Microbial exopolysaccharides: Unveiling the pharmacological aspects for therapeutic advancements.

Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) have emerged as a fascinating area of research in the field of pharmacology due to their diverse and potent biological activities. This review paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the pharmacological properties exhibited by EPSs, shedding light on their potential applications in various therapeutic areas. The review begins by introducing EPSs, exploring their various sources, significance in microbial growth and survival, and their applications across different industries. Subsequently, a thorough examination of the pharmaceutical properties of microbial EPSs unveils their antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, antidepressant, antidiabetic, antiviral, antihyperlipidemic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Mechanistic insights into how different EPSs exert these therapeutic effects have also been discussed in this review. The review also provides comprehensive information about the monosaccharide composition, backbone, branches, glycosidic bonds, and molecular weight of pharmacologically active EPSs from various microbial sources. Furthermore, the factors that can affect the pharmacological activities of EPSs and approaches to improve the EPSs' pharmacological activity have also been discussed. In conclusion, this review illuminates the immense pharmaceutical promise of microbial EPS as versatile bioactive compounds with wide-ranging therapeutic applications. By elucidating their structural features, biological activities, and potential applications, this review aims to catalyze further research and development efforts in leveraging the pharmaceutical potential of microbial EPS for the advancement of human health and well-being, while also contributing to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in the pharmaceutical industry.

Food self-sufficiency: Managing the newly-opened tidal paddy fields for rice farming in Indonesia (A case study in West Kalimantan, Indonesia).

The Indonesian government continues to develop a sustainable food self-sufficiency program by increasing national food security through an extension program. One of the instruments is by opening new rice fields. The area of new rice fields in Indonesia is 222,442 ha spreading on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua. This new rice field is estimated to produce 1.2 million tons of rice per year. In the case of West Kalimantan Province, it has opened new rice fields cover an area of 23,384 ha, mostly in tidal lands. Expansion of newly-opened rice fields does not increase land productivity. Moreover, rice productivity in the newly-opened paddy fields is only an average of 2 t ha-1. The low rice productivity is caused by biophysical factors of land in agriculture, and social-economic, and institutional factors of farmers at the village level. Therefore, it is necessary to have a rice farming model in newly-opened rice fields involving farmer groups, researchers, agricultural extension agents, government agencies, the private sector, and banks. The purpose of this study was to present a sustainable rice farming model in the newly-opened tidal rice fields. The results of this study showed that application of the rice farming model in newly-opened tidal rice fields could increase rice productivity from 2 to 5.7 t ha-1 and farmer income of IDR 10.6 million, involving good collaboration among farmer groups and farmer economic organizations supported by banks for sustainability.

Formulation of Vermicelli Mixed Corn and Rice Flour with Additional Carrageenan and Its Economic Value.

The study was aimed at obtaining a vermicelli formulation on a mixture of corn and rice flour, adding carrageenan and its economic analysis. The experiment applied a 2-factorial randomized block design, where factor 1 was a mixture of corn and rice flour (5 levels) and factor 2 was carrageenan concentration (5 levels), repeated three times. The data were analyzed using ANOVA provided in SPSS. When there were significant differences, the analysis proceeded with DMRT at a level of 5% to see differences among treatments. The results show that the higher the corn flour and carrageenan concentration, the higher the vermicelli's ash and fat content. The formulation produces wet vermicelli with a good appearance. The production of vermicelli uses an extruder method. The selected vermicelli formulation was a mixture of 25% corn flour with 75% rice flour and the addition of 0.6% carrageenan. The characteristics of the wet vermicelli are moisture content of 42.84%, ash content of 0.21% on a wet basis (wb), and fat content of 0.43% wb. The organoleptic test of vermicelli was color 3.9 (liked), aroma 3.6 (liked), texture 2.6 (quite soft), taste 3.7 (liked), and general appearance 3.5 (liked). Economically, making vermicelli made of corn and rice flour is profitable because the R/C ratio value is greater than one, which is 2.27. The resulting wet vermicelli resembles wet noodles, large in size and yellow in color, so it can be recommended as gluten-free noodles, suitable for consumption by people with gluten allergies.