The Addition of Opuntia ficus-indica Ethanolic Extract to a Skimmed Milk-Based Extender Impacts Ram Sperm Quality.

Recently, researchers have focused on the use of natural antioxidants to improve semen quality as a key element for successful artificial insemination. In this context, the first aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity and composition (minerals, vitamins, and sugars) of Opuntia ficus-indica cladode ethanolic extract (ETHEX). A further purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of ETHEX supplementation on the quality of liquid ram semen extended with skim milk (SM) at 5°C. The antioxidant activity of ETHEX was studied using free radical 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) assay. The mineral composition and the sugar and vitamin contents of ETHEX were determined using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and HPLC-DAD-RID analytical instruments. As a second part, semen was collected from five Boujaâd rams with an artificial vagina. The ejaculates with more than 70% motility were pooled, extended with skim milk (SM) extender without (control) or supplemented with 1-8% of ETHEX (37°C; 0.8 × 109 sperm/mL). Sperm quality parameters were assessed at 8, 24, 48, and 72 h. The results showed that ETHEX had a higher antioxidant activity compared to those of ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Furthermore, ETHEX contains a considerable amount of minerals, vitamins, and sugars. The inclusion of 1 or 2% ETHEX in SM increased the sperm motility, viability, and membrane integrity and decreased the abnormality of spontaneous and catalyzed lipids peroxidation (p < 0.05) up to 72 h. In addition, semen diluted with 1 and 2% ETHEX decreased the level of DNA fragmentation compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the ETHEX could be recommended to improve the quality of liquid ram spermatozoa. However, its effects on artificial insemination should be further studied.

Role of magnesium and aluminum substitution on the structural properties and bioactivity of bioglasses synthesized from biogenic silica.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of magnesium (1 wt%) and aluminum (1 wt%) incorporation on the in vitro bioactivity and biodegradation behavior of 45S5 bioactive glasses synthesized from rice husk biogenic silica. The performance of biogenic silica-based samples was compared well with commercial silica-based counterparts. The in vitro biodegradation behavior of bioactive glasses was evaluated by the weight loss of samples and pH variation in the Tris buffer solution. Based on composition, bioglasses possessed different properties before and after simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion. The incorporation of magnesium (Mg) and aluminum (Al) enhanced the Vickers hardness of bioglasses. All the bioglasses showed the hydroxyapatite layer formation after SBF treatment as confirmed by the dissolution, FTIR, SEM and XRD analysis, however it was more prominent in the rice husk silica-based 45S5 bioglass. The biogenic silica seems to be a promising starting material for bioglass systems to be used in bone tissue engineering applications.

Natural calcium phosphates from fish bones and their potential biomedical applications.

The treatment and recovery of bio-wastes have raised considerable attention both from the environmental and economic point of view. Every year, a remarkable amount of fish processing by-products are generated and dumped as waste from all over the world. Fish bones can serve as a raw material for the production of high value-added compounds that can be used in various sectors including agrochemical, biomedical, food and pharmaceutical industries. The calcination of fish bones results in a single phase (hydroxyapatite) or bi-phasic (hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphate) bioceramics depending on the processing conditions as well as the content of the fish bones. This review summarizes the literature on the production of hydroxyapatite from fish bones and discusses their potential applications in biomedical field. The effect of processing conditions on the properties of final products including Ca/P ratio, crystal structure, particle shape, particle size and biological properties are presented in the light of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis, bioactivity and biocompatibility investigations.

Application of Box-Behnken design for modeling of lead adsorption onto unmodified and NaCl-modified zeolite NaA obtained from biosilica.

The main objective of the present study was to optimize lead adsorption onto zeolite NaA. For this purpose, to synthesize zeolite NaA under hydrothermal conditions, local wheat husk was precleaned with chemical treatment using hydrochloric acid solution. The unmodified (ZU) and NaCl-modified (ZN) zeolites were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The optimization of adsorption process was examined using Box-Behnken Experimental Design in response surface methodology by Design Expert Version 7.0.0 (Stat-Ease, USA). The effects of initial lead (II) concentration, temperature, and time were selected as independent variables. Lack of fit test indicates that the quadratic regression model was significant with the high coefficients of determination values for both adsorbents. Optimum process conditions for lead (II) adsorption onto ZU and ZN were found to be 64.40°C and 64.80°C, respectively, and 90.80 min, and 350 mg L-1 initial lead(II) concentration for both adsorbents. Under these conditions, maximum adsorption capacities of ZU and ZN for lead (II) were 293.38 mg g-1 and 321.85 mg g-1, respectively.