Chal is a traditional fermented product produced from spontaneously fermented camel milk which contains several bacterial species with potential usage in producing traditional dairy products and functional foods. The aims of this study were to isolate and identify predominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from Chal and investigate antioxidant activity of camel and bovine milk fermented by these isolates. Chal samples were collected from Turkman Sahra, Golestan Province, Iran. The protein hydrolysis was determined by o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) method, and antioxidant activities of whey fractions were evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radicals scavenging methods. Nine catalase-negative bacteria including Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum, L. paraplantarum, L. kefiri, L. gasseri, L. paracasei, Leuconostoc (Leu.) lactis, Weissella (W.) cibaria, and Enterococcus (E.) faecium were isolated and identified by conventional and molecular methods. Both camel and bovine milk were fermented by the strains for 24 h. Fermented camel milk showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher antioxidant activity than bovine milk. Camel milk fermented by Leu. lactis showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher DPPH (57.90 ± 4.59 μM) and ABTS (1484.35 ± 128.20 μM; P < 0.05) radical scavenging activity compared to samples fermented by other strains. According to sensory evaluation of fermented camel and bovine milks, camel milk fermented by Leu. lactis SM10 had the highest overall acceptance values. Our findings suggest that camel and bovine milk fermented by LAB isolated from Chal could potentially be used for producing novel functional foods.

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BackgroundOne of the most important environmental problems is the decontamination of petroleum hydrocarbons polluted soil, particularly in the oil-rich country. Bioremediation is the most effective way to remove these pollutants in the soil.Spent mushroom compost has great ability to decompose lignin-like pollution. The purpose of this study was the bioremediation of soil contaminated with crude oil by an Agaricomycetes.MethodsSoil sample amended with spent mushroom compost into 3%, 5% and 10% (w/w) with or without fertilizer. Ecotoxicity germination test was conducted with Lipidium sativa.ResultsThe amplified fragment (18 s rDNA) sequence of this mushroom confirmed that the strain belonged to Pleurotus ostreatus species with complete homology (100% identity). All tests experiment sets were effective at supporting the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated soil after three months. Petroleum contaminated soil amended with Spent mushroom compost 10% and fertilizer removed 64.7% of total petroleum hydrocarbons compared control. The germination index (%) in ecotoxicity tests ranged from 60.4 to 93.8%.ConclusionsThis showed that the petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated soil amended with 10% Spent mushroom compost had higher bioremediation ability and reduced soil toxicity in less than three months.