Surf Redfish-Based ZnO-NPs and Their Biological Activity with Reference to Their Non-Target Toxicity.

The marine environment is a rich source of bioactive compounds. Therefore, the sea cucumber was isolated from the Red Sea at the Al-Ain Al-Sokhna coast and it was identified as surf redfish (Actinopyga mauritiana). The aqueous extract of the surf redfish was utilized as an ecofriendly, novel and sustainable approach to fabricate zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). The biosynthesized ZnO-NPs were physico-chemically characterized and evaluated for their possible antibacterial and insecticidal activities. Additionally, their safety in the non-target organism model (Nile tilapia fish) was also investigated. ZnO-NPs were spherical with an average size of 24.69 ± 11.61 nm and had a peak at 350 nm as shown by TEM and UV-Vis, respectively. XRD analysis indicated a crystalline phase of ZnO-NPs with an average size of 21.7 nm. The FTIR pattern showed biological residues from the surf redfish extract, highlighting their potential role in the biosynthesis process. DLS indicated a negative zeta potential (-19.2 mV) of the ZnO-NPs which is a good preliminary indicator for their stability. ZnO-NPs showed larvicidal activity against mosquito Culex pipiens (LC50 = 15.412 ppm and LC90 = 52.745 ppm) and a potent adulticidal effect to the housefly Musca domestica (LD50 = 21.132 ppm and LD90 = 84.930 ppm). Tested concentrations of ZnO-NPs showed strong activity against the 3rd larval instar. Topical assays revealed dose-dependent adulticidal activity against M. domestica after 24 h of treatment with ZnO-NPs. ZnO-NPs presented a wide antibacterial activity against two fish-pathogen bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aeromonas hydrophila. Histopathological and hematological investigations of the non-target organism, Nile tilapia fish exposed to 75-600 ppm ZnO-NPs provide dose-dependent impacts. Overall, data highlighted the potential applications of surf redfish-mediated ZnO-NPs as an effective and safe way to control mosquitoes, houseflies and fish pathogenic bacteria.

Bioaccumulation, Biosedimentation, and Health Hazards of Elements in Crayfish, Procambarus clarkii from El-Rahawi Drain and El-Qanatir in the River Nile, Egypt.

Elements accumulation in crayfish is proportional to the increase in bioavailability (direct contact) with the surrounding water, sediment, and feeding. Five heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Ag) and lithium (Li) were analyzed in the sediment, water, and crayfish tissues. Elements (heavy metals and lithium) concentrations in sediment, water, and crayfish tissues showed significant differences between the two sampling stations (El-Qanatir and El-Rahawi drain). However, the levels of elements in crayfish tissues were arranged in declining order as hepatopancreas > gills > exoskeleton > muscles for Cu and Cr; hepatopancreas > exoskeleton > gills > muscles for Ni and Ag; and exoskeleton > gills > hepatopancreas > muscles for Li and Mn. The human health hazard evaluation of heavy metals and lithium exposure via edible tissue consumption was assessed for both children and adult consumers. The target hazard quotient THQ values of crayfish edible tissues (less than 1) will not impose any health implications for consumers who ingest edible tissues in sufficient quantities. Furthermore, the hazard index (HI) values reported for children and adult consumers were lower than one, indicating non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic hazards, suggesting that crayfish edible tissues are safe for human ingestion. This evidence also found that Procambarus clarkii could be a good bio-indicator organism for monitoring potentially metals in aquatic systems.

The potential impact of Octopus cyanea extracts to improve eggplant resistance against Fusarium-wilt disease: in vivo and in vitro studies.

The novelty of the present research is conducting a new method in the systemic resistance of plant diseases by using distinct marine extracts. The ability of two octopus extracts to reduce the wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum was observed. The applied methods are soaked roots (SR) and foliar shoots (FS). The antioxidant enzyme activities, percent disease index (PDI), and growth parameters were measured. In vitro antifungal potential of the octopus extracts against F. oxysporum was examined. The obtained result shows that SR extracts reduced PDI. Additionally, all the tested treatments promoted the growth and photosynthetic pigments of the infected plants. SR (in ethanolic extracts) was the most prominent inducer which offered a high advancement in the total soluble protein contents. Also, SR (in methanolic extracts) was the most suitable inducer which provided a very necessary development not only in the total phenol but also in the peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities. GC-MS investigation of the octopus extracts exhibited that the compounds which possess antifungal activity were furoscrobiculin B and/or eugenol. They demonstrated a notable antifungal potential against F. oxysporum with a maximum activity of 38.5 and 12.7 mm ZOI after the treatment with the ethanolic and methanolic extract, respectively. FTIR results illustrated the functional group of the compound responsible for the antifungal activity. Additionally, an atomic absorption result reveals that there are traces of metals detected such as Pb, Ag, Cu, Zn, and Mg. The antifungal activity was decreased as the concentrations were reduced. Accordingly, the present extracts may be used as the vital agents in the agricultural field to restrain the plant pathogenic fungi, especially F. oxysporum from a proliferation.

Antiproliferative Activity, Proapoptotic Effect, and Cell Cycle Arrest in Human Cancer Cells of Some Marine Natural Product Extract.

Bioactive constituents of numerous marine organisms have been investigated recently for their preclinical and clinical anticancer activity. Three marine organisms: black-spotted sea cucumber: Pearsonothuria graeffei (Pg), lollyfish: Holothuria atra (Ha), and sea hare: Aplysia dactylomela (Ad), were collected during winter 2019 from Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Egypt, and macerated with ethanol into three different extracts: PgE, HaE, and AdE, where each was in vitro assessed for its antiproliferative and proapoptotic properties on HepG2, HCT-116, and MCF-7 cancer cells. PgE dose-dependently inhibited the growth of HepG2, HCT-116, and MCF-7 cells within IC50 values 16.22, 13.34, and 18.09 µg/mL, respectively, while the IC50 values for the antiproliferative activity of HaE were 12.48, 10.45, and 10.36 µg/mL, respectively, and the IC50 values of AdE were 6.51, 5.33, and 6.87 µg/mL, respectively. All extracts were found to induce G0/G1 cell cycle arrest for HepG2 cells side by side with their inhibition of CDK2 on all three cell lines while all extracts were also showed to induce apoptosis in HepG2 cell line at pre-G 1 phase supplemented by their anticancer activity via proapoptotic protein Bax, caspase-3, and cleavage PARP increase, and antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 downturn. Moreover, necrosis has been relatively noticed in HepG2 cell line as an additional anticancer activity for each extract. Our data introduced three ethanolic marine extracts as natural chemotherapeutic agents to be further developed for cancer control.

Marine biodiversity patterns off Alexandria area, southeastern Mediterranean Sea, Egypt.

The biological marine system in the Mediterranean Sea off Alexandria, Egypt, was investigated to recognise its biodiversity and the relations among "ichthyofauna, invertebrates, and benthic" cover including biota and flora, as well as seabed bathymetry during 2017 using a multi-seasonal surveys by the commercial bottom trawler. Moreover, zooplanktonic community from the water column was also collected to support the picture of the biodiversity in the investigated area. The identified species were 94 fishes, 64 invertebrates, 6 benthic flora, and 304 zooplanktonic species. The ichthyofauna included 5 Chondrichthyes species (5.3% of the fish species), while Osteichthyes fishes were 89 species (94.7%) belonging to 48 families and 72 genera. The most abundant family was Sparidae (13 species). The highest abundance of fishes occurred in the summer (68 fish species 72.34%), while the lowest abundance occurred in the spring (49 species, 52.13%). Regarding the demersal and benthic biota, the most abundant phylum was Mollusca (31 species) and represented by three classes (Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, and Gastropoda). Gastropoda was the most abundant class (18 species), while the lowest Phyla was Chordata (1 species of Ascidians) and Annelida (1 species). The number of lessepsian fish species were 17 (18.1%) of the total number of species caught by the bottom trawl net. In addition, this work provided new records Aulopareia unicolor (F): Gobiidae) for the area for first time and considered the second time in Egypt. The benthic flora was represented by 6 species belonging to three phyla (Tracheophyta, Chlorophyta, and Rhodophyta). Sea grasses were represented by three species (Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, and Halophila stipulacea). The highest abundance of benthic species occurred in the summer (53 species with 75.7%), while the lowest one was in autumn (27 species, 38.6%). Geologically, the fishing ground constituted of hard rocks to very fine silt. The eastern part of the study area includes terrigenous Nile sediment origin, while the western side has biocalcareous sediment with shell fragments richness, coastal limestone ridges origin. The continental shelf, which runs along the study area, is portrayed by a 200-m contour line. In the water column, zooplanktonic community was represented by 304 taxa, belonging to 12 phyla, 6 phyla (Arthropoda, Tintinnida, Chordata "fish eggs and larvae", Cnidaria, Foraminifera, and Radiozoa) were dominant. Copepods were the dominant group (71.59%); its annual average abundance was 1271 ind./m3. Its most diversified season was the winter (175 No/m3.) and its average abundance was 1892.9 ind./m3. However, in spring, 118 species were recorded presenting the highest average abundance (2419.4 ind./m3). The lowest diversified season was summer (85 organisms) with density of 1150 ind./m3. The present work offers updated data regarding the marine biodiversity in Egypt, enriches the gaps in the bibliography in the Eastern Mediterranean, and gives preliminary list of species and biodiversity of bottom trawl combined with the interaction with other biosystems and features of fishing ground. These data could be used to monitor evaluate the impact of bottom trawl on the fisheries habitats and changing in ecosystems. Also, it could be used as constructive step to manage or protect such area in combination with other. It is recommended to fulfil the need for more and detailed studies in all areas by different gears to cover the gaps in marine biodiversity data.