Guardians of the Gut: Harnessing the Power of Probiotic Microbiota and Their Exopolysaccharides to Mitigate Heavy Metal Toxicity in Human for Better Health.

Heavy metal pollution is a significant global health concern, posing risks to both the environment and human health. Exposure to heavy metals happens through various channels like contaminated water, food, air, and workplaces, resulting in severe health implications. Heavy metals also disrupt the gut's microbial balance, leading to dysbiosis characterized by a decrease in beneficial microorganisms and proliferation in harmful ones, ultimately exacerbating health problems. Probiotic microorganisms have demonstrated their ability to adsorb and sequester heavy metals, while their exopolysaccharides (EPS) exhibit chelating properties, aiding in mitigating heavy metal toxicity. These beneficial microorganisms aid in restoring gut integrity through processes like biosorption, bioaccumulation, and biotransformation of heavy metals. Incorporating probiotic strains with high affinity for heavy metals into functional foods and supplements presents a practical approach to mitigating heavy metal toxicity while enhancing gut health. Utilizing probiotic microbiota and their exopolysaccharides to address heavy metal toxicity offers a novel method for improving human health through modulation of the gut microbiome. By combining probiotics and exopolysaccharides, a distinctive strategy emerges for mitigating heavy metal toxicity, highlighting promising avenues for therapeutic interventions and health improvements. Further exploration in this domain could lead to groundbreaking therapies and preventive measures, underscoring probiotic microbiota and exopolysaccharides as natural and environmentally friendly solutions to heavy metal toxicity. This, in turn, could enhance public health by safeguarding the gut from environmental contaminants.

Municipal Wastewater Connection for Water Crisis and Jaundice Outbreaks in Shimla City: Present Findings and Future Solutions.

The felicitous tourist destination "Hills Queen" and the capital city of Himachal Pradesh, an enticing state in the Himalayan region, are met with water crisis every year and jaundice outbreaks occasionally. In 2016, there was a severe jaundice outbreak in Shimla city. In a contemporaneous investigation, we attempted to trace out the possible reason for these crises in Shimla. Samples were collected month wise from different water-supply sources and their physicochemical and microbial loads were analyzed. The microbiological examination found a totally excessive microbial load (1.064 × 109 cfu/mL on common) throughout the year with a maximum (>1.98 × 1010 cfu/mL) in the wet season and minimum (>3.00 × 107 cfu/mL) in the winter. Biochemical and morphological evaluation confirmed that most of the water resources reported a high number of coliforms and Gram-negative microorganisms due to sewage-water infiltration. These microorganisms in the water are responsible for the liver infection that ultimately causes jaundice. For safe and potable water, infiltration of municipal wastewater must be prevented at any cost. Scientific disposal of wastewater and purification of uncooked water have to be conducted earlier than consumption or use for different domestic functions, to avoid water crises and fetal ailment outbreaks in the near future.

Recent advancements in hydrocarbon bioremediation and future challenges: a review.

Petrochemicals are important hydrocarbons, which are one of the major concerns when accidently escaped into the environment. On one hand, these cause soil and fresh water pollution on land due to their seepage and leakage from automobile and petrochemical industries. On the other hand, oil spills occur during the transport of crude oil or refined petroleum products in the oceans around the world. These hydrocarbon and petrochemical spills have not only posed a hazard to the environment and marine life, but also linked to numerous ailments like cancers and neural disorders. Therefore, it is very important to remove or degrade these pollutants before their hazardous effects deteriorate the environment. There are varieties of mechanical and chemical methods for removing hydrocarbons from polluted areas, but they are all ineffective and expensive. Bioremediation techniques provide an economical and eco-friendly mechanism for removing petrochemical and hydrocarbon residues from the affected sites. Bioremediation refers to the complete mineralization or transformation of complex organic pollutants into the simplest compounds by biological agents such as bacteria, fungi, etc. Many indigenous microbes present in nature are capable of detoxification of various hydrocarbons and their contaminants. This review presents an updated overview of recent advancements in various technologies used in the degradation and bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons, providing useful insights to manage such problems in an eco-friendly manner.

Established and Emerging Producers of PHA: Redefining the Possibility.

The polyhydroxyalkanoate was discovered almost around a century ago. Still, all the efforts to replace the traditional non-biodegradable plastic with much more environmentally friendly alternative are not enough. While the petroleum-based plastic is like a parasite, taking over the planet rapidly and without any feasible cure, its perennial presence has made the ocean a floating island of life-threatening debris and has flooded the landfills with toxic towering mountains. It demands for an immediate solution; most resembling answer would be the polyhydroxyalkanoates. The production cost is yet one of the significant challenges that various corporate is facing to replace the petroleum-based plastic. To deal with the economic constrain better strain, better practices, and a better market can be adopted for superior results. It demands for systems for polyhydroxyalkanoate production namely bacteria, yeast, microalgae, and transgenic plants. Solely strains affect more than 40% of overall production cost, playing a significant role in both upstream and downstream processes. The highly modifiable nature of the biopolymer provides the opportunity to replace the petroleum plastic in almost all sectors from food packaging to medical industry. The review will highlight the recent advancements and techno-economic analysis of current commercial models of polyhydroxyalkanoate production. Bio-compatibility and the biodegradability perks to be utilized highly efficient in the medical applications gives ample reason to tilt the scale in the favor of the polyhydroxyalkanoate as the new conventional and sustainable plastic.

Cost-effective production of biocatalysts using inexpensive plant biomass: a review.

Enzymes are the complex protein moieties, catalyze the rate of chemical reactions by transforming various substrates to specific products and play an integral part in multiple biochemical cycles. Advancement in enzyme research and its integration with industries have reformed the biotech industries. It provides a superior monetary and ecological exchange to traditional material measures in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. The cost-effective production of pure and highly active enzymes is still a challenge for the biocatalyst industries. The use of high purity substrates further raises the cost of a typical biocatalyst. The use of low-cost plant-based biomasses as an enticing and sustainable substrate for enzyme production is the most cost-effective approach to these problems. Given the relevance of biomass as a substrate for enzyme development, this review article focuses on the key source, composition and major enzyme generated using various biomass residues. Furthermore, the difficulties associated with the use of biomass as a substrate and technical developments in this area, are also addressed. The use of waste biomass as a substrate lowers the ultimate cost for the production of biocatalysts while simultaneously reduces the waste burden from the environment.

Renewable biohydrogen production from lignocellulosic biomass using fermentation and integration of systems with other energy generation technologies.

Biohydrogen is a clean and renewable source of energy. It can be produced by using technologies such as thermochemical, electrolysis, photoelectrochemical and biological, etc. Among these technologies, the biological method (dark fermentation) is considered more sustainable and ecofriendly. Dark fermentation involves anaerobic microbes which degrade carbohydrate rich substrate and produce hydrogen. Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundantly available raw material and can be utilized as an economic and renewable substrate for biohydrogen production. Although there are many hurdles, continuous advancements in lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment technology, microbial fermentation (mixed substrate and co-culture fermentation), the involvement of molecular biology techniques, and understanding of various factors (pH, T, addition of nanomaterials) effect on biohydrogen productivity and yield render this technology efficient and capable to meet future energy demands. Further integration of biohydrogen production technology with other products such as bio-alcohol, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and methane have the potential to improve the efficiency and economics of the overall process. In this article, various methods used for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment, technologies in trends to produce and improve biohydrogen production, a coproduction of other energy resources, and techno-economic analysis of biohydrogen production from lignocellulosic biomass are reviewed.

Biowaste-to-bioplastic (polyhydroxyalkanoates): Conversion technologies, strategies, challenges, and perspective.

Biowaste management is a challenging job as it is high in nutrient content and its disposal in open may cause a serious environmental and health risk. Traditional technologies such as landfill, bio-composting, and incineration are used for biowaste management. To gain revenue from biowaste researchers around the world focusing on the integration of biowaste management with other commercial products such as volatile fatty acids (VFA), biohydrogen, and bioplastic (polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)), etc. PHA production from various biowastes such as lignocellulosic biomass, municipal waste, waste cooking oils, biodiesel industry waste, and syngas has been reported successfully. Various nutrient factors i.e., carbon and nitrogen source concentration and availability of dissolved oxygen are crucial factors for PHA production. This review is an attempt to summarize the recent advancements in PHA production from various biowaste, its downstream processing, and other challenges that need to overcome making bioplastic an alternate for synthetic plastic.

Wastewater based microalgal biorefinery for bioenergy production: Progress and challenges.

Treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater is very important to protect downstream users from health risks and meet the freshwater demand of the ever-increasing world population. Different types of wastewater (textile, dairy, pharmaceutical, swine, municipal, etc.) vary in composition and require different treatment strategies. Wastewater management and treatment is an expensive process; hence, it is important to integrate relevant technology into this process to make it more feasible and cost-effective. Wastewater treatment using microalgae-based technology could be a global solution for resource recovery from wastewater and to provide affordable feedstock for bioenergy (biodiesel, biohydrogen, bio-alcohol, methane, and bioelectricity) production. Various microalgal cultivation systems (open or closed photobioreactors), turf scrubber, and hybrid systems have been developed. Although many algal biomass harvesting methods (physical, chemical, biological, and electromagnetic) have been reported, it is still an expensive process. In this review article, resource recovery from wastewater using algal cultivation, biomass harvesting, and various technologies applied in converting algal biomass into bioenergy, along with the various challenges that are encountered are discussed in brief.

Fabrication of thermostable and reusable nanobiocatalyst for dye decolourization by immobilization of lignin peroxidase on graphene oxide functionalized MnFe2O4 superparamagnetic nanoparticles.

In view of the potential applications of immobilized enzymes, partially purified Lignin Peroxidase (LiP) from Pseudomonas fluorescens LiP-RL5 was immobilized on Graphene Oxide functionalized MnFe2O4 nanoparticles (10 nm, synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion) to fabricate a new hyperactive and thermostable nanobiocatalyst and thereafter characterized by using standard techniques. Immobilized LiP was quite stable at 50 °C with the half-life of 14 h and showed higher tolerance towards various metal ions and solvents than free LiP. Immobilized LiP retained 50% of enzyme activity even after nine consecutive runs. When tested against various textile dyes, the immobilized LiP was found quite effective with higher dye decolourization efficiency (up to 88%) within 1 h of incubation at 30 °C. The results of this research effort confirmed that the immobilization of LiP and fabrication of nanobiocatalyst increase the efficacy, stability, and reusability of the enzyme which could be efficiently utilized under harsh industrial conditions.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using methanolic fruit extract of Aegle marmelos and their antimicrobial potential against human bacterial pathogens.

Plant-based synthesis of nanoparticles has generated worldwide interest because of cost-effectiveness, eco-friendly nature and plethora of applications. In the present investigation, antimicrobial potential of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) of methanolic extract of Aegle marmelos fruit has been investigated. Agar well diffusion method was used for determining antimicrobial activity of solvent extracts (viz., petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone, methanol and aqueous), and AgNPs. Among these, methanolic extract of A. marmelos showed highest inhibitory activity against B. cereus (16.17 ±â€¯0.50 mm) followed by P. aeruginosa (13.33 ±â€¯0.62 mm) and E. coli. Phytochemical analysis of methanolic extract of A. marmelos revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, and glycosides. AgNPs synthesized using A. marmelos methanolic extract, characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and X-ray diffraction showed a peak at 436 nm and size ranged between 159 and 181 nm. Evaluation of the antimicrobial potential of green synthesized AgNPs recorded the highest inhibitory activity against B. cereus (19.25 ±â€¯0.19 mm) followed by P. aeruginosa (16.50 ±â€¯0.30 mm) and S. dysentriae. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of synthesized AgNPs was found to be in the range of 0.009875-0.0395 mg/100 µl which was quite lower than the MIC of crude extract i.e. 0.0781-0.3125 mg/100 µl. The results obtained indicated that the different crude extracts of A. marmelos plant as well as AgNPs have a strong and effective antimicrobial potential that provide a marvelous source for the development of new drug molecules of herbal origin which may be used for the welfare of humanity.

Recent developments in pretreatment technologies on lignocellulosic biomass: Effect of key parameters, technological improvements, and challenges.

Lignocellulosic biomass is an inexpensive renewable source that can be used to produce biofuels and bioproducts. The recalcitrance nature of biomass hampers polysaccharide accessibility for enzymes and microbes. Several pretreatment methods have been developed for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added products. However, these pretreatment methods also produce a wide range of secondary compounds, which are inhibitory to enzymes and microorganisms. The selection of an effective and efficient pretreatment method discussed in the review and its process optimization can significantly reduce the production of inhibitory compounds and may lead to enhanced production of fermentable sugars and biochemicals. Moreover, evolutionary and genetic engineering approaches are being used for the improvement of microbial tolerance towards inhibitors. Advancements in pretreatment and detoxification technologies may help to increase the productivity of lignocellulose-based biorefinery. In this review, we discuss the recent advancements in lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment technologies and strategies for the removal of inhibitors.

Biotechnological potential of microbial consortia and future perspectives.

Design of a microbial consortium is a newly emerging field that enables researchers to extend the frontiers of biotechnology from a pure culture to mixed cultures. A microbial consortium enables microbes to use a broad range of carbon sources. It provides microbes with robustness in response to environmental stress factors. Microbes in a consortium can perform complex functions that are impossible for a single organism. With advancement of technology, it is now possible to understand microbial interaction mechanism and construct consortia. Microbial consortia can be classified in terms of their construction, modes of interaction, and functions. Here we discuss different trends in the study of microbial functions and interactions, including single-cell genomics (SCG), microfluidics, fluorescent imaging, and membrane separation. Community profile studies using polymerase chain-reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), and terminal restriction fragment-length polymorphism (T-RFLP) are also reviewed. We also provide a few examples of their possible applications in areas of biopolymers, bioenergy, biochemicals, and bioremediation.

Bio-statistical enhancement of acyl transfer activity of amidase for biotransformation of N-substituted aromatic amides.

Acyl transfer activity (ATA) of amidase transfers an acyl group of different amides to hydroxylamine to form the corresponding hydroxamic acid. Bacterial isolate BR-1 was isolated from cyanogenic plant Cirsium vulgare rhizosphere and identified as Pseudomonas putida BR-1 by 16S rDNA sequencing. This organism exhibited high ATA for the biotransformation of N-substituted aromatic amide to the corresponding hydroxamic acid. Optimization of media, tryptone (0.6%), inducer, pH 8.5, and a growth temperature 25°C for 56 h, resulted in a 7-fold increase in ATA. Further, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and multiple feeding approach (20 mM after 14 h) of inducer led to a 29% enhancement of ATA from this organism. The half life (t1/2) of this enzyme at 50°C and 60°C was 3 h and 1 h, respectively. The ATA of amidase of Pseudomonas putida BR-1 makes it a potential candidate for the production of a variety of N-substituted aromatic hydroxamic acid.

Enhanced production of thermostable amidase from Geobacillus subterraneus RL-2a MTCC 11502 via optimization of physicochemical parameters using Taguchi DOE methodology.

The specific effect of chemical and physical factors on amidase production from Geobacillus subterraneus RL-2a was investigated using design of experiments (DOE) methodology. The one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method was used to study the effects of carbon and nitrogen sources on amidase production. Subsequently, optimal levels of physical parameters and key media components, namely temperature, pH, sucrose, K2HPO4, NaCl, yeast, CaCl2·2H2O and MgSO4·7H2O, were determined using the Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) experimental design (DOE) methodology. Taguchi method based on three levels with a OA layout of L18 (21 × 37) with eight most influential factors on amidase synthesis for the proposed experimental design. Analysis of variance was performed on the obtained results and optimum condition suggested by statistical calculations was tested in a verification test. An increase of 169.56 % in amidase production compared to the unoptimized conditions was observed and the conversion of isonicotinamide was significantly improved after performing optimization techniques, including OFAT and Taguchi method. The result indicated that Taguchi method was effective in optimizing the culture conditions of amidase production.

Stepwise bioprocess for exopolysaccharide production using potato starch as carbon source.

Xanthan gum is a biopolymer produced by Xanthomonas sp. XC6. In this study, xanthan gum is produced from potato starch using a stepwise bioprocess design. Potato starch is hydrolyzed using Bacillus sp. having amylase activity and 30.2 g/L reducing sugar was released, while Xanthomonas sp. XC6 can release only 14.5 g/L. Bacillus sp. hydrolyzed potato starch extract was further used as a carbon source for xanthan gum biosynthesis using Xanthomonas sp. XC6. Yeast extract acts as the best nitrogen source, and 10.0 g/L xanthan gum was recovered. Downstreaming process after stepwise bioprocess resulted in 17.4 g/L xanthan gum production, which is 2.8 times higher as compared to single step process.

Purification and characterization of a novel thermo-active amidase from Geobacillus subterraneus RL-2a.

A thermostable amidase produced by Geobacillus subterraneus RL-2a was purified to homogeneity, with a yield of 9.54 % and a specific activity of 48.66 U mg(-1). The molecular weight of the native enzyme was estimated to be 111 kDa. The amidase of G. subterraneus RL-2a is constitutive in nature, active at a broad range of pH (4.5-11.5) and temperature (40-90 °C) and has a half-life of 5 h and 54 min at 70 °C. Inhibition of enzyme activity was observed in the presence of metal ions, such as Co(2+), Hg(2+), Cu(2+), Ni(2+), and thiol reagents. The presence of mid-chain aliphatic and amino acid amides enhances the enzymatic activity. The acyl transferase activity was detected with propionamide, butyramide and nicotinamide. The enzyme showed moderate stability toward toluene, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, ethylene glycol except acetone, ethanol, butanol, propanol and dimethyl sulfoxide. The K m and V max of the purified amidase with nicotinamide were 6.02 ± 0.56 mM and 132.6 ± 4.4 µmol min(-1) mg(-1) protein by analyzing Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The results of MALDI-TOF analysis indicated that this amidase has homology with the amidase of Geobacillus sp. C56-T3 (gi|297530427). It is the first reported wide-spectrum thermostable amidase from a thermophilic G. subterraneus.

Bench scale production of benzohydroxamic acid using acyl transfer activity of amidase from Alcaligenes sp. MTCC 10674.

The acyl transfer activity of the amidase of Alcaligenes sp. MTCC 10674 has been applied to the conversion of benzamide and hydroxylamine to benzohydroxamic acid. The unique features of the acyl transfer activity of this organism include its optimal activity at 50 °C and very high substrate (100 mM benzamide) and product (90 mM benzohydroxamic acid) tolerance among the hitherto reported enzymes. The bench scale production of benzohydroxamic acid was carried out in a fed-batch reaction (final volume 1 l) by adding 50 mM benzamide and 250 mM of hydroxylamine after every 20 min for 80 min in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at 50 °C, using resting cells equal to 4.0 mg dcm/ml of reaction mixture. From 1 l of reaction mixture 33 g of benzohydroxamic acid was recovered with 24.6 g l(-1) h(-1) productivity. The acyl transfer activity of the amidase of Alcaligenes sp. MTCC 10674 and the process developed in the present study are of industrial significance for the enzyme-mediated production of benzohydroxamic acid.