Isolation and production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from Bacillus pumilus NMG5 strain for bioplastic production and treatment of wastewater from paper factories

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) has the potential to replace traditional plastics and limit environmental pollution caused by plastic waste. This study combined wastewater treatment with PHB production to reduce costs. Bacteria capable of synthesizing PHB were isolated from paper mill wastewater and identified using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization–Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA gene analysis. Bacillus pumilus NMG5 strain was found to have a good yield in modified Nutrient Broth culture, reaching 42.28% of dry biomass. The PHB product was analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The bacterial strain was also tested for its ability to treat paper mill wastewater, and it showed impressive results in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen, and total phosphorus, with efficiencies of 95.93%, 79.36%, and 83.55%, respectively. The study found that wastewater treatment combined with PHB production was a promising solution to reduce costs and limit environmental pollution. The bacterial strain B. pumilus NMG5 had a high yield of PHB, and the PHB product was of high quality, as confirmed by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the bacterial strain showed impressive results in treating paper mill wastewater with high COD, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus efficiencies. These results suggest that this harmless bacterium could be used in paper mill wastewater treatment systems to produce PHB, providing a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution

New Flavonoid Derivatives from <i>Melodorum fruticosum</i> and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory and Cytotoxic Activities

Three new flavonoid derivatives, melodorones A–C (1–3), together with four known compounds, tectochrysin (4), chrysin (5), onysilin (6), and pinocembrin (7), were isolated from the stem bark of Melodorum fruticosum. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, including NMR and HRESIMS, and by comparison with the literature. Compounds 1–7 were evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition and cytotoxicity against KB, Hep G2, and MCF7 cell lines. Among them, compound 1 exhibited the best activity against α-glucosidase and was superior to the positive control with an IC50 value of 2.59 μM. On the other hand, compound 1 showed moderate cytotoxicity toward KB, Hep G2, and MCF7 cell lines with the IC50 values of 23.5, 19.8, and 23.7 μM, respectively. These findings provided new evidence that the stem bark of M. fruticosum is a source of bioactive flavonoid derivatives that are highly valuable for medicinal development

Chemical Constituents from the Root Bark of <i>Calophyllum inophyllum</i>

A new chromanone derivative, namely caloinophyllin B (1), along with seventeen known compounds 2–18 were isolated from the root bark of Calophyllum inophyllum. The structures of all isolated compounds (1–18) were determined by spectroscopic methods as well as comparison with previous reports in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, compounds 1, 3, 6, 8, 11–14 and 16 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Moreover, all isolated compounds (1–18) were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against KB and Hela S-3 cell lines. Compound 8 exhibited moderate activity toward KB and Hela S-3cells with the IC50 values of 25.8 and 18.1μM, respectively. </jats:p

Non-redox Lipoxygenase Inhibitors from <i>Nauclea orientalis</i>

Eight alkaloids recently isolated from the roots of Nauclea orientalis (L.) L. were obtained to evaluate the lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory activity. According to the LOX inhibitory assay, the cis isomer 1 (IC50 39.2±1.1 μM) was more potent than the trans isomer 2 (IC50 52.1±1.5 μM) (P &lt; 0.05). Compound 5 (IC5057.8±1.8 μM) was more potent than 6 (IC50 97.6±3.4 μM), 3 (IC50 112.1±2.6 μM) and 4 (inactive) (P &lt;0.05), respectively. Alkaloid glycosides 7 and 8 were completely inactive in a screening assay. All active indole alkaloids were inactive in DPPH and 13-HPOD scavenging assays at the concentration of 100 μM. Moreover, these compounds did not exhibit the interferential effects on the Fe2+/Fe3+ redox state as indicated by the iron reduction and oxidation assays. The enzyme kinetic study revealed that 1, 2 and 6 inhibited sb-LOX-1 through the mixed inhibition with a set of inhibition constants (K i and K' i) of 9 and 22, 17 and 46, and 16 and 32 μM, respectively. Indole alkaloids 3 and 5 were the uncompetitive and noncompetitive inhibitors with the K i of 24 and 8 μM. These findings undoubtedly demonstrated that these active indole alkaloids were non-redox lipoxygenase inhibitors. </jats:p

New Flavonoid Derivatives from Melodorum fruticosum and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory and Cytotoxic Activities

Three new flavonoid derivatives, melodorones A–C (1–3), together with four known compounds, tectochrysin (4), chrysin (5), onysilin (6), and pinocembrin (7), were isolated from the stem bark of Melodorum fruticosum. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, including NMR and HRESIMS, and by comparison with the literature. Compounds 1–7 were evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition and cytotoxicity against KB, Hep G2, and MCF7 cell lines. Among them, compound 1 exhibited the best activity against α-glucosidase and was superior to the positive control with an IC50 value of 2.59 μM. On the other hand, compound 1 showed moderate cytotoxicity toward KB, Hep G2, and MCF7 cell lines with the IC50 values of 23.5, 19.8, and 23.7 μM, respectively. These findings provided new evidence that the stem bark of M. fruticosum is a source of bioactive flavonoid derivatives that are highly valuable for medicinal development.</jats:p

Hopane-6<i>α</i>,16<i>α</i>,22-triol: A New Hopane Triterpenoid from the Lichen <i>Parmotrema sancti-angelii</i>

A new compound, namely hopane-6 α,16 α,22-triol (1), along with 8 known compounds 2 to 9, leucotylin (2), 16 β-acetoxyhopane-6 α,22-diol (3), 6 α-acetoxyhopane-16 β,22-diol (4), zeorin (5), 6 α-acetoxyhopane-22-ol (6), ergosterol peroxide (7), brassicasterol (8), and atranorin (9), was isolated from the lichen Parmotrema sancti-angelii. The structures of all the isolated compounds 1 to 9 were fully characterized using spectroscopic data, as well as comparison with the previous literature data. Moreover, compounds 2 and 4 were assessed for their in vitro cytotoxicity against 3 human cancer cell lines. </jats:p

Bioactive Aporphine Alkaloids from the Roots of <i>Artabotrys spinosus</i>: Cholinesterase Inhibitory Activity and Molecular Docking Studies

Six aporphine alkaloids (1–6) were isolated from Artabotrys spinosus roots based on bioassay-guided fraction and chromatographic methods. All isolated alkaloids were evaluated for their cholinesterase (ChEs) inhibitory activities, in which compounds 4 and 6 exhibited the highest activity toward butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), respectively. The Lineweaver-Burk plots suggested that 4 and 6 were mixed mode inhibitors toward BChE and AChE enzymes, respectively. In addition, the experimental results were also confirmed by molecular docking analysis. This information can help in designing a new inhibitor in the class of aporphine alkaloids in against Alzheimer's disease. </jats:p