Several new substituted sulfonamide compounds were synthesized and their structures were confirmed by 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, FT-IR, and mass spectroscopy. The antibacterial activities of the synthesized compounds were screened against standard strains of six Gram positive and four Gram negative bacteria using the microbroth dilution assay. Most of the compounds studied showed promising activities against both types of bacteria.

Identification of enzymes involved in the regulation of lipid biosynthesis in Cunninghamella sp. 2A1 was carried out by observing specific activity profile of seven lipogenic enzymes during lipid accumulation phase until cessation of lipogenesis occurred. Activities of all enzymes, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGDH), glucose-6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH), NADP + : isocitrate dehidrogenase (NADP + :ICDH), malic enzyme (ME), ATP citrate lyase (ACL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), increased when lipogenesis occurred after exhaustion of nitrogen in the culture. The enzymes remained active until the end of the experiment (79 h) except for ACL, ME and FAS which showed marked decreases (84, 72 and 59% respectively) in activity after 48 h. This decrease in activity coincided with the cessation of lipid accumulation at 48 h, although glucose was still present. This observation suggests that the three enzymes play a vital role in the down-regulation of lipid accumulation in Cunninghamella sp. 2A1. When 1 g/l ammonium tartrate was reintroduced into the culture at 60 h, the activity of ACL, ME and FAS was restored. This suggests that the decrease in ACL, ME and FAS activities was due to the depletion of nitrogen in the culture medium. The probable involvement of feedback inhibition in this observation is discussed.

Cymbopogon citratus (C. citratus) has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and chemoprotective properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of C. citratus aqueous extract against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress and injury in the reproductive system of male rats. The twenty-five rats used in this study were divided into five groups, comprised of five rats each. The control group received standard food and drink. The H2O2 group received standard food and water with 0.5% H2O2. The rats in the H2O2 + C. citratus group and H2O2 + vitamin E group received standard food, H2O2, and C. citratus [100 mg·kg(-1) body weight (bw)], or vitamin E as an antioxidant reference (500 mg·kg(-1) bw), respectively. The C. citratus group was given C. citratus (100 mg·kg(-1) bw) in addition to the standard food and drink. The treatments were administered for 30 days. The H2O2 treatment significantly (P < 0.05) decreased body, testicular, and epididymal weight, as well as glutathione (GSH) level, but markedly increased malonaldehyde (MDA) in serum and testes homogenates. The rats treated with H2O2 exhibited testicular degeneration and significant reduction in sperm viability, motility, count, and rate of normal sperm. The C. citratus, vitamin E, and H2O2 treatment significantly (P < 0.05) increased the body, testicular, and epididymal weight, testosterone level, the values of the various sperm characteristics, and GSH. However, this treatment markedly reduced MDA in serum and testes homogenates, as well as testicular histopathological alterations in the H2O2-treated rats. The C. citratus aqueous extract reduced oxidative stress and protected male rats against H2O2-induced reproductive system injury.

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Lipid biosynthesis and fatty acids composition of oleaginous zygomycetes, namely Cunninghamella bainieri 2A1, cultured in media with excess or limited nitrogen were quantitatively determined at different times of culture growth. Accumulation of lipids occurred even when the activity of NAD+-ICDH (β-Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-isocitrate dehydrogenase) was still detectable in both media. In C. bainieri 2A1, under nitrogen limitation, the ratio of lipids was around 35%, whereas in nitrogen excess medium (feeding media supplemented with ammonium tartarate), the lipid ratio decreased. The amount of this decrease depended on the level of ammonium tartarate in the media. The main findings in this paper were that C. bainieri 2A1 has the ability to accumulate lipid although nitrogen concentration detected inside the media and that NAD-ICDH was active in all culture periods. These results proved that the strain C. bainieri 2A1 has an alternative behavior in lipid biosynthesis that differs from yeast. According to the old hypotheses, yeasts could not accumulate lipid more than 10% when nitrogen was detected inside the media. Nitrogen-limited and excess media both contained the same fatty acids (palmitic acid, stearic acid, olic acid, linoleic acid and γ-linolenic acid), but at different concentrations. The C:N ratio was also studied and showed no effects on total lipid accumulation, but a significant effect on γ-linolenic acid concentration.

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Strategic feeding of ammonium and metal ions (Mg2+, Mn2+, Fe3+, Cu2+, Ca2+, Co2+, and Zn2+) for enhanced GLA-rich lipid accumulation in C. bainieri 2A1 was established. When cultivated in nitrogen-limited medium, the fungus produced up to 30% lipid (g/g biomass) with 12.9% (g/g lipid) GLA. However, the accumulation of lipid stopped at 48 hours of cultivation although glucose was abundant. This event occurred in parallel to the diminishing activity of malic enzyme (ME), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and ATP citrate lyase (ACL) as well as the depletion of metal ions in the medium. Reinstatement of the enzymes activities was achieved by feeding of ammonium tartrate, but no increment in the lipid content was observed. However, increment in lipid content from 32% to 50% (g/g biomass) with 13.2% GLA was achieved when simultaneous feeding of ammonium, glucose, and metal ions was carried out. This showed that the cessation of lipid accumulation was caused by diminishing activities of the enzymes as well as depletion of the metal ions in the medium. Therefore, strategic feeding of ammonium and metal ions successfully reinstated enzymes activities and enhanced GLA-rich lipid accumulation in C. bainieri 2A1.

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