The diversity and distribution of freshwater macrophytes in the wedian of the mountainous northern Oman

The paper reports the first study of diversity and distribution of freshwater macrophytes in the wedian (plural of wadi = seasonal river) of the northern Al Hajar Mountain range in Oman. Fifteen lentic habitats in the wedian were surveyed. The number of species, their growth forms and abundance were recorded in the studied habitat of each wadi. In all, 41 species belonging to 14 families and 32 genera were collected. Of these 37 species were emergent and four were submergent. Poaceae was the most diverse emergent family with 17 species. Phragmites australis was the most common emergent followed by Typha domingensis. Among submerged macrophytes, Chara vulgaris had higher frequency of occurrence with low abundance followed by Potamogeton distinctus with relatively high abundance. Floristic diversity was estimated using species richness (Margalef’s D), general diversity (Shannon–Wiener H′), evenness (Pielous’s EH), and dominance (Berger–Parker d) indices for each study habitat. Principal component analysis was used to evaluate the variability using four indices. PC1 and PC2 explained 98.18% of the variability. Some habitats in different watersheds exhibited similar species diversity, but some in the same watershed were different. Baseline data on the freshwater macrophytes in northern Oman are provided here.     

Stability of electronic nose (e-nose) as determined by considering date-pits heated at different temperatures

Variability and sensitivity of a portable electronic nose (32 sensors) was assessed by considering different variables for measurement (i.e., reference, standard, first and second purges, sample draw time, waiting time for the volatiles released in the headspace, and mass of sample or headspace volume of the jar containing sample). In this study, dried date-pits were used a model sample. The highest stability was achieved when both reference and standard (i.e., dried date-pits, no heating treatment) were used before test sample measurement. Higher sample draw time more than 10 s significantly decreased the stability, whereas optimum second purge was observed at 50 s. Optimum time to generate volatile was observed as 24 h. A sample of 100 g increased the signal intensity compared to the 50 g sample for the 60°C and 100°C treated samples, while an opposite trend was observed for the 150°C treated sample. Finally, the responses of volatile components in date-pits heated at different temperatures (60°C, 100°C, and 150°C) were measured using the optimum operating conditions. Principal component analysis explored the relationships between the volatile features and classified date-pits heated at different temperatures. The results showed that an electronic nose was able to classify date-pits based on their volatile components generated by different degrees of heating (93.3% accuracy).     

Clarification of date juice

Summary This study was initiated to utilize a variety of low quality dates (Qish‐Habash) so that high quality syrup could be produced by modifying the clarification process of the date juice. Five different clarification treatments were used: (1) filtration, (2) hot liming and filtration, (3) cold liming and filtration, (4) powder‐activated carbon and filtration, and (5) granular‐activated carbon and filtration. The sugar content, total soluble solids, total ash, pH, colour and purity were analysed to determine the clarification effects. The clarified juices produced by these treatments were evaporated under constant conditions to produce date syrup. Filtration, and activated carbon and filtration were the most successful treatments for the clarification of the date juice. Filtration gave the highest improvement in syrup purity (97.7%), due to the reduction of total ash by 19.5% and colour by 44.6%. Activated carbon removed the juice colour to give the lowest amount (60% in powder form and 57% in granular form), as well as reducing total ash, which led to an improved syrup purity, 92.2% in powder form and 91.4% in granular form. Liming clarification had undesirable effects, by increasing the total ash (15% in hot and 17% in cold lime), and increasing the colouring matter produced by decomposition.     

Antiproliferative effects of cherry juice and wine in Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cells and their phenolic constituents and antioxidant activities

Cherries are good sources of bioactive phenolic compounds that are widely considered to be potentially healthy. Here we investigated the protective activities of juice and wine products of tart and sweet cherries and their constituent anthocyanins (e.g., cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside) against oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts (V79-4). Total phenolics in the cherry juices and wines were 56.7–86.8 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/l and 79.4–149 mg GAE/l, respectively. Total anthocyanins in the cherry juices and wines were 7.9–50.1 mg of cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents (CGE)/l and 29.6–63.4 mg CGE/l, respectively. Both cherry juices and wines exerted protective effects against oxidative stress induced by H₂O₂ on V79-4 cells and also enhanced the activities of antioxidative enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase and catalase, in a dose-dependent manner. The protection of V79-4 cells from oxidative stress by phenolics was mainly attributable to anthocyanins. The positive correlation between the protective effects against oxidative stress in V79-4 cells and the antioxidant enzyme activities was stronger for cyanidin 3-glucoside than for cyanidin 3-rutinoside.     

Nutritional and functional properties of dates: a review

This review article provides information on the nutritional and functional constituents of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and their seeds from over 80 references. Date flesh is found to be low in fat and protein but rich in sugars, mainly fructose and glucose. It is a high source of energy, as 100 g of flesh can provide an average of 314 kcal. Ten minerals were reported, the major being selenium, copper, potassium, and magnesium. The consumption of 100 g of dates can provide over 15% of the recommended daily allowance from these minerals. Vitamins B-complex and C are the major vitamins in dates. High in dietary fiber (8.0 g/100 g), insoluble dietary fiber was the major fraction of dietary fiber in dates. Dates are a good source of antioxidants, mainly carotenoids and phenolics. Date seeds contain higher protein (5.1 g/100 g) and fat (9.0 g/100 g) as compared to the flesh. It is also high in dietary fiber (73.1 g/100 g), phenolics (3942 mg/100 g) and antioxidants (80400 micromol/100 g). This detailed information on nutritional and health promoting components of dates and their seeds will enhance our knowledge and appreciation for the use of dates in our daily diet and their seeds as a functional food ingredient.     

Compositional Characteristics and Antioxidant Components of Cherry Laurel Varieties and Pekmez

ABSTRACT: Cherry laurel is a popular fruit in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Two native cherry laurel varieties, namely kiraz and findik, together with pekmez (made from concentrated juice of the kiraz variety by boiling/ heating) were examined for their proximate composition, antioxidant activity, total anthocyanins, phenolics, and carotenoids, as well as phenolic acids and sugar composition. A linear correlation existed between antioxidant activity and total content of phenolics (r²= 0.99). The antioxidant activity and total content of phenolics were the highest in pekmez, followed by findik, and kiraz. A significant (P < 0.01) proportion of anthocyanins and carotenoids was lost during heat processing in the production of pekmez. Ten phenolic acids (free and bound) and 6 sugars were identified among samples. These results suggest that cherry laurel varieties and pekmez serve as a good source of natural antioxidant, which could potentially be used in food and nutraceutical supplement formulations.     

Novel Nitrogen-Based Chalcone Analogs Provoke Substantial Apoptosis in HER2-Positive Human Breast Cancer Cells via JNK and ERK1/ERK2 Signaling Pathways

Natural chalcones possess antitumor properties and play a role as inducers of apoptosis, antioxidants and cytotoxic compounds. We recently reported that novel nitrogen chalcone-based compounds, which were generated in our lab, have specific effects on triple-negative breast cancer cells. However, the outcome of these two new compounds on human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer remains nascent. Thus, we herein investigated the effects of these compounds (DK-13 and DK-14) on two HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines, SKBR3 and ZR75. Our data revealed that these compounds inhibit cell proliferation, deregulate cell-cycle progression and significantly induce cell apoptosis in both cell lines. Furthermore, the two chalcone compounds cause a significant reduction in the cell invasion ability of SKBR3 and ZR75 cancer cells. In parallel, we found that DK-13 and DK-14 inhibit colony formation of both cell lines in comparison to their matched controls. On the other hand, we noticed that these two compounds can inhibit angiogenesis in the chorioallantoic membrane model. The molecular pathway analysis of chalcone compounds exposed cells revealed that these compounds inhibit the expression of both JNK1/2/3 and ERK1/2, the major plausible molecular pathways behind these events. Our findings implicate that DK-13 and DK-14 possess effective chemotherapeutic outcomes against HER2-positive breast cancer via the ERK1/2 and JNK1/2/3 signaling pathways.     

A study of the electrochemical oxidation of hydrogen peroxide on a platinum rotating disk electrode in the presence of calcium ions using Michaelis-Menten kinetics and binding isotherm analysis

The present work demonstrates a potential suppression in the electrochemical signal of H₂O₂ oxidation due to the presence of Ca²⁺ ions. A mechanistic scheme was proposed to include a reversible interaction of Ca²⁺ ions with either the electrode surface binding sites (competitive) or the complex sites (non-competitive). The degree of inhibition was inspected by evaluating the kinetic currents as a function of [Ca²⁺] applying Koutecky-Levich kinetics. These observations were further supported with models based on enzyme kinetics such as Michaelis-Menten model applying Lineweaver-Burk plot along with non-linear least-square fitting analysis. The experimental results suggests that the strength of the complex binding sites decreases considerably with increasing [Ca²⁺] and that a single H₂O₂ molecule is required to combine with one available active binding site.     

Optimization of phenolics and dietary fibre extraction from date seeds

This work was conducted to optimise extraction conditions of phenolics and dietary fibre from date seeds. The effects of solvent to sample ratio, temperature, extraction time, number of extractions and solvent type on phenolic extraction efficiency were studied. At two-stage extraction, each stage 1 h duration at 45 °C with a solvent to sample ratio of 60:1, is considered optimum. Acetone (50%), and butanone were the most efficient solvents for extraction and purification, increasing the yield and phenolic contents of seed concentrate to 18.10 and 36.26 g/100 g, respectively. The total dietary fibre of seeds (57.87 g/100 g) increased after water and acetone extractions to 83.50 and 82.17 g/100 g, respectively. Nine phenolic acids (free and liberated) were detected in seeds with p-hydroxybenzoic (9.89 mg/100 g), protocatechuic (8.84 mg/100 g), and m-coumaric (8.42 mg/100 g) acids found to be among the highest. After extraction and purification, total phenolic acid content increased significantly from 48.64 to 193.83 mg/100 g. Protocatechuic, caffeic and ferulic acids were the major phenolic acids found in the concentrates. Based on this study, we believe date seed concentrates could potentially be an inexpensive source of natural dietary fibre and antioxidants and possibly used as a functional food ingredient.     

Compositional and functional characteristics of dates,syrups, and their by-products

Three native sun-dried date varieties from Oman (namely Mabseeli, Um-sellah, and Shahal), as well as their syrups and by-products (press cake and seed) were examined for their proximate composition, dietary fibre, total phenolics, and total antioxidant activity. Carbohydrate was the predominant component in all date varieties, syrups, and their by-products, followed by moisture, along with small amounts of protein, fat, and ash. Press cakes had the highest protein content, ranging in concentration from 3.62 g/100 g in Shahal to 5.23 g/100 g in Mabseeli, whereas fat was the highest in seeds and ranged from 5.02 g/100 g in Mabseeli to 5.90 g/100 g in Um-sellah. Seeds and press cakes were found to be good sources of dietary fibre, varied between 77.75 and 80.15 g/100 g fresh weight and between 25.39 and 33.81 g/100 g fresh weight, respectively. Among dates, syrups, and their by-products, seeds had the highest contents of total phenolics (3102–4430 mg of gallic acid equivalents/100 g fresh weight) and antioxidant activity (580–929 μmol of Trolox equivalents/g fresh weight). The results obtained suggest that date by-products (particularly seeds) serve as a good source of natural antioxidants and could potentially be considered as a functional food or functional food ingredient.