The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional composition and antioxidant activity of bee pollen produced in the North western region of Algeria. The content of total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity using the molybdate ion reduction method were determined. The mean contents of phenolic compounds and total flavonoids were 30.46 ± 8.22 mg of GAE.g -1 pollen and 8.92 ± 5.5 mg of RE.g -1 pollen, respectively. High antioxidant activities were found for the molybdate ion reduction method, with values that ranged from 71.95 to 101.5 μg of GAE.g -1 pollen. The bee pollen of Boufarik showed high antioxidant activity probably due to the high content of phenolic compounds present in pollen.
Chitosan (CS) is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature, with superior properties including biocompatibility, biodegradability, lack of toxicity, antimicrobial activity, acceleration of wound healing, and stimulation of the immune system. In this study, chitosan was extracted from the exoskeletons of the beetle (Pimelia Payraudi Latreille) and then used for the biosynthesis of MgO NPs and ZnO NPs. The extracted chitosan exhibited excellent physicochemical properties, including high extraction yield (39%), high degree of deacetylation (90%), low ash content (1%), high fat-binding capacity (366%), and odd crystallinity index (51%). The MgO NPs and ZnO NPs exhibited spherical morphology with crystallite sizes of 17 nm and 29 nm, particle sizes of about 20-70 nm and 30-60 nm, and bandgap energy of 4.43 and 3.34 eV, respectively. Antibacterial assays showed that the extracted chitosan showed high antibacterial activity against Gram-(+/-) bacteria, while ZnO NPs showed much stronger antibacterial activity against Gram-(+) bacteria than against Gram(-) bacteria. For MgO NPs, the antibacterial activity against Gram-(+) bacteria was lower than that against Gram-(-) bacteria. The results suggest that the synthesized MgO NPs and ZnO NPs are excellent antibacterial agents for therapeutic applications.
Chitosan is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature with high economic value due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, lack of toxicity, and antifungal activity. In this study, chitosan was extracted from three different sources: Blaps lethifera (CSB), Pimelia fernandezlopezi (CSP), and Musca domestica (CSM). The ash content (AC), moisture content (MC), fat binding capacity (FBC), water binding capacity (WBC), and deacetylation degree (DD) were determined for the prepared chitosans. The effect of the DD of chitosan on the antibacterial activity of gram (positive/negative) bacteria and the azo dyes (methylene blue, MB) removal from wastewater was also investigated. Chitosan extracts showed good antibacterial activity against Listeria innocua, Bacillus subtiliis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The MB dye removal of CSB-chitosan, CSP-chitosan, and CSM-chitosan reached 37%, 87%, and 26%, respectively, at a contact time of 2 h, a low initial dye concentration MB of 13 ppm, a solution temperature of 25 °C, and a pH = 7.
Graphical Abstract
This work is a contribution to the calculation of electrochemical parameters from the polarization curves of ferrocene. The parameters are: The anodic (E pa ) and the cathodic (E pc ) peak potentials, as well as the corresponding anodic (i pa ) and cathodic (i pc ) peak currents, were obtained at different scan rates (0.05, 0.10, 0.30, 0.50 V.s -1 ). The half-wave potentials (E 1/2 ) of the couple in the investigated solvents have been evaluated. The diffusion coefficients (D) have been calculated using the Randles-Sevcik equation.
In the present work the oxidation of ferrocene, ( ) , to the ferrocenium cation, ( ) , was examined in the solvents dichloromethane, and aqueous ethanol using the technique of cyclic voltammetry. The anodic (Epa) and the cathodic (Epc) peak potentials, as well as the corresponding anodic (ipa) and cathodic (ipc) peak currents, were obtained at different scan rates (0.05, 0.10, 0.30, 0.50 V.s -1 ). The diffusion coefficients (D) have been calculated using the Randles-Sevcik equation. The effects of changing the scan rate on the electrochemical behavior of ferrocene have been examined.
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