted and widely used in industries for contaminated water treatment. more...

The importance of coffee waste utilization is based on the fact that it contains a large amount of biologically valuable components. Preparation of espresso coffee produces substantial quantities of polyphenolic acids that have a significant antioxidant activity. In this work, the contents of polyphenols and antioxidant activity of extracts obtained from spent espresso coffee were analyzed using different solvent systems. The 70% solution of methanol, and 70% solution of ethanol and distilled water were used as solvents. The total amounts of polyphenols were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, while the antioxidant activities were determined by DPPH inhibition (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power). Both methods confirmed that the order of antioxidant activity of obtained dried extracts is as follows: water extract < methanol extract < ethanol extract, which was in accordance with their polyphenols content. Mild prooxidant activity was observed in the concentration of 200 μg/ml while investigating the DPPH inhibition. Prooxidant activity is a characteristic of some polypenolic acids that is considered to be one of the mechanisms of anticancer activity. The inhibition of DPPH radical, expressed by IC50 values, was compared with the results of the commercial antioxidants such are ascorbic acid and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene). Comparing the IC50 values of ascorbic acid and BHT with the IC50 values of tested extracts it can be concluded that waste coffee extracts could be a good source of natural antioxidants. more...

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