Microalga Chlorella sp. extract induced apoptotic cell death of cholangiocarcinoma via AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Drug resistance and relapse after current standard treatments frequently occur; thus, alternative and effective treatments are required. Algae and cyanobacteria are abundant organisms that serve as bioresources of nutrients/metabolites, which are attractive sources of numerous bioactive compounds for drug discovery. In the present study, we, therefore, investigated anti-cancer activities of crude polysaccharide and ethanolic extracts from Chlorella sp., Sargassum spp., and Spirulina sp. against cell lines of five top-leading cancers including lung cancer (A549), cervical cancer (Hela), breast cancer (MCF7), hepatocellular carcinoma (Huh7), and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA; KKU213A). Only ethanolic extracts of Chlorella sp. showed consistent inhibition of growth of all cancer cell types. CCA was the most sensitive to Chlorella sp. ethanolic extract with CC50 of 277.4, 400.5, and 313.4 µg/mL for KKU055, KKU100, and KKU213A cells, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that CCA cell death was triggered via apoptosis pathway in accompany with lowering procaspase-3, -8, and -9 and increasing caspase enzymatic activity in addition to reducing anti-apoptosis Bcl-2 protein. Interestingly, the treatment of the extract at 400 µg/mL greatly inhibited the AKT/mTOR survival signaling as evidenced by significant reduction of phosphorylated-AKT and phosphorylated-mTOR proteins. The presence of reported bioactive compounds, gallic acid, and lutein, were confirmed in Chlorella sp. extract by high-performance liquid chromatography. Gallic acid and lutein treatment caused a significant reduction of KKU055, KKU100, and KKU213A cell viability. This study demonstrated the anti-cancer effect of Chlorella sp. ethanolic extract to promote cancer cell death via inhibition of AKT/mTOR pathway.

Naturally Occurring Functional Ingredient from Filamentous Thermophilic Cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. KC45: Phytochemical Characterizations and Their Multiple Bioactivities.

Cyanobacteria are rich in phytochemicals, which have beneficial impacts on the prevention of many diseases. This study aimed to comprehensively characterize phytochemicals and evaluate multifunctional bioactivities in the ethanolic extract of the cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. KC45. Results found that the extract mainly contained chlorophylls, carotenoids, phenolics, and flavonoids. Through LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS analysis, 38 phenolic compounds with promising bioactivities were discovered, and a higher diversity of flavonoids was found among the phenolic compounds identified. The extract effectively absorbed the harmful UV rays and showed high antioxidant activity on DPPH, ABTS, and PFRAP. The extract yielded high-efficiency inhibitory effects on enzymes (tyrosinase, collagenase, ACE, and α-glucosidase) related to diseases. Interestingly, the extract showed a strong cytotoxic effect on cancer cells (skin A375, lung A549, and colon Caco-2), but had a much smaller effect on normal cells, indicating a satisfactory level of safety for the extract. More importantly, the combination of the DNA ladder assay and the TUNEL assay proved the appearance of DNA fragmentation in cancer cells after a 48 h treatment with the extract, confirming the apoptosis mechanisms. Our findings suggest that cyanobacterium extract could be potentially used as a functional ingredient for various industrial applications in foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals.

Adsorption of Fluoride onto Acid-Modified Low-Cost Pyrolusite Ore: Adsorption Characteristics and Efficiencies.

Fluoride concentrations in the groundwater continue to be a major cause for concern in Thailand, particularly in the country's north and west. The process of removing fluoride through adsorption has captured the attention of the abundance of ore in the mining industry. For the purpose of this investigation, the utilization of the adsorbent pyrolusite, which is a manganese mineral largely composed of MnO2, was a major component. Lab-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the efficacy of original pyrolusite ore (PA-1) and acid-modification PA (PA-2) created as low-cost adsorption materials for fluoride removal. The results of the adsorption rate in both PAs showed a fast rate of adsorption within 60 min of reaching equilibrium. According to the results of the adsorption capacity (qe) tests, PA that had been treated with an acid solution (PA-2) had the capacity to contain more fluoride (qe = 0.58 mg/g) than the PA that had been used initially (PA-1) (qe = 0.11 mg/g). According to the findings of an isotherm, primary adsorption behavior is determined by the effect that surface components and chemical composition have on porous materials. This is the first current study that provides a comparison between pyrolusite from Thailand's mining industry and basic modified pyrolusite regarding their ability to remove a fluoride contaminant in synthetic groundwater by an adsorption process. Such an approach will be able to be used in the future to protect the community from excessive fluoride concentrations in household and drinking water treatment technology.

Efficiencies of O-MBR and A/O-MBR for Organic Matter Removal from and Trihalomethane Formation Potential Reduction in Domestic Wastewater.

Lab-scale anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR) and oxic membrane bioreactor (O-MBR) systems using a submerged polysulfone hollow-fiber membrane module with a pore size of 0.01 µm and a total surface area of 1.50 m2 were used to treat domestic wastewater. The sludge retention time (SRT) of each system was examined by setting the SRT to 10, 20, and infinity (no sludge withdrawal). The results showed that the total nitrogen removal efficiency of the A/O-MBR was more significant than that of the O-MBR at a SRT of infinity, with figures of 72.3% and 33.1% being found, respectively. The COD removal efficiencies of the A/O-MBR system with a SRT of 10 days, 20 days, and infinity were 82.4%, 84.3%, and 91.5%, respectively. The COD removal efficiencies of the O-MBR system with a SRT of 10 days, 20 days, and infinity were 79.3%, 81.5%, and 89.8%, respectively. An increase in the SRT resulted in an increase in the COD removal efficiency. The FEEM peak of the influent tended to decrease after an increase in the SRT for both systems (A/O-MBR and O-MBR). For the A/O-MBR system, the trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) was significantly reduced by 88.91% (at a SRT of infinity). The THMFP declined significantly by 85.39% for the O-MBR system at a SRT of infinity. The A/O-MBR system showed a slightly higher efficiency than the O-MBR system in terms of the COD removal and the THMFP reduction. These results indicated that the MBR process, and the A/O-MBR system, in particular, could be used as an effective wastewater treatment process for many developing countries that are troubled by the emerging contamination of water and wastewater.

Dual-bioaugmentation strategy to enhance the formation of algal-bacteria symbiosis biofloc in aquaculture wastewater supplemented with agricultural wastes as an alternative nutrient sources and biomass support materials.

This study performs an integrated evaluation of the formation and distribution of algal-bacterial bioflocs in aquaculture wastewater supplemented with agricultural waste, together with an assessment of their behavior in the microbial community and of the water quality of the system in which a new bioaugmentation strategy was applied. Results indicated that the dual bioaugmentation strategy via the consortium addition of bacteria and microalgae had the highest formation performance, providing the most compact biofloc structure (0.59 g/L), excellent settleability (71.91%), and a large particle diameter (4.25 mm). The fed-batch supplementation of molasses and rice bran, in terms of changes in the values of COD, NH4+, NO3-, and PO43-, stimulated the formation of biofloc through algal-bacterial bioflocs and microbe-rice bran complexes within a well-established microbial community. These findings provide new insight into the influence of bioaugmentation on the formation of an innovative algal-bacterial biofloc.

Lipid Profile, Antioxidant and Antihypertensive Activity, and Computational Molecular Docking of Diatom Fatty Acids as ACE Inhibitors.

Diatoms, as single cell eukaryotic microalgae, are rich sources of lipids, which have either beneficial or detrimental effects on the prevention and treatment of many diseases. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) identified diatom lipids with high levels of essential fatty acids (EFAs), especially polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) containing both omega-3 and omega-6. Nutritional values of FAs indicated possible applications in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and functional food industries. Diatom FAs showed antioxidative potential on harmful radicals by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging, with high inhibition of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) that causes cardiovascular disease (CVD) and hypertension. A computational molecular docking simulation confirmed the inhibition mechanisms of FAs on ACE, with comparable levels of binding free energy to chemically synthesized ACE drugs. Findings suggested that diatom lipids showed potential for use as alternative ACE inhibitors or food supplement for CVD prevention.