Mechanical superiority of Pseudoxytenanthera bamboo for sustainable engineering solutions.

The advancement in natural fibre composites has replaced synthetic fibres in various commercial sectors. Bamboo species possess high mechanical properties due to their lignocellulosic fibre content, which makes them suitable for engineering applications and potential alternatives to solid wood. However, despite Bamboo being composed of 130 genera and 1700 different species, out of which many still remains underexplored. In this study, we investigated the, Lignocellulosic profiling, fibre strength, and mechanical characterization of two species of Pseudoxytenanthera Bamboo: Pseudoxytenanthera ritchiei, Pseudopxytenanthera stocksii, and the results obtained were compared with Bambusa balcooa, one of the priority species of bamboo identified by The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI). BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) was used to quantify the samples' density, while SEM-EDX and FTIR spectroscopy were used for elemental analysis. The samples were then subjected to tensile test in addition, thermogravimetric analysis and water absorption test were carried out for the three species. The results showed that Pseudoxytenanthera species possessed superior chemical and mechanical characteristics compared to the priority species of bamboo used for composites. Out of the two Pseudoxytenanthera species studied, Pseudoxytenanthera stocksii exhibited the highest values of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, ash, carbon, and silicon, indicating its chemical superiority. Moreover, Pseudoxytenanthera stocksii also showed higher mechanical values for tensile strength, making it suitable for a variety of engineering applications. The TGA values also indicated that Pseudoxytenanthera stocksii is stable at high temperatures when compared with other natural fibres.

Influence of natural and synthetic antioxidants on the degradation of Soybean oil at frying temperature.

The effect of several natural and synthetic antioxidants to retard the formation of polar compounds and thermo-oxidation at prolonged frying temperatures was studied. Antioxidants, including butyl hydroxyl toluene (BHT), ter-butyl hydroxyquinone (TBHQ), α- and γ-tocopherols, tocopherol mixture (α, ß, γ and δ), sesamol, ß-sitosterol, ß-sitostanol, γ-oryzanol, curcumin, rosemary extract and sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB) were tested in refined soybean oil without added any additives recovered from refinery. Rosemary extract and SAIB were showed a considerable effect on both polar compound formation and secondary oxidation. These compounds increased the oxidative stability of oil for more than 30 % compared to conventional synthetic antioxidants. Oils treated with SAIB showed higher color retention after 6 h heating compared to the oils added with BHT, TBHQ and tocopherols. Curcumin, sesamol and γ-oryzanol showed higher antioxidant potential compared to other antioxidants. Preliminary results obtained from this study have clearly demonstrated that SAIB and rosemary extracts are more commercially viable antioxidants to increase the stability of frying oils.

Comparative chemical composition and in vitro antioxidant activities of essential oil isolated from the leaves of Cinnamomum tamala and Pimenta dioica.

Cinnamomum tamala Nees and Eberm (tejpat) and Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr (pimento) leaves are commonly used for flavouring food and widely used in pharmaceutical preparations because of their hypoglycemic, carminative and stimulant properties. In this study, we compared the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of tejpat and pimento essential oils by employing various in vitro methods. GC and GC-MS analyses were done to find out the chemical composition, and the main constituent identified in tejpat and pimento leaf oils was eugenol. Both the oils showed significant radical scavenging activity against DPPH and superoxide radicals with a potent metal chelating activity and were compared with that of standard compound, eugenol. Among the two oils, tejpat oil showed better activity in terms of antioxidative potential.

Inhibitory effect of Terminalia chebula Retz. fruit extracts on digestive enzyme related to diabetes and oxidative stress.

Terminalia chebula fruit extracts were prepared sequentially with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and methanol-water (70:30) and tested for their α-glucosidase inhibitory and antioxidant potential. The study resulted in the formulation of an extract with high α-glucosidase inhibitory potential (IC(50) 0.19 ± 0.03 µg mL(-1)) enriched with hydrolysable tannins. Also, each of the extract was chemically characterized by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on the basis of their marker compounds chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid and corilagin in order to give explanation to the significant activity shown by the extracts. The antioxidant potential of the highly active extract was evaluated in the cellular level also using superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase and induced oxidative stress assays. The results indicated the possibility of using the extract as a nutraceutical health supplement in the management of type 2 diabetes.

Essential oil composition of two unique ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) cultivars from Sikkim.

Volatile oils from two most popular cultivars from Sikkim namely, Bhaisa and Majulay, were isolated, characterised by analytical GC and GC-MS. Sixty constituents accounting for 94.9% and 92.6% of the Bhaisa and Majulay oils were identified. The major compounds of Bhaisa oil were geranyl acetate (18.8%), zingiberene (16.3%) and geranial (8.2%) and those of Majulay oil were zingiberene (19.8%) and geranial (16.5%). Compared to other ginger cultivar oils, the Bhaisa oil had higher content of oxygenated compounds (43.1%). This is the first report on the essential oils from Sikkim ginger cultivars.

Composition and antioxidant activity of essential oil of pimento (Pimenta dioica (L) Merr.) from Jamaica.

The composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil obtained through hydrodistillation of pimento berry [Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr] samples, namely P1 and P2, sourced from Jamaica, were studied. The chemical composition was analysed by GC and GC-MS methods. The antioxidant activities of the oils were evaluated in terms of their free-radical-scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical cation and superoxide anion ( [image omitted]). Total phenolic content, total reducing power and metal-chelating capacity of the oils were also estimated. Forty-five constituents were identified. The major compound identified was eugenol (74.71%, 73.35%), followed by methyl eugenol (4.08%, 9.54%) and caryophyllene (4.90%, 3.30%). The antioxidant assays showed that the oils possess very high radical scavenging activities (DPPH IC(50) 4.82 ± 0.08, 5.14 ± 0.11 µg mL(-1), ABTS IC(50) 2.27 ± 0.16, 2.94 ± 0.03 µg mL(-1), superoxide IC(50) 17.78 ± 1.31, 20.65 ± 0.82 µg mL(-1)). The metal chelating capacities (IC(50) 83.62 ± 2.10, 101.77 ± 1.01 µg mL(-1)) and reducing power were also very high. The results show that the essential oils possess significant antioxidant activity which is comparable to that of pure eugenol. Therefore the oil can be utilised as a natural antioxidant which gives good flavour as well as health benefits.

Effects of temperature and solvent on antioxidant properties of curry leaf (Murraya koenigii L.).

Total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activities of curry leaf extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethanol, ethanol-water (1:1) and water at ambient (AT, 25 °C) and boiling temperature (BT) (Soxhlet extraction), were determined by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt), and total reductive potential assays. TPC was in the order ethanol-water (1:1) (AT) > water (AT) > chloroform (AT) > ethanol-water (1:1) (BT) > hexane (AT) > ethanol (BT) > water (BT) > hexane (BT). Ethanol-water (AT) had the maximum TPC of 501 ± 4.6 mg/g GAE and 82% radical scavenging activity (RSA) at 10 µg/ml level (DPPH) and 100% RSA (ABTS) at 10 µg/ml and at hot conditions (ethanol-water (BT)) had less TPC (28.7 ± 0.9%), and 43% RSA by DPPH and 53.6% by ABTS assays. Hot extracts had lesser antioxidant activities than ambient extracts. The best solvent system for getting maximum antioxidant activity from curry leaves was ethanol-water (1:1)-(AT).