Inhibition of Fusarium culmorum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Rhizoctonia solani by n-hexane extracts of three plant species as a wood-treated oil fungicide.

AIMS: Wood as a packing tool is used for packaging and transportation of fruits and vegetables for a time period varying from hours to days. During transportation, fruits and vegetables can be affected by moulds with significant postharvest problems. The present study describes the possibility of using wood-treated oil fungicide of n-hexane extracts from Eucalyptus camaldulensis (aerial parts), Vitex agenus-castus (leaves) and Matricaria chamomilla (flowers) against the infestation of Fusarium culmorum, Rhizoctonia solani and Penicillium chrysogenum. METHODS AND RESULTS: Air-dried wood samples of Melia azedarach were prepared with the dimensions of 0·5 × 1 × 2 cm and treated with the oily extracts at the concentrations of 0, 1, 2 and 3%. Oils extracted with n-hexane from E. camaldulensis and V. agenus-castus showed promising antifungal activities against the isolated and molecularly identified three fungi F. culmorum, R. solani and P. chrysogenum, while M. chamomilla observed the lowest activity against the studied fungi. GC/MS analysis of oils reported that the major components in E. camaldulensis were ß-fenchol (25·51%), Cyclobuta[1,2:3,4]dicyclooctene-1,7(2H,6bH)-dione,dodecahydro,(6αß,6ßα,12αα,12ßß)- (17·05), 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol) (12·01%) and sabinene (9·45%); in V. agenus-castus were eucalyptol (22·17%), (E)-ß-caryophyllene (18·39%), and ß-sitosterol (12·44%); while in M. chamomilla were bisabolol oxide A (27·87%), (Z)-ß-farnesene (16·11%), D-limonene (14·18%) and chamazulene (11·27%). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest using n-hexane oily extracts from E. camaldulensis and V. agenus-castus as a biofungicide for wood protection. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study highlights the importance of using bio-friendly fungicide agents to protect wood against most common moulds occurring during handling of food packaging.

Antibacterial activity of extracted bioactive molecules of Schinus terebinthifolius ripened fruits against some pathogenic bacteria.

The aim of this work is to identify the chemical constituents and the bioactivity of essential oil (EO), acetone extract (ACE) and n-hexane extract (HexE) of S. terebinthifolius ripened fruits using GC-MS. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of extracts were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assays, respectively. The toxicity against the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus flavus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Sarcina lutea, and Staphylococcus aureus was determined with measuring the inhibition zones (IZs) using the disc diffusion method at the concentrations from 125 to 2000 µg/mL, also, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) using 96-well micro-plates and ranged from 4 to 2000 µg/mL. The major components in EO were α-pinene (36.9%), and α-phellandrene (32.8%). The major components in ACE were oleic acid (38.7%), α-phellandrene (13.33%), and δ-cadinene (11.1%), while the major methyl esters of fatty acids detected in HexE were oleic (12.8%), and palmitic (10.9%). The EO showed good activity against the growth of Staph. aureus and P. aeruginosa with MIC values of 16 µg/mL and 32 µg/mL, the ACE showed broad activity against the studied bacterial pathogens with MIC values ranged from of 4-128 µg/mL against the studied bacterial isolates, while HexE, however, showed weak antibacterial activity. The IC50 values of EO, ACE and HexE were 15.11 ±â€¯0.99, 118.16 ±â€¯1.7 and 324.26 ±â€¯2.45 µg/mL, respectively, compared to IC50 of Tannic acid (23.83 ±â€¯1.9 µg/mL) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT, 2.9 ±â€¯0.1 µg/mL). Data suggested that the ripened fruits of S. terebinthifolius have potent antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

The fate of plasma-generated oxygen atoms in aqueous solutions: non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasmas as an efficient source of atomic O(aq).

Non-equilibrium radio-frequency driven atmospheric-pressure plasma in He/0.6%O2 gas mixture has been used to study the reaction mechanism of plasma-generated oxygen atoms in aqueous solutions. The effluent from the plasma source operated with standard and 18O-labeled O2 gas was used to treat water in the presence of phenol as a chemical probe. Comparing the mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data of the solutions treated with plasma under normal and labeled oxygen provides clear evidence that O(aq) originating from the gas phase enters the liquid and reacts directly with phenol, without any intermediate reactions. Additionally, the atmospheric-pressure plasma source demonstrates great potential to be an effective source of O(aq) atoms without the requirement for any precursors in the liquid phase.

Breeding maize for resistance to ear rot caused by Fusarium moniliforme.

Maize ear rots are among the most important impediments to increased maize production in Egypt. The present research was conducted to estimate combining abilities, heterosis and correlation coefficients for resistance to ear rot disease in seven corn inbred lines and their 21 crosses under field conditions. Results demonstrated that both additive and non-additive gene actions were responsible for the genetic expression of all characters with the preponderance of non-additive actions for days to 50% silking. The parental line L51 was the best combiner for earliness, low infection severity %, high phenols content, short plants and reasonable grain yield, while L101 was good combiner for low ear rot infection only. The cross: L122 x L84, L122 x L101, L51 x L101, L76 x L36, L76 x L84, L36 x L84, L36 x L81 and L36 x L101 which involved one or both parents with good General Combining Ability (GCA) effects expressed useful significant heterosis and Specific Combining Ability (SCA) effects for low infection severity %, high phenol contents, early silking, tall plants and high grain yield. Phenotypic and genotypic correlation coefficients suggest that selection for resistance to ear rot should identify lines with high yielding ability, early silking, tall plants, high phenols content and chitinase activity.

Perioperative renal protection in patients with obstructive jaundice using drug combinations.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The effectiveness of dopamine alone or in combination with mannitol or furosemide in preventing postoperative renal dysfunction in patients with obstructive jaundice was assessed in this study. METHODOLOGY: Forty patients having obstructive jaundice were randomly allocated into 4 equal groups. Preoperative hydration was performed by infusing all patients 1L of 5% dextrose the night before surgery and another 1L in the morning before surgery. Intra- and postoperative maintenance of adequate intravascular volume was assured by fluid and blood replacement guided by the monitoring of central venous pressure urine output and blood pressure. The 1st group was kept as a control. The other 3 groups received dopamine 2.5 micrograms/kg/min for 2 postoperative days starting before surgery. The 2nd group was maintained on dopamine alone, while mannitol (0.25 g/kg), every 12 hours for 2 postoperative days, was added to the 3rd group. Similarly furosemide (1 mg/kg) every 12 hours for 2 postoperative days, was infused to the patients of the 4th group. Postoperative renal functions were assessed by 24-hour urine output, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance and urine to plasma osmolality ratio. RESULTS: All these tests did not show significant changes in the 1st, 2nd and 7th postoperative days. Only transient decreased creatinine clearance and elevated serum creatinine were observed in the patients of the 4th group in the 1st and 2nd postoperative days. This may be attributed to fluid imbalance induced by furosemide in these patients who were older than the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that careful attention to perioperative hydration is the cornerstone in preserving adequate renal function following surgery in patients with obstructive jaundice. Administration of dopamine alone or in combination with mannitol or furosemide did not confer more renal protection.