Piper betle (L): Recent Review of Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties,Safety Profiles,and Commercial Applications

Piper betle (L) is a popular medicinal plant in Asia. Plant leaves have been used as a traditional medicine to treat various health conditions. It is highly abundant and inexpensive, therefore promoting further research and industrialization development, including in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Articles published from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed in detail to show recent updates on the antibacterial and antifungal properties of betel leaves. This current review showed that betel leaves extract, essential oil, preparations, and isolates could inhibit microbial growth and kill various Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as fungal species, including those that are multidrug-resistant and cause serious infectious diseases. P. betle leaves displayed high efficiency on Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. The ratio of MBC/MIC indicated bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects of P. betle leaves, while MFC/MIC values showed fungicidal and fungistatic effects. This review also provides a list of phytochemical compounds in betel leaves extracts and essential oils, safety profiles, and value-added products of betel leaves. Some studies also showed that the combination of betel leaves extract and essential oil with antibiotics (streptomycin, chloramphenicol and gentamicin) could provide potentiating antibacterial properties. Moreover, this review delivers a scientific resume for researchers in respected areas and manufacturers who want to develop betel leaves-based products.     

Oil from the Tropical Marine Benthic-Diatom Navicula sp.

The potential of the tropical marine benthic-diatom Navicula sp. for biodiesel feedstock was investigated. Growth profiles were analyzed by changing nutrient compositions in three different media (Walne, plain seawater, and modified seawater) and irradiance intensities. Navicula sp. cells showed significant growth in Walne and modified seawater medium but not in plain seawater medium. The microalgae grew well in a pH range of 7.8?C8.4, and the cells were very sensitive to the intensity of direct sunlight exposure. The average cell concentration obtained from the cultures in plain seawater, Walne, and modified seawater media at the beginning of the stationary phase was 0.70, 2.17, and 2.54?g/L, respectively. Electron spray ionization-ion trap-mass spectrometry showed that the triacylglycerols of the algae oil were identified as POP (palmitic-oleic-palmitic), POO (palmitic-oleic-oleic), and OOLn (oleic-oleic-linoleic). The oil productivity of Navicula sp. cultivated in Walne and modified seawater media was 90 and 124???L?L^?1 culture d^?1. The Navicula sp. biodiesel exhibited a kinematic viscosity of 1.299?mm²/s, density of 0.8347?g/mL, and internal energy of 0.90?kJ/mL.     

An overview of techniques and strategies for isolation of flavonoids from the genus Erythrina

Plants in the genus Erythrina is a potential source of chemical constituents, one of which is flavonoids, which have diverse bioactivities. To date, literature on the flavonoids from the genus Erythrina has only highlighted the phytochemical aspects, so this review article will discuss isolation techniques and strategies for the first time. More than 420 flavonoids have been reported in the Erythrina genus, which are grouped into 17 categories. These flavonoid compounds were obtained through isolation techniques and strategies using polar, semi-polar, and non-polar solvents. Various chromatographic techniques have been developed to isolate flavonoids using column flash chromatography, quick column chromatography, centrifugally accelerated thin-layer chromatography, radial chromatography, medium-pressure column chromatography, semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Chromatographic processes for isolating flavonoids can be optimized using multivariate statistical applications such as response surface methodology with central composite design, Box–Behnken design, Doehlert design, and mixture design.     

In Vitro Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity and the Isolation of Luteolin from the Flower of Gymnanthemum amygdalinum (Delile) Sch. Bip ex Walp.

Diabetes mellitus is a major health issue that has posed a significant challenge over the years. Gymnanthemum amygdalinum is a well-known plant that can be potentially used to treat this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effect of its root, stem bark, leaves, and flower extracts on alpha-glucosidase using an in vitro inhibition assay to isolate the bioactive compounds and determine their levels in the samples. The air-dried plant parts were extracted by maceration using methanol. The results showed that the flower extract had the greatest inhibitory effect (IC50 47.29 ± 1.12 µg/mL), followed by the leaves, roots, and stem bark. The methanolic flower extract was further fractionated with different solvents, and the ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest activity (IC50 19.24 ± 0.12 µg/mL). Meanwhile, acarbose was used as a positive control (IC50 73.36 ± 3.05 µg/mL). Characterization based on UV, 1H-, and 13C-NMR established that the ethyl acetate fraction yielded two flavonoid compounds, namely, luteolin and 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-on, which had IC50 values of 6.53 ± 0.16 µg/mL and 39.95 ± 1.59 µg/mL, respectively. The luteolin levels in the crude drug, methanolic extract, and ethyl acetate fraction were 3.4 ± 0.2 mg (0.3%), 32.4 ± 0.8 mg (3.2%), and 68.9 ± 3.4 mg (6.9%) per 1 g samples, respectively. These results indicated that the G. amygdalinum flower extract exerted potent inhibitory alpha-glucosidase activity.     

A review on synthesis of kaolin-based zeolite and the effect of impurities

Zeolite is extensively synthesized for the application in a large variety of catalysis processes such as ion exchange, hydrocarbon cracking, and organic synthesis. In order to satisfy the serious terms of sustainability that denotes to the reduction of costs and chemical waste, kaolinite-based zeolites were produced from cheap natural resources as against to the conventional process that employs pure sodium silicate and sodium aluminate. This review paper is to highlight the current trends in the synthesis of zeolite. Prior to previous reviews, great concern is focused on the impurities effect on the catalytic performance of kaolinite-based zeolites. This study reveals that the impact of impurities in a catalytic reaction was in fact, underestimated or neglected. For instance, it was found that Fe ion concentration as small as 60 ppm gives significant catalytic output. Hence, a new practice to report the concentration of impurities in the research publication is suggested. This undoubtedly will generate a better interpretation of the catalytic activity from the zeolite framework.