Salama Abouelyazeed Ouf

Herbs and spices are food crops susceptible to contamination by toxigenic fungi. Ozone, as a decontamination approach in the industry, has attractive benefits over traditional food preservation practices. A contribution to the studying of ozone as an antifungal and antmycotoxigenic agent in herbs and spices storage processes is achieved in this research. Nine powdered sun-dried herbs and spices were analyzed for their fungal contamination. The results indicate that licorice root and peppermint leaves were found to have the highest population of fungi while black cumin and fennel record the lowest population. The most dominant fungal genera are Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Rhizopus. Ozone treatment was performed at a concentration of 3 ppm applied for exposure times of 0, 30, 90, 150, 210, and 280 minutes. After 280 minutes of exposure to ozone, the reduction of fungal count ranged from 96.39 to 98.26%. The maximum reduction in spore production was achieved in the case of A. humicola and Trichderma viride exposed for 210 minutes ozone gas. There was a remarkable reduction in the production of the total mycotoxin, reaching 24.15% in aflatoxins for the 150 minutes-treated inoculum in the case of A. flavus. The total volume of essential oil of chamomile and peppermint was reduced by 57.14 and 26.67%, respectively, when exposed to 3ppm.For 280 minutes
In conclusion, fumigation with ozone gas can be used as a suitable method for achieving sanitation and decreasing microbial load in herbs and spices. Still, it is crucial to provide precautions on ozone's effect on major active constituents before recommending this method for industrial application.

This study investigated the changes in the enzymatic and biochemical profiles of lactating, non-lactating, and young buffaloes during different sampling. In the present research thirty buffaloes (Nili-Ravi) were selected and divided into three categories lactating, non-lactating, and young. Four samplings were performed in different seasons (summer, autumn, winter, and spring), and 10 blood serum samples were collected from each category of Nili-Ravi buffaloes during each sampling period. Higher glucose, urea, creatinine, and mycotoxins (AFB1, ZEA, OTA) values were found during summer sampling season, higher SGPT (ALT) and SGOT (AST) values were found during the autumn season, higher cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase and uric acid values were found during the winter season.

This study investigated the changes in the enzymatic and biochemical profiles of lactating, non-lactating, and young buffaloes during different sampling. In the present research thirty buffaloes (Nili-Ravi) were selected and divided into three categories lactating, non-lactating, and young. Four samplings were performed in different seasons (summer, autumn, winter, and spring), and 10 blood serum samples were collected from each category of Nili-Ravi buffaloes during each sampling period. Higher glucose, urea, creatinine, and mycotoxins (AFB1, ZEA, OTA) values were found during summer sampling season, higher SGPT (ALT) and SGOT (AST) values were found during the autumn season, higher cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase and uric acid values were found during the winter season.

A new series of 5-arylhydrazonothiazole derivatives 5a-d has been synthesized, elucidated, and evaluated for their antidermatophytic activity. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the newly synthesized products were investigated against 18 dermatophyte fungal isolates related to Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum canis, and Trichophyton rubrum. The morphological alterations induced by the synthesized derivatives singly or conjugated with the monoclonal antibody were examined on spores of T. rubrum using a scanning electron microscope. The efficacy of synthesized derivative 5a applied at its respective MFC alone or conjugated with anti-dermatophyte monoclonal antibody 0014 in skin infection treatment of guinea pigs due to inoculation with one of the examined dermatophytes, in comparison with fluconazole as standard reference drug was evaluated. In an in vivo experiment, the efficiency of 5a derivative conjugated with the antibody induced 100% healing after 45 days in the case of T. rubrum and M. canis-infected guinea pigs.

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Multicomponent phenol hydroxylases (mPHs) are diiron enzymes that use molecular oxygen to hydroxylate a variety of phenolic compounds. The DNA sequence of the alpha subunit (large subunit) of mPH from 4-chlorophenol (4-CP)-degrading bacterial strain PT3 was determined. Strain PT3 was isolated from oil-contaminated soil samples adjacent to automobile workshops and oil stations after enrichment and establishment of a chlorophenol-degrading consortium. Strain PT3 was identified as a member of Pseudomonas sp. based on sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene fragment. The 4-CP catabolic pathway by strain PT3 was tentatively proposed to proceed via a meta-cleavage pathway after hydroxylation to the corresponding chlorocatechol. This hypothesis was supported by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of the LmPH encoding sequence and UV/VIS spectrophotometric analysis of the culture filtrate showing accumulation of 5-chloro-2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde (5-CHMS) with λmax 380. The detection of catabolic genes involved in 4-CP degradation by PCR showed the presence of both mPH and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23DO). Nucleotide sequence analysis of the alpha subunit of mPH from strain PT3 revealed specific phylogenetic grouping to known mPH. The metal coordination encoding regions from strain PT3 were found to be conserved with those from the homologous dinuclear oxo-iron bacterial monooxygenases. Two DE(D)XRH motifs was detected in LmPH of strain PT3 within an approximate 100 amino acid interval, a typical arrangement characteristic of most known PHs.