Valorization of solid olive mill wastes by cultivation of a local strain of edible mushrooms.

Olive oil industry generates huge quantities of solid olive mill wastes (SOMW), causing environmental damage. Cultivation of edible mushrooms, such as Pleurotus ostreatus is a valuable approach for SOMW valorization. A local strain mycelium (Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria) of P. ostreatus (LPO) was isolated from castor oil plants. Oyster mushroom spawn, produced on barley grains, was used to inoculate wet SOMW, steamed in a traditional steamer during 45 min. The mycelium growth rate on SOMW was first estimated in Petri dish by measuring the surface colonized by the mycelium. The fruit body yields were estimated on culture bags containing 2 kg each of SOMW inoculated at 7% (w/w). The local strain potential was compared with that of a commercial one. Both strains produced high-quality mushrooms, but with low yields. The supplementation of the SOMW with wheat straw at the rate of 10% and 2% of CaCO3 had significantly enhanced the productivity of the two strains, multiplying it by 3.2 for LPO and by 2.6 for CPO.

Anti-cancer effect of two alkaloids: 2R and 2S-bgugaine on mastocytoma P815 and carcinoma Hep.

The 2-alkylpyrrolidine R-bgugaine, a natural alkaloid isolated from tubers of Arisarum vulgare Targ. Tozz. (Araceae), and its isomer S-bgugaine, obtained by an asymmetric synthesis, were examined for their cytotoxic activities on two cancerous cellular lines: the murine mastocytoma cell line P815 and the human laryngeal carcinoma cell line Hep. These two alkaloids exhibited an important cytotoxic activity on these two cancerous cellular lines. The concentrations required to induce 50% of lysis (IC(50)) for R-bgugaine and S-bgugaine alkaloids were determined, and are 10 and 5 microg mL(-1), and 5 and 100 microg mL(-1), respectively, for the mastocytoma P815 and carcinoma Hep, compared with those of Adriamycine (5 microg mL(-1) for P815 cell line and 5 microg mL(-1) for Hep cell line), taken as positive controls.

New synthesis of two tridentate bipyrazolic compounds and their cytotoxic activity tumor cell lines.

Two new tripodal compounds - 4-{bis[(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole-1-yl)methyl]amino}butane-1-ol (1); ethyl 1-[((2-hydroxyethyl){[3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-5-methyl-1H-pyrazole-1-yl]methyl} amino)methyl]-5-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylate (2) were reported. The evaluation of the cytotoxic properties in vitro of these ligands, was examined on two tumor cell lines - P815 (mastocytome murine) and Hep (carcinoma of human larynx). The concentration required to induce 50% of lysis (IC(50)) was more pronounced against P815 cell line (IC(50): 39.42 microg mL(-1) for the compound 1 and 97.74 microg mL(-1) for the compound 2) than the Hep cell line (IC(50): 83.49 microg mL(-1) for compound 1 and 185.30 microg mL(-1) for compound 2). Statistical analysis shows that the compound 1 is two to three folds more cytotoxic than the compound 2 (p < 0.05). Interestingly, the cytotoxic activity depends strongly on both the substituents linked to the aminic nitrogen and pyrazolic rings.