Effect of Trichoderma reesei Degraded Date Pits Supplementation on Growth Performance, Immunoglobulin Levels, and Intestinal Barrier Functions of Broiler Chickens.

BACKGROUND: Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a dominant fruit crop in most Arabian countries. Date pits, as a major byproduct which remained after consumption of date flesh, proved to be a valuable source of energy. OBJECTIVES: The impact of degraded date pits (DDP) on growth performance, intestinal bacterial population, and expression profiles of intestinal genes in broilers was determined. Recent patents have been established on DDP from the European patent office (EP2586318B1), Hong Kong patent registry office (HK1184642) and by the United States patent and trademark office (US8968729B2 and US10265368B2). METHODS: Solid-state degradation system (SSD) was used for the preparation of DDP using Trichoderma reesei. One-day-old Brazilian broiler chicks "Cobb 500" were randomly divided into six treatments with six replicates, which consisted of a normal diet containing only corn-soy (control), diet containing corn-soy + (20%, 50g/100Kg oxytetracycline), diet containing corn-soy + 10% (DDP), diet containing corn-soy + 0.2% mannan oligosaccharides (MOS), diet containing corn-soy + 0.1% mannose, and diet containing corn-soy + 0.2% mannose. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in broilers among the treatments. The bacterial count was significantly decreased in 10% DDP diet-fed broilers, 0.2% MOS and antibiotic diet-fed broilers. Immunoglobulin levels in serum and intestinal contents and expression pattern of genes in jejunum were upregulated in 10% DDP and 0.2% MOS diet-fed broilers. CONCLUSION: DDP can be used as an energy source for replacing part of corn, mannan oligosaccharide and also recommended as a potential alternative to antimicrobials in broilers diet.

Bioactive coatings from nano-biopolymers/plant extract composites for complete protection from mycotoxigenic fungi in dates.

BACKGROUND: Contamination of date fruit with mycotoxigenic fungi is a hazardous threat. The present study investigated the effectiveness of natural derivatives for controlling this. Chitosan (Cts) was produced from Aspergillus niger mycelia and characterized and then nanochitosan (NCt) particles were synthesized from fungal Cts. Edible-coating films were formulated based on Cts, NCt, pomegranate peel extract (PPE) and their composites and these were evaluated as antifungal materials against mycotoxigenic fungi, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ochraceus and Fusarium moniliforme. RESULTS: The Cts produced had 88.7% deacetylation, a molecular weight of 24.5 kDa and 98% solubility in diluted acetic acid, whereas the particle diameters of synthesized NCts ranged from 35 to 65 nm. The inhibition zone assay emphasized the antifungal effectiveness of the entire coating films. The most effective agent for preparing edible film was the blend of NCt + PPE followed by Cts + PPE based films. The practical application of antifungal films for date decontamination with respect to mycotoxigenic fungi demonstrates that the films were very effective for controlling the entire fungal strain and preventing growth on the fruits. CONCLUSION: The NCt + PPE and Cts + PPE based films were found to be the most effective because they could completely eliminate the growth of any fungal spore on date fruit after 48 h from the coating experiment. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities of entophytic Penicillium crustosum from Phoenix dactylifer.

Natural sources have been and will remain an inspiration source for modern chemistry. The current study investigates the antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory action of the ethyl acetate fraction of Penicillium crustosum from Phoenix dactylifera. This paper reports the isolation of P. crustosum from leaves of P. dactylifera and the antiproliferative activities of ethyl acetate fraction on cancer cells. To reach this goal, the anti-proliferation and cytotoxicity effects were evaluated by MTT and LDH assay respectively. The quantitative real time PCR technique was used to investigate IL-6 and IL-8 gene expression. Our results revealed higher anti-proliferative activity against HepG2 (82µg/ml) than MCF7 (126µg/ml) and inhibited the migration of the cell lines. The ethyl acetate fraction significantly altered LDH levels and reduced IL-6 transcript expression on MCF7 cell line but not in HepG2 cell line which could be specific anti-inflammatory drug in breast cancer cell line. These results suggest that Phoenix dactylifera extract has a potent anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory action. Further investigation to isolate the active compounds and mode of action is required.

Isolation and characterization of endophytic plant growth-promoting bacteria from date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and their potential role in salinity tolerance.

Endophytic bacteria were isolated from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seedling roots, characterized and tested for their ability to help plants grow under saline conditions. Molecular characterization showed that the majority of these strains belonged to the genera Bacillus and Enterobacter and had different degrees of resistance to various antibiotics. Some of these strains were able to produce the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase and the plant growth regulatory hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Some strains were also able to chelate ferric iron (Fe(3+)) and solubilize potassium (K(+)), phosphorus (PO 4 (3-) ) and zinc (Zn(2+)), and produce ammonia. The results also showed that ACC deaminase activity and IAA production was slightly increased in some strains in response to an increase in NaCl concentration in the growth media. Consistent with these results, selected strains such as PD-R6 (Paenibacillus xylanexedens) and PD-P6 (Enterobacter cloacae) were able to enhance canola root elongation when grown under normal and saline conditions as demonstrated by a gnotobiotic root elongation assay. These results suggest that the isolated and characterized endophytic bacteria can alter ethylene and IAA levels and also facilitate nutrient uptake in roots and therefore have the potential role to promote the growth and development of date palm trees growing under salinity stress.