The use of cellulolytic Aspergillus sp. inoculum to improve the quality of Pineapple compost.

Pineapple litter has a complex polymer of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which makes them difficult to decompose. However, pineapple litter has great potential to be a good organic material source for the soil when completely decomposed. The addition of inoculants can facilitate the composting process. This study investigated whether the addition of cellulolytic fungi inoculants to pineapple litters improves the efficiency of the composting processes. The treatments were KP1 = pineapple leaf litter: cow manure (2:1), KP2 = pineapple stem litter: cow manure (2:1), KP3 = pineapple leaf litter: pineapple stem litter: cow manure P1 (leaf litter and 1% inoculum), P2 (stem litter and 1% inoculum), and P3 (leaf + stem litters and 1% inoculum). The result showed that the number of Aspergillus sp. spores on corn media was 5.64 x 107 spores/mL, with viability of 98.58%. Aspergillus sp. inoculum improved the quality of pineapple litter compost, based on the enhanced contents of C, N, P, K, and the C/N ratio, during the seven weeks of composting. Moreover, the best treatment observed in this study was P1. The C/N ratios of compost at P1, P2, and P3 were within the recommended range of organic fertilizer which was 15-25%, with a Carbon/Nitrogen proportion of 11.3%, 11.8%, and 12.4% (P1, P2, and P3), respectively.

Potential Lignocellulolytic Microfungi from Pineapple Plantation for Composting Inoculum Additive.

Pineapple plantations leave a lot of plant biomass after the planting season ends. The abundant residue of pineapple plants causes problems due to the high content of lignocellulose, which is difficult to decompose naturally. This study aimed to isolate and characterize lignocellulolytic microfungi isolates from pineapple plantations. The information of this study was used as data to prepare an inoculum for the induction of pineapple litter composting that was resistant to stress to pineapple plantation habitat. The results showed that there were 11 dominant lignocellulolytic microfungi isolates found from pineapple litter and plantation soil. Using selective media, the selection showed five cellulolytic (Bioggp 3, 6, 9, 11, and 12); five xylanolytic (Bioggp 3, 6, 8, 9, and 12); and two ligninolytic microfungi isolates (Bioggp 2 and 5). Bioggp 3, 6, 9, and 12 are cellulolytic and xylanolytic with Bioggp 3 showing the highest cellulolytic index (4.0) and xylanolytic index (4.20). Testing of ligninolytic microfungi showed that the Bioggp 5 isolate had a stronger lignin indicator (color intensity = 4.0 and zone ratio of 1.47) than the Bioggp 2 isolate. Bioggp 9 had the highest cellulolytic isolate spore productivity at 4.5 × 108 spores/mL with 93.3% spore viability, and Bioggp 3 had the highest xylanolytic isolate spore productivity at 2.5 × 109 spores/mL with 89.3% spore viability. Bioggp 2 had the highest ligninolytic isolate spore productivity at 1.8 × 109 spores/mL, but Bioggp 5 showed the highest spore viability at 98.0%.

Optimization and Evaluation of Polymer Inclusion Membranes Based on PVC Containing Copoly-EDVB 4% as a Carrier for the Removal of Phenol Solutions.

Polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) is a method for separating liquid membranes into thin, stable, and flexible film forms. In this study, the PIM was made using polyvinyl chloride (PVC), dibenzyl ether (DBE), and 4% copoly-eugenol divinyl benzene (co-EDVB) as a supporting polymer, plasticizer, and carrier compound, respectively. Furthermore, a phenol transport test was carried out using the parameters of pH influence, the effect of NaOH concentration, and transport time. The PIM membrane was also evaluated using the parameters affecting the concentration of plasticizer, the effect of salt concentration, and the lifetime of the PIM membrane. The results show that the optimum pH obtained to transport phenol to the receiving phase was 5.5, with a concentration of 0.1 M of the NaOH receiving phase and a transport time of 72 h. Furthermore, it was found that the use of plasticizers and salts affected the ability and resistance of the membranes. The membrane lifetime increased up to 60 days with the addition of 0.1 M NaNO3 or NaCl salt in the source phase.

The Stability Improvement of Aspergillus fumigatus α-Amylase by Immobilization onto Chitin-Bentonite Hybrid.

Enzyme immobilization is a powerful method to improve the stability, reuse, and enzymatic properties of enzymes. The immobilization of the α-amylase enzyme from Aspergillus fumigatus on a chitin-bentonite (CB) hybrid has been studied to improve its stability. Therefore, this study aims to obtain the higher stability of α-amylase enzyme to reduce industrial costs. The procedures were performed as follows: production, isolation, partial purification, immobilization, and characterization of the free and immobilized enzymes. The CB hybrid was synthesized by bentonite, chitin, and glutaraldehyde as a cross-linker. The free enzyme was immobilized onto CB hybrid using 0.1 M phosphate buffer pH 7.5. The free and immobilized enzymes were characterized by optimum temperature, Michaelis constant (K M), maximum velocity (V max), thermal inactivation rate constant (k i ), half-life (t 1/2), and transformation of free energy because of denaturation (ΔG i ). The free enzyme has optimum temperature of 55°C, K M = 3.04 mg mL-1 substrate, V max=10.90 µmolemL-1min-1, k i = 0.0171 min-1, t 1/2 = 40.53 min, and ΔG i = 104.47 kJ mole-1. Meanwhile, the immobilized enzyme has optimum temperature of 60°C, K M = 11.57 mg mL-1 substrate, V max=3.37 µmolemL-1min-1, k i = 0.0045 min-1, t 1/2 = 154.00 min, and ΔG i = 108.17 kJ mole-1. After sixth cycle of reuse, the residual activity of the immobilized enzyme was 38%. The improvement in the stability of α-amylase immobilized on the CB hybrid based on the increase in half-life was four times of the free enzyme.

The Stability Improvement of α-Amylase Enzyme from Aspergillus fumigatus by Immobilization on a Bentonite Matrix.

The stability of the α-amylase enzyme has been improved from Aspergillus fumigatus using the immobilization method on a bentonite matrix. Therefore, this study aims to obtain the higher stability of α-amylase enzyme from A. fumigatus; hence, it is used repeatedly to reduce industrial costs. The procedures involved enzyme production, isolation, partial purification, immobilization, and characterization. Furthermore, the soluble enzyme was immobilized using 0.1 M phosphate buffer of pH 7.5 on a bentonite matrix, after which it was characterized with the following parameters such as optimum temperature, Michaelis constant (K M ), maximum velocity (V max), thermal inactivation rate constant (k i), half-life (t 1/2), and the change of energy due to denaturation (ΔG i ). The results showed that the soluble enzyme has an optimum temperature of 55°C, K M of 3.04 mg mL-1 substrate, V max of 10.90 µmole mL-1 min-1, k i of 0.0171 min-1, t1/2 of 40.53 min, and ΔG i of 104.47 kJ mole-1, while the immobilized enzyme has an optimum temperature of 70°C, K M of 8.31 mg mL-1 substrate, V max of 1.44 µmole mL-1 min-1, k i of 0.0060 min-1, t 1/2 of 115.50 min, and ΔG i of 107.37 kJ mole-1. Considering the results, the immobilized enzyme retained 42% of its residual activity after six reuse cycles. Additionally, the stability improvement of the α-amylase enzyme by immobilization on a bentonite matrix, based on the increase in half-life, was three times greater than the soluble enzyme.

Effect of glycerol concentration and carboxy methyl cellulose on biodegradable film characteristics of seaweed waste.

Eucheuma cottonii waste seaweed has high cellulose content. Therefore, it could be potentially used as a raw material for biodegradable films to replace plastic. A plastic film is its moisture resistance, and this property allows plastic films to be used as packaging materials and biodegraded by microbes. This research aims to obtain a concentration of glycerol and Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC) to obtain the best biodegradable film characteristics from E. cottonii seaweed waste. This study was conducted in factorial by using a complete randomized block design with two factors: glycerol concentration and CMC concentration. Each treatment has three levels and three replications (3 × 3). The first factor was glycerol concentration: 0.25% (G1), 0.5% (G2), and 0.75% (G3). The second factor included concentrations of 1% CMC (C1), 2% CMC (C2), and 3% CMC (C3). Then, Tensile Strength (TS), thickness, solubility, and elongation were observed. Functional group analysis was conducted by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and biodegradability test. The results showed that the addition of glycerol concentrations of 0.5 and 0.7% and CMC from 1 to 3% produced tensile strengths of 23-39 MPa. These values are proportional to the tensile strength of Poly Tetra Fluoro ethyne (PTFE) and Poly Propylene (PP) synthetic plastics released by Dotmar Engineering Plastics. The biodegradability test showed that the produced biodegradable films decomposed after 14 days.

Analysis of Mercury in Skin Lightening Cream by Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MP-AES).

This research aimed at developing an analysis method, which was optimized and validated to determine the content of mercury in skin lightening cream discovered in the market in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, through the use of microwave plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (MP-AES). The optimization on the analysis method was conducted on pump rate, viewing position, and reductant concentration in order to obtain the highest mercury emission intensity, while the solution stability was optimized to know the stability of mercury in the solution. The result showed that the method developed had precision with a relative standard deviation of 2.67%, recovery value of 92.78%, and linearity with an r value of 0.993, respectively. The sensitivity of the instrument detection had a limit of analysis method detection and quantification of 0.59 and 1.98 µg/L, respectively. The results of the test of the lightening cream (8 of 16 samples) positively contained mercury in the range of 422.61-44,960.79 ng/g. Therefore the method of analysis developed may be used for routine analysis of chemicals in any cosmetics products.

The Quenching and Sonication Effect on the Mechanical Strength of Silver Nanowires Synthesized Using the Polyol Method.

This study aims to determine the effect of fast cooling (quenching) on thermal properties, mechanical strength, morphology and size of the AgNWs. The synthesis of AgNWs was carried out at three different quenching-medium temperatures as follows: at 27 °C (ambient temperature), 0 °C (on ice), and -80 °C (in dry ice) using the polyol method at 130 °C. Furthermore, the AgNWs were sonified for 45 min to determine their mechanical strength. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the quenched AgNWs had decreased significantly; at 27 °C, the AgNWs experienced a change in length from (40 ± 10) to (21 ± 6) µm, at 0 °C from (37 ± 8) to (24 ± 8) µm, and at -80 °C from (34 ± 9) to (29 ± 1) µm. The opposite occurred for their diameter with an increased quenching temperature: at 27 °C from (200 ± 10) to (210 ± 10) nm, at 0 °C from (224 ± 4) to (239 ± 8) nm, and at -80 °C from (253 ± 6) to (270 ± 10) nm. The lower the temperature of the quenching medium, the shorter the length and the higher the mechanical strength of AgNWs. The UV-Vis spectra of the AgNWs showed peak absorbances at 350 and 411 to 425 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that AgNWs quenched at -80 °C have better thermal stability as their mass loss was only 2.88%, while at the quenching temperatures of 27 °C and 0 °C the mass loss was of 8.73% and 4.17%, respectively. The resulting AgNWs will then be applied to manufacture transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) for optoelectronic applications.

Structural revision of sesbagrandiflorains A and B, and synthesis and biological evaluation of 6-methoxy-2-arylbenzofuran derivatives.

Sesbagrandiflorains A (1) and B (2), isolated from the stem bark of the Indonesian fabaceous plant Sesbania grandiflora, were reported to be 6-methoxy-2-(2´,3´-dihydroxy-5´-methoxyphenyl)-1-benzofuran-3-carbaldehyde and 6-hydroxy-2-(2´,3´-dihydroxy-5´-methoxyphenyl)-1-benzofuran-3-carbaldehyde, respectively. However, based on reevaluation of their 1D and 2D NMR data, the chemical structures of 1 and 2 have been revised to 4-hydroxy-2-(4´-hydroxy-2´-methoxyphenyl)-6-methoxybenzofuran-3-carbaldehyde and 4-hydroxy-2-(4´-hydroxy-2´-hydroxyphenyl)-6-methoxybenzofuran-3-carbaldehyde, respectively. In addition, seven new derivatives of 1 have been synthesized from the natural product in good yields (65 - 93%). The chemical structures of the synthetic compounds-one diester (6), four ethers (7-10), one secondary amine (11), and one oxime (12)-were confirmed by MS and NMR analysis. Compound 6 exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against the plant pathogen Rhodococcus fascians with a MIC of 0.1 mg/mL. Compounds 8 and 12 demonstrated respectable cytotoxicity against A375 melanoma cancer cells line with the relative IC50 values of 22.8 and 32.7 µM, respectively.

Structure Characterization and Biological Activity of 2-Arylbenzofurans from an Indonesian Plant, Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers.

A new 2-arylbenzofuran, sesbagrandiflorain C (1), together with four known compounds, 2-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)-4-hydroxy-6-methoxybenzofuran-3-carbaldehyde (2), 2-(4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)-5,6-dimethoxybenzofuran-3-carboxaldehyde (3), sesbagrandiflorain A (4) and sesbagrandiflorain B (5), have been isolated from the stem bark of an Indonesian plant, Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. The chemical structure of compound 1 was elucidated by UV, IR, MS, and NMR spectroscopic techniques. The proton and carbon NMR resonances of 1 were also compared with the predicted chemical shifts obtained from DFT quantum mechanical calculations with Gaussian. None of the compounds showed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus in an agar diffusion assay. However, sesbagrandiflorains A (4) and B (5) exhibited moderate activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. In addition, compounds 1 - 5 have moderate cytotoxicity against HeLa, HepG2, and MCF-7 cancer cell lines.

The Effect of Treadmill Treatment on Oxidative Stress Markers and Endogenous Antioxidant Status in Obesity Mice.

AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of treadmill treatment on oxidative stress markers and endogenous antioxidant status seen from MDA, GSH, MnSOD enzyme specific activity and blood catalase of obese mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research is experimental laboratory research using post-test control design group only. The study lasted for 28 days and was divided into 4 groups of study, i.e., group K (normal control), KP (obesity control), P1 (obesity mice with 1 x 10-minute treadmill treatment a day), and P2 (obesity mice with 2 x 10-minute treadmill treatment a day). RESULTS: The treadmill treatment had an effect on the improvement of the oxidative status of mice with a decrease of MDA level of obesity mice blood (p ≤ 0.05) compared to KP control. An elevated endogenous antioxidant status of obesity mice was seen from elevated GSH levels, MnSOD specific activity and blood catalase of obesity mice (p ≤ 0.05) compared with KP controls. Treatment of 1 x 10-minute treadmill per day decreased blood MDA level, increased GSH enzyme and increased specific activity of MnSOD enzyme and blood catalase of obese mice. CONCLUSIONS: The 2 x 10-minute daily treadmill did not differ significantly in improving the oxidative status and endogenous antioxidant status compared with the treadmill 1 x 10 minutes a day (p ≥ 0.05).

Sesbagrandiflorain A and B: isolation of two new 2-arylbenzofurans from the stem bark of Sesbania grandiflora.

Native to tropical Asia, Sesbania grandiflora (L.), Pers is a member of the Fabaceae family of flowering plants. All parts of S. grandiflora are used in traditional medicine and phytochemical investigations have been conducted on extracts of the leaves, seeds and roots of S. grandiflora to provide scientific validation of its properties. However, to date, no study has determined the phytochemical constituents of S. grandiflora stem bark. The stem bark powdered of S. grandiflora was extracted exhaustively with n-hexane, EtOAc and 90% aqueous MeOH sequentially. In this study, we successfully isolated two new 2-arylbenzofurans, sesbagrandiflorain A and B, from the EtOAc stem bark of S. grandiflora. The structure elucidation of these compounds was determined by using one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy and electrospray ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The finding expands the understanding of the natural constituents of the Fabaceae and, in particular, the Papilionoideae genera.