Production of sheep wool keratin hydrolysate and evaluation of its effectiveness in promoting maize cultivation.

The purpose of this work is to produce keratin hydrolysate from sheep wool by alkaline hydrolysis and to assess its effectiveness in improving maize plant growth under greenhouse conditions. A hybrid response surface methodology with Box-Behnken design (RSM-BBD) was used to model and optimize the hydrolysis process. The synergistic effects between three critical independent variables including temperature, hydrolysis time, and concentration of KOH on the hydrolysis rate were statistically investigated and optimized. Under optimized conditions, a hydrolysis rate of 95.08% was achieved. The produced hydrolysate consists of water-soluble peptides, free amino acids and potassium ions, making it suitable to be used as a valuable agricultural input material for crop production. Amino acid analysis revealed high levels of proline and phenylalanine, which are responsible for water conditioning and the preservation of abiotic stress as readily available. The efficacy of the produced hydrolysate was assessed in the cultivation of maize as a crop model under greenhouse conditions. Results revealed that the application of the hydrolysate positively influenced the morphological traits of the maize crop such as plant height and leaf surface area. The magnitude of the response to the hydrolysate application depended on its concentration with the most positive effects observed at a dose 2 for the leaf's chlorophyll content, fresh shoot biomass and dry shoot biomass. The application of the hydrolysate improved fresh and dry shoot biomass by 32.5 and 34.4% compared to the control and contributed to the improvement of nitrogen use efficiency by the studied crop. The hydrolysate proved to be beneficial in improving overall plant growth and can be suitable and effective agricultural input for maize cultivation.

New SIRT1 activator from alkaline hydrolysate of total saponins in the stems-leaves of Panax ginseng.

Two new dammarane-type triterpenes, namely ginsenoslaloside-I [3ß,12ß,24S-trihydroxy-dammara-20(22)E,25-diene-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside, 1] and 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rh1-6'-acetate (2), together with twelve known compounds (3-14) were isolated from the alkaline hydrolysate of total saponins of the stems-leaves of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer. Their chemical structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses and comparison with the reported data. All 14 compounds were evaluated for their anti-proliferative activities against two human cancer cell lines (HL-60 and Hep-G2) and promotion activities of SIRT1. Compound 6 exhibited significant inhibitory activity in a concentration-dependent manner against HL-60 and Hep-G2 with the IC50 values of 10.32 and 24.33µM, respectively, and had comparable IC50 values with those of vinorelbine, a positive control agent. Meanwhile, compounds 1 and 6 were found to be a potential activator of SIRT1. The preliminary structure-activity relationship was also discussed based on the experimental data obtained.

Heterogeneous photo-Fenton oxidation of lignin of rice husk alkaline hydrolysates using Fe-impregnated silica catalysts.

Present work shows results of a study on heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation of lignin alkaline hydrolysates formed in the process of obtaining a fibrous mass from rice husk. Fe-impregnate biogenic amorphous silica Fe/RH-SiO2 obtained from rice husk was used as a catalyst. Using IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and EDX analysis it was shown that iron(III) oxide in the form of hematite is present on the catalyst surface. Phenol was used for preliminary assessment of catalytic activity of the catalyst Fe/RH-SiO2. The degree of degradation of phenol by the UV/visible radiation/Fe/RH-SiO2/H2O2 system reaches 90%. The catalytic activity of Fe/RH-SiO2 was studied in the reaction of lignin degradation of rice husk alkaline hydrolysates under ultraviolet and visible irradiation in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The lignin solutions with COD: Н2О2 ratios from 1:2 to 1:16 were exposure under UV irradiation for 15-minute and the subsequent lightening on sunny days between 9 am and 8 pm in April for 7 days in the presence of a catalyst and without it. The catalyst concentration was 1.0 g L-1. After that, it was found the content of phenolic compounds in the presence of a catalyst is 2-20 times lower than without it. The COD with the COD: Н2О2 = 1:16 ratio in the presence of a catalyst decreases 1.5 times as compared with the initial solution, whereas without a catalyst it increases 13 times.