Synthesis of Kaolin-Supported Nickel Oxide Composites for the Catalytic Oxidative Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye.

Organic dye contamination of water is a contributing factor to environmental pollution and has a negative impact on aquatic ecology. In this study, unsupported NiO and kaolin-supported NiO composites were synthesized by a one-step wet impregnation-precipitation method through the precipitation of nickel hydroxide onto locally accessible, inexpensive, and easily treated kaolin surfaces by using sodium hydroxide as a precipitating agent. The product was calcined at 500 °C and used for the catalytic oxidative degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in an aqueous solution. The morphology, structure, and interactions of the synthesized materials were explored by SEM, XRD, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The characterization results revealed the fabrication and the growth of NiO on the kaolin surface. To determine the catalytic oxidative degradation performance of the catalyst, many experiments have been performed using the MB dye as a model dye. The catalytic degradation tests confirmed the importance of NiO and the high catalytic activity of the synthesized NiO/kaolin composite toward MB dye degradation. The oxidative degradation results showed that the optimized precursor amount on the kaolin surface could efficiently enhance the removal of MB dye. The kinetic investigation of the catalytic degradation of MB dye fitted the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. High removal efficiency was observed after eight reuse cycles, proving the exceptional stability and reusability of the composite. The catalytic process also proceeded with a low activation energy of 30.5 kJ/mol. In conclusion, the kaolin-supported NiO composite was established to be a favorable catalyst to degrade a model dye (MB) from an aqueous solution in the presence of inexpensive and easily available NaOCl with a catalytic efficiency of the material higher than 99% of the 20.3 mg catalyst within 6 min with an apparent rate constant, kapp, higher than 0.44625 min-1, which is far better than that of the unsupported catalyst with a kapp of 0.0926 min-1 at 10 mg dose in 20 min.

Polyphenol and flavonoid content in major Teff [Eragrostis tef (Zuccagni) Trotter] varieties in Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Teff [Eragrostis tef (Zuccagni) Trotter] is a small-sized cereal grain and an indigenous crop in Ethiopia. The Amhara region is one of the major teff producers regions in the country. However, information on the phenolic content of the region's teff varieties is limited. Seventy-two teff samples were collected from three administrative zones (West Gojjam zone, Awi zone, and East Gojjam zone) of the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The samples' total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were determined using colorimetric methods. The total flavonoid contents expressed as catechin equivalent, CE (i.e., under alkaline conditions) and quercetin equivalent, Q.E (i.e., under the methanolic solution of AlCl3) were found to be in the range of 7.66 ± 0.60-57.36 ± 3.87 mg C.E and 15.45 ± 0.15-113.12 ± 3.09 mg Q.E per 100 g of teff samples, respectively. The corresponding total polyphenol content (TPC), described as gallic acid equivalent (G.A.E.), was in the range of 46.21 ± 1.20-133.32 ± 5.44 mg G.A.E. The results showed that the mean TPC value of the teff samples from the West Gojjam zone was enriched with polyphenol than samples from the Awi zone and East Gojjam. Furthermore, it was noted that the mean TPC and TFC values did not vary significantly between samples of the East Gojjam and Awi zone (p > 0.05). In contrast, a significant difference in mean TPC and TFC-Q.E were noted between the sampling zone of East Gojjam and West Gojjam and between West Gojjam and Awi zones (p < 0.05). These significant variations in TPC and TFC might be due to observable variations in the agroecological zones and the genetic-make-up of the samples. Person correlation indicated a significant positive correlation matrix between the three variables (p = 0.01). The teff samples were trying to be classified based on their geographical origin using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and biplots. Accordingly, the variance explained by component 1 (PC1) is 67.2%, and the variance explained by component 2 (PC2) is 20.0%.

Single-step isolation of embelin using high-performance countercurrent chromatography and determination of the fatty acid composition of seeds of Embelia schimperi.

Embelin (2,5-dihydroxy-3-undecyl-p-benzoquinone) is known for its potent anthelmintic activity, but also for wound-healing, antidiabetic, anticonvulsant, antitumour, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antibacterial and antispermatogenic activities. A high-performance countercurrent chromatography method was developed for the purification of embelin from an extract of the seeds of Embelia schimperi fruit. The optimized solvent system (n-hexane-ethylacetate-ethanol-water, 7:3:7:3) resulted in the isolation of 13.9 mg of embelin, directly from 100 mg of crude extract, in a single step within a short time (40 min). Although the compound appeared to be completely pure when analysed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with photo diode array detection, the purity was established as ~90% by UPLC-mass spectrometry. Furthermore, we report the fatty acid composition of the seeds of E. schimperi fruit. Nine fatty acids were quantified from the fruit seed extract by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, with linoleic (46.4%), palmitic (21.5%) and oleic (19.6%) acids making up the largest proportions.

Determination of some selected secondary metabolites and their invitro antioxidant activity in commercially available Ethiopian tea (Camellia sinensis).

Eight brands of tea (Camellia sinensis),which are cultivated and commercially available in Ethiopian market, were analyzed for estimation of their total secondary metabolites (polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins) content and free radical scavenging activity which is expressed on dry weight basis. In this present study, the total polyphenols, tannin and flavonoid contents were studied spectrophotometrically using Folin-Dennis, Folin-Dennis/protein precipitation and aluminium chloride methods respectively. The free radical scavenging activity was determined by using DPPH radical assay. Results of the analysis revealed that the total polyphenol content varied from 21.3 ± 0.24 to 31.6 ± 0.31 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g of dry matter. Total flavonoids content in the tea samples varied from 8.17 ± 0.68 to 23.2 ± 0.68 mg of catechin equivalent/g of dry weight and tannin content varied from 5.64 ± 0.39 7.45 ± 0.27 mg tannic acid equivalent/g of dry weight basis. The free radical scavenging activity among the tea brand samples ranged from 28.8 ± 1.86 to 80.0 ± 0.63 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50%) values varied from 7.3 ± 1.35 to 64.0 ± 2.81 µg/mL of extract. The correlation between the antioxidant activity with total polyphenol content (R = 0.91325), with flavonoids (R = 0.80658) and with tannin (R = 0.73125) was calculated and maximum correlation value was found between polyphenol content and the free radical scavenging activity of the tea samples. The results in this study also revealed that green tea had the higher polyphenolic content and found to have the most promising antioxidant activity. This study further confirmed that Ethiopia tea is reach in phenolic compounds as compared to some overseas tea cultivars/varieties.

Concentration levels of selected essential and toxic metals in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) of West Gojjam, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most widely used as a staple food crop for human diets. It is an excellent source of minerals. In this study, contents of Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cd and Pb in potato cultivars cultivated in Yilmana Densa, and Mecha districts of the West Gojjam zone, Ethiopia were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. A 0.50 g oven-dried potato sample was digested using a mixture of 10 mL HNO3:HClO4 (4:1 v/v) at 120 °C for 3 h. The concentration ranges in dry weight basis in decreasing order were: Mg (420-438 mg/kg) > Ca (176-254 mg/kg) > Fe (27.3-90.4 mg/kg) > Zn (20.6-77.7 mg/kg) > (2.00-17.4 mg/kg) for Pb. The toxic heavy metal Cd was below the limit of detection in all the analyzed samples (<0.1 mg/kg). The Mg found in highest contents while Fe was the most abundant microelement. The Cd was found below the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake of WHO/FAO and European Commission (EC) while Pb was above the limit. A wide range of variations was observed in the metal contents of potato cultivars collected from the two districts. Potato cultivars grown in West Gojam zone of Ethiopian could contribute a substantial amount of Fe and Zn together with the major elements, Ca and Mg to the individual's daily dietary needs if consumed on a regular basis.