Current Biotechnology - Volume 11, Issue 2, 2022

Rapid global modernization, urbanization, industrialization, and frequent natural processes release toxic heavy metals into the environment such as mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and selenium (Se). In the present scenario, soil and water ecosystems are the main environmental alarms. The remediation of contaminated soils and water ecosystems with appropriate approaches is urgently needed. Physical remediation strategies are conventional, expensive, and nonspecific. In contrast, phytoremediation is an eco-friendly and fast-growing approach that is accomplished due to the high uptake of toxic heavy metals from the environment. Since plants are slow-growing and have low biomass they urgently need to be bioengineered for high biomass. On the other hand, biotechnology helps identify and isolate gene coding for heavy metal resistance tolerance in plants. Moreover, molecular cloning and the manifestation of heavy metal accumulator genes and other associated genes & enzymes can facilitate the remediation rates, which will make the process with a large-scale application that will improve the phytoremediation process. This review highlights the biotechnological methods and strategies for the remediation of heavy metals and metalloid containment from environments. Furthermore, this review also comprises the improvements and implications of phytoremediation as well as their operations and applications to reduce toxic pollutants from environments and to improvise phytoremediation efficiency to tolerate various heavy metal pollutants highlighting future challenges.

Lactic acid is a generally existing natural acid, which is significant because of its wide use in food and food-related ventures, pharmaceutics, the cosmetics sector and its ability to create biopolymers. Lactic acid is eco-friendly, can be obtained from natural crude substances utilizing different varieties of microbes, and is chemically synthesized. Taking into account the value of lactic acid, this is a brief review of methods of processing, applications, microbes and substrates required for lactic acid production.

Fungí is eukaryotic microorganisms that may spread and cause illness on the skin, subcutaneously, and systemically. These infections can be invasive and difficult to identify at times. A patient with a damaged immune system is more likely to get a fungal infection. Long-term chemotherapy, organ transplantation, corticosteroid usage, or multidrug treatment all result in immunocompromised people. Why do immunocompromised individuals need to be treated? The answer of this query is that the immune system serves as an army for the human body, if it fails to protect it, foreign particles such as bacteria, fungus, and viruses assault the body, causing the patient to become immunocompromised. Candidiasis, aspergillosis, mucormycosis, and cryptococcal meningitis are the most frequent invasive fungal diseases encountered in immunocompromised people. Patients afflicted with invasive fungal infections have a significant death rate. As the number of immunocompromised patients rises, so does the number of fungal infections. In this article, we took a quick look at a few invasive fungal infections such as candidiasis, aspergillosis, and mucormycosis.

Background: Psoralea corylifolia and Mimusops elengi could be a source of new bioactive compounds for treating filariasis Psoralea corylifolia and Mimusops elengi. Thediversity of these plants has been proved medicinally and phytochemically. These plants haveplayed an important role in ancient medicine for the treatments of various ailments and especially against many helminths. Methods: Psoralea corylifolia and Mimusops elengi could be a source of new bioactive compounds for treating filariasis. 20g of dried powder of Psoralea corylifolia and Mimusops elengi were extracted using a Soxhlet apparatus using various solvents like methanol, chloroform, acetone, and water for about 30 cycles and then concentrated using a rotary evaporator and stored at 4 °C in airtight containers. It is effective against Setaria cervi at 100 and 200 μg, respectively. In-vitro studies have been done for the respective compounds. Homology models of Glutathione S transferase, Chitinase, and Transglutaminase were constructed using MODELLER v9.20 (Accelrys). Results: The results from the in vitro studies were confirmed by TLC and GC MS analysis of the extracts, which showed the presence of different phytochemical compounds in the extracts. Among the compounds identified in GC MS, 7,10-Octadecadienoic acid, methyl ester, Pentadecanoic acid, 14-methyl-, methyl ester, 2-Nonadecanone2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, Aspidospermidin-17-ol, 1- acetyl-19,21-epoxy-15,16-dimethoxy-, 9- (2’,2’-Dimethylpropanihydrozano)-3,6 dichloro-2,7-bis- [2-(diethylamino)-ethoxy] fluorine, and 2,2,4-Trimethyl-3-(3,8,12,16-tetramethyl-heptadeca- 3,7,11,15-tetraenyl)-cyclohexanol were docked against crystallised bioactive compounds. Conclusion: As a result of this study, it was concluded that arresting these proteins will help in arresting the growth and multiplication of parasites, thus leading to the development of a new antifilarial drug.

Aim: In the present study, the phytochemical screening was carried out with the methanolic extract of Ficus auriculata Lour figs. Background: Naturally occurring phytoconstituents have long been utilised to treat illnesses, and these substances have provided natural product chemists with a source of structural diversity. Natural products are usually cited as a rich source of chemical variations in the search for new pharmacological leads or compounds. Objective: The investigation of chemical constituents of the methanolic extract resulted in the identification of a novel phytoconstituent, namely, 10-methyl-9,10-dihydroacridin-1-ol (A), with acridine as a basic nucleus. Methods: The structure of the compound was established by spectroscopic analysis using FT-IR, ¹HNMR, ¹³CNMR, and MS. Results: The purity of the compound was confirmed by RP-HPLC. Forty-eight known and reported compounds were also identified, along with novel compound-A. Among the forty-eight known compounds, forty-five compounds were first reported in Ficus auriculata Lour methanolic extract and the remaining three compounds (Campesterol, Stigmasterol, and Lanosterol) in the Ficus family. Based on the previous studies, acridine moieties have a significant role in biological activities. Conclusion: The compound-A, 10-methyl-9,10-dihydroacridin-1-ol was successfully isolated from the methanolic extract of the Ficus auriculata Lour fig. The structure of the novel compound was established by various spectral data obtained from FT-IR, ¹HNMR, ¹³CNMR, and LC-MS/MS. Others: The isolated novel acridine derivative may be helpful for the development of lead moieties which may have various applications.

Background: Banana peel (Musa Sp.) is more nutritional and rich in phytochemical compounds than its pulp. All parts of the banana plant have medicinal applications. Damage from free radicals at the cellular level causes cell inflammation, increasing the risk of damage from sunlight, radiation, and related development of skin cancer. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the physicochemical properties, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of unripe green and yellow ripened banana fruit peels and pulp oil extracts. Methods: The oil extraction was done in Soxhelt apparatus using petroleum ether as a solvent. Then, the oil extracts were assessed based on the determination of oil yield, acid value, percent free fatty acid, peroxide value, and free radical scavenging activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydrogen peroxide, and ascorbic acid. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were determined based on ascorbic acid content, DPPH and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activities. The antimicrobial experiment was arranged in completely randomized factorial design with three replications. Results: The result indicated that significantly the highest oil yield (2.60±0.21%), acid value (2.66±0.20%), and free fatty acids (1.34±0.10%) were recorded for green peel oil extract. Significantly, the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity was recorded for green peel (5.85%) followed by green pulp (4.80) and the least for yellow peel (4.50). Ascorbic acid and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity were significantly higher for yellow peel and green pulp oil extract extracts than for green peel oil extract. The strongest antibacterial activity with the maximum zone of inhibition (15.5mm), minimum inhibitory concentration (0.125μg/ml), and corresponding minimum bactericidal concentration (0.25 μg/ml) was recorded for ripened peel oil extract against Staphylococcus aureus. The antifungal activity of the oil extract presented the highest zone of inhibition (15.67mm), minimum inhibitory concentration (0.125 μg/ml) and corresponding minimum fungicidal concentration (0.25 μg/ml) were recorded for unripe green banana fruit pulp oil extract against Aspergillus versicolor. Conclusion: The result indicated that the banana fruit peel oil extracts demonstrated differential antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials. Thus, the banana peel waste oil extracts proved to have potential sustainable applications in nutritional and drug development technologies.

Background: Drought stress limits the growth of plants and even impairs their physiological functions. Under water stress, Zoysia tenuifolia has limited biomass, plant height, and leaf length, as well as decreased protective enzyme activity, while it induces the accumulation of large amounts of osmotic regulators. If a plant is in a severely water-deprived environment, its growth is clearly inhibited, and it may even die. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a biostimulant, a willow extract isolated from the bark of S.babylonica, on the drought stress of Z. tenuifolia. Methods: First, the change in the content of salicylic acid was evaluated through the oxidation process by potassium permanganate after acid hydrolysis of the willow extract. Second, through leaf spraying with Z. tenuifolia, the improvement effect on drought stress according to a reasonable concentration of willow extract was observed. Results: In this paper, it was found that oxidation of potassium permanganate after acid hydrolysis of willow extract significantly increased the content of salicylic acid, a plant growth regulator, and that leaf spray remarkably improved the physiological index of Z. tenuifolia under drought stress conditions. Conclusion: This study provides important information on the identification and utilization of willow resources as a safe plant protector and growth regulator, and is the first study to report on the use of these willow extracts as a source of liquid extracts acting as biostimulants in Z. tenuifolia cultivation.

Background: Recently, different side effects have been observed after using antiviral drugs before activation of the immune system. Therefore, it is very important to use effective and non-invasive therapy with fewer side effects for infected virus treatment. Methods: In this study, we designated a new device termed a Life Restoration Device (LRD). The main function of LRD is to generate electric frequencies with lower and safer potential. These frequencies can effectively destroy the biological elements in the viruses, such as nucleic acid materials and viral cell membranes, but not the cellular plasma membrane of the infected eukaryotic cells. Results: A designated glass tube was prepared for this purpose. The infected cell culture was located in the cell culture media, and propagated viruses were poured into the glass tube. Additionally, two nickel-coated copper rods were inserted into both ends of the tube inside the cell culture media. Afterward, the two nickel-coated copper rods were connected to the LRD. Using LRD, lower potential electric frequencies were generated and applied for 30 min and 60 min time points. The treatment of the cell culture containing MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 with LRD for 30 min significantly reduced the viral infectivity by 83% and 22%, respectively. After 60 min of treatment with LRD, the infectivity of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 viruses was reduced by 21% and 1%, respectively. Furthermore, HIV and HBV-infected blood showed a 95.5% and 100% viral inhibition rate after 2 h exposure to LRD. Additionally, based on the results of the electron microscopy of treated H5N1 virus and western blot analysis data of different types of viruses, the nucleic acid components of the treated viruses were reduced compared to the non-treated viruses. The low-power electric frequencies produced by LRD can reduce the fluidi ty and osmosis of the viral envelope but not the plasma membrane of the infected cells. Conclusion: Treatment of different types of pathogenic viruses with electric stimulation produced by LRD is a new alternative to safe therapy but needs further investigations. The results of this study are important to develop an effective, safe, and alternative viral therapy.