Antibiotics soil-solution chemistry: A review of environmental behavior and uptake and transformation by plants.

The increased use of antibiotics by humans for various purposes has left the environment polluted. Antibiotic pollution remediation is challenging because antibiotics exist in trace amounts and only highly sensitive detection techniques could be used to quantify them. Nevertheless, their trace quantity is not a hindrance to their transfer along the food chain, causing sensitization and the development of antibiotic resistance. Despite an increase in the literature on antibiotic pollution and the development and transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), little attention has been given to the behavior of antibiotics at the soil-solution interface and how this affects antibiotic adsorption-desorption interactions and subsequent uptake and transformation by plants. Thus, this review critically examines the interactions and possible degradation mechanisms of antibiotics in soil and the link between antibiotic soil-solution chemistry and uptake by plants. Also, different factors influencing antibiotic mobility in soil and the transfer of ARGs from one organism to another were considered. The mechanistic and critical analyses revealed that: (a) the charge characteristics of antibiotics at the soil-root interface determine whether they are adsorbed to soil or taken up by plants; (b) antibiotics that avoid soil colloids and reach soil pore water can be absorbed by plant roots, but their translocation to the stem and leaves depends on the ionic state of the molecule; (c) few studies have explored how plants adapt to antibiotic pollution and the transformation of antibiotics in plants; and (d) the persistence of antibiotics in cropland soils can be influenced by the content of soil organic matter, coexisting ions, and fertilization practices. Future research should focus on the soil/solution-antibiotic-plant interactions to reveal detailed mechanisms of antibiotic transformation by plants and whether plant-transformed antibiotics could be of environmental risk.

Recent perspective of antibiotics remediation: A review of the principles, mechanisms, and chemistry controlling remediation from aqueous media.

Antibiotic pollution is an ever-growing concern that affects the growth of plants and the well-being of animals and humans. Research on antibiotics remediation from aqueous media has grown over the years and previous reviews have highlighted recent advances in antibiotics remediation technologies, perspectives on antibiotics ecotoxicity, and the development of antibiotic-resistant genes. Nevertheless, the relationship between antibiotics solution chemistry, remediation technology, and the interactions between antibiotics and adsorbents at the molecular level is still elusive. Thus, this review summarizes recent literature on antibiotics remediation from aqueous media and the adsorption perspective. The review discusses the principles, mechanisms, and solution chemistry of antibiotics and how they affect remediation and the type of adsorbents used for antibiotic adsorption processes. The literature analysis revealed that: (i) Although antibiotics extraction and detection techniques have evolved from single-substrate-oriented to multi-substrates-oriented detection technologies, antibiotics pollution remains a great danger to the environment due to its trace level; (ii) Some of the most effective antibiotic remediation technologies are still at the laboratory scale. Thus, upscaling these technologies to field level will require funding, which brings in more constraints and doubts patterning to whether the technology will achieve the same performance as in the laboratory; and (iii) Adsorption technologies remain the most affordable for antibiotic remediation. However, the recent trends show more focus on developing high-end adsorbents which are expensive and sometimes less efficient compared to existing adsorbents. Thus, more research needs to focus on developing cheaper and less complex adsorbents from readily available raw materials. This review will be beneficial to stakeholders, researchers, and public health professionals for the efficient management of antibiotics for a refined decision.

Integration of green economy concepts for sustainable biosurfactant production - A review.

The link between increasing global population, food demand, industrialization, and agricultural waste is strong. Decomposing by-products from food cycles can introduce harmful toxic heavy metals, active degrading microbes, and enzymes to the environment. Additionally, high greenhouse gas emissions from the decomposing wastes contribute to global change and a high carbon economy. The bioeconomy and circular economy of biosurfactant production utilize these cheap feedstocks and promote waste to valuable product initiatives. Waste reduction, reuse, and recycling in an integrating green economy bioprocess ensure the sustainability of novel, cost-effective, safe, and renewable health-grade biosurfactants. This work reviews green economy concepts integration with sustainable biosurfactant production and its application in health-related industries. Benefits from recent advances in the production, characterization, and health-wise classification of biosurfactants were further discussed, including its limitations, techno-economic assessment, market evaluations, possible roadblocks, and future directions.

Plastic waste: Status, degradation and microbial management options for Africa.

This paper presents a review of synthetic polymer (notably plastic) wastes profiles in Africa, their current management status, and better options. Data revealed that of the approximated 86.14 million metric tonnes and 31.5 million metric tonnes of primary polymers and plastics, respectively, and an estimated 230 million metric tonnes of plastic components imported between 1990 and 2017, about 17 million metric tonnes are mismanaged. Leading African nations on the plastic wastes generator table in increasing order are Tunisia (6.9%), Morocco (9.6%), Algeria (11.2%), South Africa (11.6%), Nigeria (16.9%), and the chief is Egypt (18.4%). The volume of plastic wastes generated in Africa directly correlates with her increasing population status, however, the current treatment options have major drawbacks (high energy and technological input, high demand for space, and creation of obnoxious by-products). Ineffective regulations, poor monitoring, and slow adoption of veritable practices by governments are responsible for the steady increase in plastic volume in the African landscapes and environments. In Nigeria, only about 9% and 12% of the total generated wastes are recycled and incinerated. The remainder bulk is either discarded into waste dumps (and a few available landfills) or natural environments. There is a paucity of standard plastic biodegradative work by African scientists, and only a few works show detection of competent synthetic plastic degrading microbes globally. Asides from the ills of possible omission of core degraders, there is a need for researchers to follow standard degradation procedures to arrive at efficient, reproducible, and generally accepted outcomes utilizable on a larger scale. Thus, metagenomic search on the vast African urban and rural plastisphere is the best isolation option.

Metaproteomics insights into fermented fish and vegetable products and associated microbes.

The interest in proteomic studies of fermented food is increasing; the role of proteins derived from fermentation extends beyond preservation, they also improve the organoleptic, anti-pathogenic, anti-cancer, anti-obesogenic properties, and other health conferring properties of fermented food. Traditional fermentation processes are still in use in certain cultures, but recently, the controlled process is gaining wider acceptance due to consistency and predictability. Scientists use modern biotechnological approaches to evaluate reactions and component yields from fermentation processes. Pieces of literature on fermented fish and vegetable end-products are scanty (compared to milk and meat), even though fish and vegetables are considered health conferring diets with high nutritional contents. Evaluations of peptides from fermented fish and vegetables show they have anti-obesity, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-pathogenic, anti-anti-nutrient, improves digestibility, taste, nutrient content, texture, aroma properties, etc. Despite challenges impeding the wider applications of the metaproteomic analysis of fermented fish and vegetables, their potential benefits cannot be underestimated.